Providing Legal Services Through the Pennsylvania SeniorLAW HelpLine:

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Providing Legal Services Through the Pennsylvania
SeniorLAW HelpLinePro Bono From Your DeskAn
Introduction for Volunteer Attorneys

• David Keller Trevaskis, Esq.
• PBA Pro Bono Coordinator

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The SeniorLAW Center

• Largest provider of legal services to seniors in
  Pennsylvania
• Independent nonprofit organization
• Serving over 8,000 seniors each year with
• direct individual representation
• legal advice, information and referral services
• community legal education
• professional training
• systemic reform and advocacy
• Legal staff and pro bono panel
• Celebrating over 30 Years of Service (1978-2012)

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Needs of Pennsylvania Seniors

• 2.4 million older adults in Pennsylvania
• 67 counties with great geographical contrasts and
  need
• Growing groups of linguistic and cultural
  minority elders in Pennsylvania need focused and
  accessible services

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Pennsylvania SeniorLAW HelpLine

• No income guidelines, no fees
• Reaching all areas of the state
• Legal advice, counseling, information and
  referrals
• (HelpLine procedure does not allow volunteer
  attorneys to refer to individual attorneys or
  themselves for direct representation)
• Holistic assessment of seniors needs
• Interpretation available in 150 languages

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Advantages of a Senior Legal HelpLine

• Cost-effective efficient
• Streamlined seamless gateway to Title III-B
  providers other OAA programs
• Specialized training allows for targeted
  accurate referral
• State-specific legal expertise
• Identification of benefits eligibility
• Greater reach to rural/homebound/lacking in
  transportation
• Staffed to reach non-English speaking populations
• Its the legal service most requested by seniors!

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Handling All Areas of Civil Law
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Distribution of Calls to the Pennsylvania
SeniorLAW HelpLine by Region, 7/1/2010-6/30/2011
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Access to Justice
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Wide Range of Legal Questions

• What is the difference between a will and a
  living will?
• I paid a contractor to repair my roof and it
  still leaks. What can I do?
• What rights do I have to visit my grandchildren?
• My husband just went into a nursing home. Will I
  lose my house?
• I co-signed a car loan for my grandson and he
  stopped paying. Am I responsible?
• My landlord says I have to move out by the end of
  the month. Can he do that?
• I inherited some money when my brother died. Do
  I have to pay taxes on it?

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Caller Satisfaction

• Youve been a tremendous help!
• You gave me peace of mind.
• You were very knowledgeable and you gave me the
  information I was looking for.
• This helps me feel more confident.
• I appreciate all the time you spent and I think
  your service is wonderful.
• Keep up the good work!

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Intake

• Intake M-T-W-Th, 10 a.m. 2 p.m.
• Screening for eligibility
• Scheduling appointment with an attorney, within
  a 3-day window
• Email case notes to pro bono attorneys with the
  legal issue(s) and appointment date

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Handling Helpline Calls Part 1Getting Started

• Access HelpLine Materials
• 2012 Legal Resources Directory
• Web Resources PALAWHELP
• Others files as needed
• Introduction and Disclaimer
• DISCLAIMER limited representation
• STATEMENT ABOUT LIMITING SCOPE OF RELATIONSHIP
  Before we begin, I need to say that we are here
  to give you legal information and advice, if
  possible. However, we cannot handle a legal
  matter for you, but if you need an attorney to
  handle a legal matter (such as representing you
  in court), we probably can give you a referral.
  We, of course, will keep this call confidential
  and anything that is said we keep in strict
  confidence in terms of your identity.
• Elicit additional information needed to address
  callers concern

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Handling Helpline Calls Part 2Legal Counseling

• Provide general information and/or specific
  advice IN PLAIN ENGLISH
• Offer to send (or email) educational materials,
  if appropriate
• Verify callers address!
• Check Web Resources
• Assess need for more specialized legal attention,
  in light of callers financial situation
• Inform about follow-up call from staff

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Handling Helpline Calls Part 3Making quality
referrals

• Consult Legal Resources Directory
• Scroll down to callers county
• Also check state-wide listing at end of directory
  (by topic agency)
• Be aware of limitations of referral sources (see
  poverty guidelines)
• Provide additional resources if low-income
• ? Phila Bar Association Modest Means Program
• ? Consumer Bankruptcy Assistance Program
• Notify Helpline staff who will then make
  referral

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Non-legal Referrals

• Mediation
• Credit Counseling
• State agencies (www.pa.gov is useful)
• Area Agency on Aging
• Doctor or social worker

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A typical call I am being sued by Creditor X.
What should I do?

• Is the caller getting collection letters?
• What is the status of the lawsuit?
• Is caller judgment proof?
• Explain possible courses of action and possible
  outcomes
• IF APPROPRIATE refer to CCCS, Legal Services, or
  county bar (for lawyer referral)

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Just the facts maam.
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Interviewing Techniques

• How to get to the legal issues
• 1. Start off the conversation with the
  information your already have (e.g. Hello Mr.
  Doe. I understand you have debt you cannot pay
  and you are getting collection letters from your
  creditors. I need to ask you some questions so I
  can advise you on your legal issue) (By starting
  with the facts you know and following up with
  questions right after often results in the senior
  staying on track with the legal issue).
• 2. Listen respectfully and patiently to a brief
  portion of the senior's story, or as much as you
  feel necessary. This is important because often
  when the senior is telling their story, many
  other legal, as well as non-legal issues will be
  uncovered that you can provide information,
  advice and referrals on. Listening to the senior
  also helps foster a good relationship with the
  senior.

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Interviewing Techniques (cont.)

• 3. Try to quickly find a point in the story to
  voice your concern and then re-direct to asking
  the specific questions you need to get to the
  legal issue(s).
• 4. The senior may, and often does veer off again
  into legally irrelevant facts, but it is
  important to remain patient, yet as quickly as
  possible try to get them back on track

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What you May Uncover by Listening to the Seniors
Story

1. Senior cannot pay his debts since his son moved
   in with him.
2. His son has been taking his credit cards and
   check book to make purchases and write checks.
3. When the senior confronts his son, his son will
   grab him and shake him and tells him he will put
   him into a nursing home.
4. Senior has asked his son to leave but he wont.

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PAProbono.net

• Pennsylvanias online legal resource providing
  information and resources to legal advocates
  interested in increasing access to justice.
• To join go to www.PAProbono.net
• ? Free to use but you must be an approved
  member of a practice area to access materials.

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PAProbono.net (cont.)

• Tools Available in the Practice Areas
• ? Library
• ? Pro Bono Case Listings
• ? Calendar
• ? Legal News
• ? Listservs
• (Please see brochure included in your materials)

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What if the caller has a question you cannot
answer?

• Explain that you do not have expertise in that
  area
• Offer to have Helpline call them back in a day or
  two
• Make a note in the Case Notes box
• Let us know ASAP

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Case Notes form

• PLEASE COMPLETE THE FORM!
• Type your notes so we can copy paste into our
  case management software
• PLEASE RETURN PROMPTLY!
• By return email to rsmith_at_seniorlawcenter.org

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Completing the form Part 1General Information

• Closing notes Briefly indicate what you told the
  caller (in case they call back).
• Research If you spent any time before the call,
  or called the senior back after researching
  issue, count your time here. For 0-15 minutes,
  indicate 15 minutes.

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Completing the form Part 2 End-of-call questions

• Explain that we like to survey callers for our
  records (or for funders good opportunity to
  educate about our non-profit status!)
• Get email address if caller would like to receive
  our e-news, which contains information about
  legal issues that affect senior citizens in
  Pennsylvania

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What if the caller does not answer?

• Leave a message
• Invite them to call the Helpline
• Provide our TOLL-FREE NUMBER (on case notes form)
• Speak slowly and REPEAT!
• Write down the time you called in Notes area
  under your name
• If no answering machine
• Make two attempts
• Write down times you called
• Let us know ASAP!

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Ethical Issues

• PA Rule of Professional Conduct 6.1
• PA Rule of Professional Conduct 6.5
• SeniorLAW Center Confidentiality Policy
• Rule 1.6 A lawyer shall not reveal information
  relating to representation of a client unless the
  client consents after consultation. (SLC Policy
  for more details)
• ? Always ask and remember who is the client?

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Ethical Issues (cont.)Ghost Writing Allowed

• Ghost Writers in Disguise You Can Come Out Now
• No, were not talking about Stephen King, but
  about the ABA Standing Committee on Ethics and
  Professional Responsibility, which issued Formal
  Opinion No. 07-446 on May 5, 2007 regarding the
  practice of ghost writing, or writing legal
  pleadings and papers to be filed or used by
  clients proceeding pro se. The Committee
  concludes,
• A lawyer may provide legal assistance to
  litigants appearing before tribunals "pro se" and
  help them prepare written submissions without
  disclosing or ensuring the disclosure of the
  nature or extent of such assistance.
• The Committee noted that such assistance is a
  common form of unbundled legal services.
• The Committee devotes some time to discussing the
  question of whether the lawyers participation in
  the drafting of such documents must be disclosed
  to the court. The Committee notes that there is a
  divergence of state opinions on the subject, as
  well as an inconsistent view expressed in ABA
  Informal Opinion 1414 (1978), which was based on
  the prior Code of Professional Responsibility.
  The Committee concludes, however, that disclosure
  is not required unless, under the circumstances
  of the case, the lawyers involvement would be a
  material factor such that failure to disclose
  would violate Rule 1.2(d) assisting a client in
  fraudulent conduct, 3.3(b) candor toward
  tribunals, 4.1(b) avoiding fraud by client, or
  8.4(c) dishonesty, fraud, deceit, or
  misrepresentation. The Committee stresses that
  this would only be an issue if the facts of the
  case made the origin of the document material it
  does not find that the drafting of the documents
  or counseling the pro se litigant inherently
  violates any of these rules.

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I cant afford an attorney.

• Legal Services and its limitations
• Pro bono services
• Pro se services (county courts)
• Low fee plans
• Title III providers (AAA)
• Mediation

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Top Ten HelpLine Areas of Law in Need of
Volunteer Attorneys

• Auto dealerships
• Bankruptcy
• Code enforcement violations
• Collections
• Condominiums
• Medicaid estate planning Estate Recovery
• Neighbor disputes (trees, fences, dogs)
• Reverse mortgages
• Time shares
• Trusts
• Contractor issues
• Warranty issues
• Family law

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Contact information

• Bonnie Dahl, Esq.
• Helpline Director
• 215-701-3209 (direct line)
• bdahl_at_seniorlawcenter.org
• Raquel Smith
• Helpline Legal Advocate
• 215-701-3217 (direct line)
• rsmith_at_seniorlawcenter.org

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Pennsylvania Bar Association

• David Keller Trevaskis, Esquire
• 717-571-7414
• dkt_at_pabar.org
• Gabriele Miller-Wagner
• 800-932-0311 ext 2297
• gmw_at_pabar.org
• Check out palawhelp.org and sign up at
  paprobono.net