COLUMN > PRO BONO ORGANIZATION OF THE MONTH
Q&A WITH LAURIE DAVENPORT, COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR
Q. Tell us a bit about the history of your organization. What is your organization’s philosophy? Why do you do what you do?
Our program has existed since the early 1980s, when we began receiving IOLTA funding; prior iterations go back to the 1960s, connected to the Tacoma-Pierce County Bar Association as a volunteer attorney effort to provide free legal help with civil legal issues for those who could not afford an attorney. We have come from a staff of .5 FTE in 2000 to currently 65 staff, a majority of whom are staff attorneys. We also continue to provide vital legal services using volunteer attorneys, students, and interns. We level the playing field for the most vulnerable who face barriers to accessing the civil justice system and fight to end racism and inequality in our community; staff attorneys work directly in eviction defense, eviction prevention, family safety, and in specific programs serving Native Americans and veterans at risk of homelessness. We do what we do to make our local legal system work for everyone.
Q. Where is your organization located? Do volunteers participate remotely, in person, or both?
Our offices are in downtown Tacoma, close to the courthouse. Volunteers participate both remotely and in person. We also have an extensive outreach program which allows volunteers to participate in regular clinics in a variety of locations around Pierce County.
Q. Who does your organization serve?
Anyone who faces a civil legal issue in a Pierce County court, from municipal court to federal court, regardless of residence. While a majority of our programs are required to screen for eligibility at 200 percent of the federal poverty level, several have no income or geographical restrictions, including those focused on domestic violence survivors, Native Americans, and veterans.
Q. What are the biggest barriers your clients face in accessing legal assistance?
Geographic isolation (lack of public transportation), lack of internet connectivity, language and cultural barriers, disability, literacy (regardless of language), poverty, lack of trust in the legal system, and fear of being deported, jailed, etc.
Q. What area(s) of law do you provide services in?
Landlord-tenant (eviction defense, eviction prevention, client support to access housing); family law (all areas); legal support for Native Americans, veterans, and survivors of domestic violence; and clinical advice programs dealing with wills/estates/probate, consumer issues, bankruptcy, and foreclosure.
Q. Does your organization provide training, CLE credit, or other benefits to volunteers?
Yes. We provide trainings for CLE credit (in addition to the CLE credit available to volunteers) and make lunch/refreshments and access to office support available for volunteers who assist with larger in-person clinics. We present awards to volunteers at our annual volunteer appreciation event and feature a volunteer each month on social media.
Q. Please provide one or two (anonymous) client stories—examples of people who were helped and how.
One client was a single father of four children, facing eviction for nonpayment of rent.
During the pandemic, he had to stop working after his youngest child, a 3-year-old, broke their femur twice. His work hours were further impacted when his family contracted COVID-19 multiple times, leading to lost wages and financial hardship. The client’s goal was to remain at the property because of the proximity to his job and his children’s school. His sister also lived in the same neighborhood, so he wanted to remain close to his extended family to receive additional support.
Our Housing Justice Project staff attorney, Brittany Jones, was assigned by the court to defend the client in the eviction action; she assisted the client with the processing of his rental assistance application and negotiated a settlement to preserve the tenancy.
Ultimately, the eviction case was dismissed, and the court also issued an Order for Limited Dissemination to keep the eviction off his record. After the case was dismissed, Jones continued to assist the client in negotiating the removal of late fees and attorney fees from his tenant ledger. The client is now working full-time, and he and his four children still live at the property that was the subject of the eviction case.
Q. What does a typical weekly or monthly commitment look like for a volunteer? How many hours? How many clients?
Completely at the discretion of the volunteer. Some work several hours a week. Our system generally works through opportunities to provide advice and brief services through clinics, so one volunteer may help a number of different clients over a month if they work at one or more clinics.
Q. What do volunteers say they enjoy most about serving clients through your organization?
Most often heard—they love what they are empowered to do in our clinics.
Q. Are you currently in need of volunteers? If so, how can legal professionals reach out to get involved?
Always. Our volunteer program coordinator is Melissa Wolkenhauer, who can be reached at melissaw@tacomaprobono.org.
Q. What gaps in our existing system(s) does your organization fill?
The largest gap is simply access. No one who is experiencing poverty can afford to hire an attorney for a civil legal issue. Family law issues are the most egregious example. There are multiple services provided by our organization and others, but accessing them in a timely, appropriate fashion is extremely difficult for our client population. We help to fill this gap by providing an extensive outreach program, in-person intake hours, and availability of an online application.
Q. What would you most want readers to know about the type of work your organization does and the type of people who need your services?
We are focused on ending inequality and racism in our community one person at a time by solving issues they would otherwise not have been able to address through timely, professional, appropriate, wraparound services. The people we help are experiencing crisis, often close to becoming homeless, and face multiple barriers to finding help.
LEARN MORE > To learn more about the work done by Tacomaprobono Community Lawyers and to get involved, please visit https://tacomaprobono.org/.
About the author
Laurie Davenport was the director of Tacomaprobono Community Lawyers (formerly Tacoma-Pierce County Bar Association Volunteer Legal Services Program) between 2001 and 2021. She is a graduate of the University of Washington (Seattle) and worked in technology management at both the UW School of Law and Seattle University School of Law prior to moving back to her hometown of Tacoma; she is currently communications director for Tacomaprobono Community Lawyers.