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Older & Wiser Program Developed by Neighborhood Legal
Services Association
Neighborhood Legal
Services Association (NLSA) and southwestern Pennsylvania
legislators are co-sponsoring Older & Wiser, a public
service initiative providing free legal information seminars on
matters of special importance to elderly adults and their families.
NLSA developed the
project on behalf of the 14-county Southwestern Pennsylvania Legal
Services Consortium and will co-host the first seminars with
legislators from districts within its four-county service area. The
project is a cooperative effort between NLSA, who developed the
presentations, legislators who host the seminars, and the private
bar who deliver the information to the public during the seminars.
Plans are for the
project to expand to additional legislative districts within the
remaining 10 counties served by the southwest consortium. NLSA and
the Southwestern Pennsylvania State Legislative Delegation
officially launched Older & Wiser at a joint news
conference
in Harrisburg on Tuesday, Sept. 30, in the main Capitol Rotunda.
Older & Wiser Website |
| A Guide to Legal Issues
for
Pennsylvania Senior Citizens is Updated for 2009-2010 by the PA Bar
Association The popular, A Guide to
Legal Issues for Pennsylvania Senior Citizens, has been
updated for 2009.
Created by the PA Bar Association Senior Lawyers
Committee, the guide is designed to provide information about
legal issues faced by Pennsylvania's older citizens and their
caregivers.
It offers basic information, describes various
services and ways to access them and outlines areas that may
require specific legal advice or expertise. The updated version is
only available online.
Click
here to view the updated guide in Adobe PDF format. |
| Equal Justice Magazine
Online EJM is produced by the Washington D.C.
based Legal Services Corporation. It is the country’s only feature
magazine dedicated exclusively to exploring equal justice issues
and the work of public interest lawyers. EJM tells the untold
stories of courageous clients and intrepid attorneys who turn
shallow lawyer stereotypes on their head.
Click here
to view the current online edition of the magazine. |
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Pennsylvania Legal Aid Network, Inc. has
launched a new website at
www.PaLegalAid.net.
You have reached this page by using an old link directed to
www.palegalservices.org.
Please update your bookmark or favorite to our new location. You will be redirected to the new
Pennsylvania Legal Aid Network,
Inc. site momentarily.
If not,
click
here to go there now. |
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Governor Edward G. Rendell has announced
the launch of the "Get Help Now PA!"
volunteer initiative to provide financial and legal help
to the many Pennsylvanians who still face difficult
situations while the economic recovery takes hold.
What is Get Help Now PA!?
“Get Help Now PA!” is part of President and Michelle
Obama’s “United We Serve” national service initiative,
which encourages Americans to create meaningful change
in their communities by engaging in service.
In answer to the call of Governor
Rendell and First Lady Judge Rendell to donate their
time and talents in support of this effort, this is a
collaborative effort of:
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the Pennsylvania Bar Association;
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the Pennsylvania Bankers
Association; |
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the Pennsylvania Credit Union
Association; |
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the Pennsylvania Association of
Community Bankers; |
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the Mortgage Bankers Association
of Pennsylvania and Pennsylvania Association of
Mortgage Brokers;
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the Pennsylvania Financial
Services Association;
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the Office of the First Lady;
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the Pennsylvania Department of
Banking. |
What is a Get Help Now PA!
Help Desk?
A Get Help Now PA! Help Desk is staffed by
volunteer lawyers and financial professionals and
provides free assistance and referrals related to
credit, finance and other economic issues to
Pennsylvanians experiencing financial difficulties
because of the economic downturn.
At this Get Help Now PA! Help
Desk, volunteer professionals will meet with you and
discuss ways for you to address your financial
difficulties. While they will not be able to serve as
your lawyer or credit counselor in these meetings or
thereafter, these volunteer professionals will be able
to help you to identify and contact organizations that
can address your specific concerns.
When Can I Visit A Get Help Now
PA! Help Desk?
The Get Help Now PA! locations will be open
Tuesdays and Thursdays, 1 p.m. to 6 p.m., July 7 through
September 11.
Where are the Get Help Now PA!
Help Desks?
Get Help Now PA! Help
Desks are located at the following locations
throughout Pennsylvania:
Allegheny
County
PA Bar Institute
Heinz 57 Center
339 6th Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA |
Dauphin
County
Dauphin County Bar Association
213 N. Front Street
Harrisburg, PA |
Beaver County
Beaver County Bar Association
788 Turnpike Street
Beaver, PA |
Elk County
21 N. St. Marys Street
St. Marys, PA |
Bedford County
Heartland Hall
5564 Business 220
Bedford, PA |
Erie County
Erie County Bar Association
302 W. 9th Street
Erie, PA |
Berks County
Berks County Bar Association
544 Court Street
Reading, PA 19603-1058 |
Lackawanna
County
Lackawanna Bar Association
338 N. Washington Avenue
3rd Floor
Scranton, PA |
Blair County
Continuing Education and Training Devorris
Downtown Center
1431 12th Avenue
Altoona, PA |
Lancaster
County
Lancaster Bar Association
28 E. Orange Street
Lancaster, PA |
Bucks County
Bucks County Bar Association
135 E. State Street
Doylestown, PA |
Lycoming
County
Lycoming Law Association
Penn Tower, Suite 601
25 W. Third Street
Williamsport, PA |
Butler County
Butler County Bar Association
201 S. Main Street
Suite 101
Butler, PA |
Philadelphia
County
Drexel University
Earle Mack School of Law
3320 Market Street, Ste 432
Philadelphia, PA |
Centre County
Centre County Bar Association
232 Match Factory Place
Bellefonte, PA |
Westmoreland
County
Westmoreland County Bar Association
129 N. Pennsylvania Avenue
Greensburg, PA |
Chester
County
Chester County Bar Association
15 W. Gay St., 2nd Fl.
West Chester, PA |
Washington
County
George Washington Hotel
82 S. Main Street
Washington, PA |
Cumberland County
Cumberland County Bar Association
32 S. Bedford Street
Carlisle, PA
(This Help Desk is open only on
July 7, Aug. 18 and Sept. 10, from 4-8 PM.) |
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More Information from PA.gov |
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Pennsylvania Legal
Aid Network Presents 2009 Excellence Awards
The 2009 Pennsylvania Legal Aid Network Excellence Awards were
presented at the annual awards dinner on Tuesday, March
31, 2009, at the Harrisburg Hilton & Towers.
The evening's keynote speaker was The Honorable Marjorie O. Rendell,
Judge, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. A social hour preceded the awards
dinner which began at 6:00 PM.
The Pennsylvania Legal Aid Network
Excellence Awards honor members and friends of the legal
aid community who exemplify excellence in their
commitment and accomplishments as advocates for
low-income people.
The 2009 Excellence
Award recipients include includes a variety of civil
legal aid professionals and friends of civil legal aid
across Pennsylvania who were recognized for their
efforts in support of the clients served by the programs
of the Pennsylvania Legal Aid Network. Individuals
selected for recognition include:
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Karen Detamore, Esq.
Executive Director, Friends of Farmworkers, Inc.
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Joseph K. Goldberg, Esq.
Harrisburg, PA
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Brian Hudson
Executive Director, Pennsylvania Housing Finance
Agency
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Catherine T. Martin, Esq.
Managing Attorney, Neighborhood Legal Services
Association
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Kathy J. Parks
Paralegal, MidPenn Legal Services
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Elizabeth C. Price
Executive Director, Delaware County Bar
Association
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Catherine Rusk
Paralegal, North Penn Legal Services
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Richard Weishaupt, Esq.
Senior Attorney, Community Legal Services |
Also recognized with Excellence
Awards were the Honorable Darnell Jones,
Judge, U.S. District Court of Eastern District of PA
(and former President Judge of the Court of Common
Pleas, Philadelphia County), and the Honorable
Annette Rizzo, Judge, Court of Common Pleas,
Philadelphia County, for their work relating to the
groundbreaking Residential Mortgage Foreclosure
Diversion Pilot Program that was implemented in the
Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia County in 2008.
The HomeWorks Project was also presented with an
Excellence Award
for a unique and innovative collaboration between
Regional Housing Legal Services and the Pennsylvania
Health Law Project to develop a supportive housing
project tailored to the needs of a group of disabled
individuals.
Individuals recognized in connection with the
project include David Gates, Esq., PA Health Law
Project and Kim Dolan, Esq., Regional Housing
Legal Services, as well as the residents of the project,
Kevin Alston, Michael Anderson and
William Keech. A video tribute to each of the award
winners was presented during the awards ceremony. Those
video tributes may be viewed at the link below. Pennsylvania Legal
Aid Network, Inc. salutes each of the 2009 award winners
for their efforts in promoting equal justice to all.
Photos from the Awards Dinner
View the Video
Tributes
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| News from |
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| New HEMAP Help
Center Brochure from RHLS
Regional Housing Legal Services
has produced a new brochure entitled, Avoiding
Foreclosure: How to Reduce the Risk of Losing Your Home,
explaining the operation of the the Homeowners Emergency
Mortgage Assistance Program (HEMAP) Help Center.
This brochure is available on PALawHELP.org in the materials
under the
Mortgage Foreclosure subtopic or directly at
the link below.
View Avoiding Foreclosure: How to Reduce the Risk of
Losing Your Home |
| NPLS Launches Computer-Assisted Custody Documents to Help
Low-Income People North Penn Legal Services
has created legal forms for low-income parents to use to start a
custody case or change a custody order through the use of
innovative software called "HotDocs," a product of LexisNexis.
Parents answer a series of questions over the
Internet, and their answers are used to produce legal documents
for their particular situation and county.
"The goal of producing computer-assisted
custody papers is to get people in the door at the courthouse,"
said Victoria Coyle, Esq., Executive Director of North Penn
Legal Services. "Parents producing their own custody papers will
save time for staff at legal services organizations in all
counties across the state," explained Coyle. Low-income people
can find the computer-assisted forms in the Children and
Families section at
www.PALawHELP.org.
“The design and availability of the statewide custody complaint
form by North Penn Legal Services will provide significant
assistance to self represented litigants, as well as the general
public, in Pennsylvania. Plans are to incorporate these new
forms into the new website being developed to afford additional
help, on a statewide basis, to self represented litigants in the
family law area,” said Judge Jack A. Panella, chair of the
committee established by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court and the
Pennsylvania Bar Association to develop legal education and
community outreach programs in Pennsylvania. |
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Pennsylvania Legal Aid Network Recognizes
Participants in 2008 Martin Luther King Jr.
Internship Program
The Pennsylvania Legal
Aid Network celebrated the 2008 Martin Luther King
Jr. Internship Program at a reception that was held
on August 6, 2008 at the Dauphin County Bar
Association in Harrisburg.Pedro A. Cortes, Secretary of the Commonwealth
was the keynote speaker at the Recognition Reception.
Secretary Cortés was nominated as Secretary of the Commonwealth by
Governor Rendell on April 2, 2003 and was unanimously confirmed by
the Senate on May 13, 2003, making him the first confirmed Latino
Cabinet member in Pennsylvania history.
Funding and
financial support for the MLK Internship program is provided by the
Pennsylvania Interest on Lawyers Trust Account Board and the
Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare. PLAN appreciates the
ongoing support of these organizations for the MLK program.
The 2008 edition of
The Drum Major, a
collection of essays by the interns reflecting on their summer in
legal services, was distributed at the reception. The essays
included in The Drum Major may be viewed at the link
below.
Certificates of Recognition were presented to the
interns who participated in the internship program during 2008.
Interns receiving recognition included:
Mukta Agrawal
Pennsylvania Health Law Project
Sakeenah S. El-Amin
Community Legal Services
Karen Fernandez
Pennsylvania Institutional Law Project
Philadelphia Legal Assistance
Amanda K. Franzen
Neighborhood Legal Services Association
Benjamin Haire
Northwestern Legal Services
Ema L. Iruobe
Community Impact Legal Services
Cherie N. Long
Legal Aid of Southeastern Pennsylvania
Tedeisha Rowe
Regional Housing Legal Services
Sheldon A. Smith
North Penn Legal Services
Alejandro Ventura
Community Justice Project
Truniece L. White
MidPenn Legal Services
2008 Drum Major
Biography of Secretary Cortés
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