Category: Blog

Part of our 2022 Annual Report Impact Series

Jennifer Jones went to graduate school with the goal of becoming a social worker. Going to law school wasn’t on her radar, but when a couple of professors encouraged her to consider a combined law and social degree program, she took her first law class. To her surprise she really enjoyed it, “and the rest is history.”  

Practicing law has given Jones the opportunity to serve people, albeit in a different way. She started volunteering with MVLS in 2021, and has taken on 11 cases since then, most of them in family law.  

Jones recently closed a particularly contentious divorce case that she took on “low bono” through MVLS’ Judicare Program, through which family law attorneys can receive modest payments for their work. She helped her client, who was navigating the process of ending an abusive marriage, fighting for financial support and, ultimately, obtaining her independence.  

“The most rewarding thing for me in this case was how happy the client was. For many years she had wanted to leave, but believed that being married was the only way she could survive financially,” Jones explained. Jones’ client, who has a disability that prevents her earning an income, courageously took the step of seeking a divorce after her situation became untenable. While it was an incredibly difficult time, with the client experiencing immense anxiety, Jones shared that “she now lives the peaceful life she has wanted for so long… an outcome she never thought would be possible.” 

Despite the high stakes of civil legal cases, which span from family law issues like divorce and custody, to issues that cause long term financial instability, the United States does not guarantee counsel for people navigating these problems. For Jones, it’s gratifying to know that she’s offering her clients something that they truly need.  

“And if you weren’t doing it, it’s very likely an injustice could occur,” Jones added. A recent study by the Task Force to Study Implementing a Civil Right to Counsel in Maryland indicates that clients are 6.5 times more likely to succeed if they have attorney representation. MVLS matches volunteers like Jones with clients to provide free legal help for the duration of their case.  

For Jones, volunteering has an additional reward.  

“I really want it to be highlighted how the legal community at large is supportive of the work and is willing to be a resource. You’re not going to have a handle on every situation. If I get stuck on something, I’ve found that when I reached out to other attorneys who had that expertise, they were more than willing to give me some help.”  

John Hotz provided that help to Jones during her most recent case. One of the few experts on an issue that ended up being central to her client’s case, Jones shared, “John gave generously and freely. He was so kind and so helpful. Because of his contribution, my client secured benefits that she was entitled to but otherwise wouldn’t have had the means to secure.” MVLS encourages volunteers to seek out mentors or other experts in our network as they navigate their case.  

MVLS also has a Pro Bono Portal that is available online and updated daily. The portal allows potential volunteers to preview cases and select one that’s the right fit for their availability, experience, and location. Jones urged potential volunteers to view the portal and take a case: “It’s not a fair playing field when one party has an attorney and the other doesn’t because they can’t afford one.” 

374 volunteers like Jones took a case with MVLS during the past fiscal year, and another 19 provided formal mentorship support, giving a combined 11,533 hours of pro bono service. If you are an attorney or tax professional, you can visit www.mvlslaw.org to join this dedicated group and sign up to take a case today.  

Part of our 2022 Annual Report Impact Series

David Oliver first learned about Maryland Volunteer Lawyers Service through an email.  

A lifelong Baltimorean, Oliver owns a home in West Baltimore. When the president of his neighborhood association messaged him and his neighbors to share a list of free legal services, he saw that MVLS was providing that help.  

That email came in handy about a year later when Oliver realized that he needed to make some changes to his estate planning documents. He called MVLS and reached a member of the outreach team. As Oliver remembers it, he was told that he had called just in time and invited to attend an upcoming My Home, My Deed, My Legacy Clinic.  

He did. “And from there, Tim became my representative,” Oliver explained, referring to Tim Chance, MVLS’ Tangled Title Attorney.  

MVLS hosts anywhere from four to six of these My Home clinics each year. Clinics provide an opportunity for clients and potential clients, often recruited by their neighborhood associations or other community nonprofits, to meet with MVLS volunteers and staff attorneys for brief advice or for full representation.  

While Oliver came to the clinic looking to update just one of his estate documents, Chance was able to prepare a total of four legal documents most common in advance planning: the life estate deed, power of attorney, advance directive, and a will. “We wanted to make sure everything was done correctly,” Oliver explained.  

“It’s tricky because people think that once you pass, things go to your next of kin. Which isn’t the case without a lot of red tape and fees,” Oliver added as he described why estate planning appealed to him.  

Over the past decade, drawing on lessons learned from our clients and community partners, MVLS has come to understand the important role that legal services, and advance planning in particular, can play in building generational wealth in historically disinvested Black Baltimore neighborhoods. In the West Baltimore neighborhood where Oliver lives, 88% of residents are Black. The median household income is less than $22,000 and 27% of homes are considered vacant or abandoned. In a city with a well-known history of redlining (the institutionalized denial of homeownership based on race), ongoing practices of under-appraising Black owned homes, and where the majority of our clients facing tax sale are Black, MLVS sees an institutional responsibility to act. By providing free help to residents who have tangled titles, are navigating probate or like in Oliver’s case, are doing proactive estate planning, we can make it easier for families to preserve what is often their biggest asset – their home.  

“The most rewarding thing is that I got it done. And it’s so peaceful knowing that, if something should happen, my family will inherit what I had,” he concluded.  

Thanks to our donors, volunteers, and community partners, MVLS provided estate planning and administration services to 465 clients like Oliver in FY22. You can learn about upcoming community events and clinics, including the next My Home My Deed My Legacy Clinic scheduled for September 29, 2022 here.