Legal Aid Volunteer Attorneys
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Northwestern Legal Services, in partnership with the Erie County Bar Association (ECBA), takes pride in their commitment to pro bono representation for low-income people in Erie County. The Legal Aid Volunteer Attorney Program, or LAVA, has been recognized as a model for other pro bono projects around the county.
Since its inception in 1982, over 8,000 low-income clients have received free representation and counsel from members of the Erie County Bar Association. This commitment translates into well over one million dollars of free legal aid for poverty-level individuals and families.
In 2005, LAVA attorneys provided over 1,000 hours of free legal work and accepted 140 new cases on behalf of indigent clients in Erie County.
In addition to the direct legal representation offered by the pro
bono project, LAVA attorneys in the area of family law also serve as
instructors for a pro se divorce clinic in Erie County. We are also
proud of the fact that court reporters have volunteered their pro bono
services to aid in the representation of eligible clients.
LAVA is a success because of the close cooperation between the ECBA and
Northwestern Legal Services. A NWLS staff attorney who is also an ECBA
member coordinates the LAVA program, and an intake screener in the NWLS
Central Intake Unit checks potential clients for income and asset
eligibility, case acceptance criteria, and conflicts of interest. The
LAVA coordinator matches eligible clients with ECBA attorneys, and
oversees the administrative details of the process from intake to case
closing.
Along with the pro bono representation in Erie, attorneys in other
counties within the NWLS service area (such as Venango County) provide
pro bono assistance on occasion. They are called on for help when a
conflict of interest prevents NWLS from assisting a particular client,
or when the type of case lies outside the program priorities and case
acceptance framework.
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