Birmingham Bar Volunteer Lawyers Program eBrief

February 6, 2015

Attorneys Needed for Hague Convention Cases

The US Department of State is seeking volunteer attorneys to represent parents with Hague Convention cases in US Courts for return of, or access to, their children. The Hague Convention Attorney Network is looking for local volunteers to represent a mother in Costa Rica seeking return of her child in Alabaster.

Hague Convention Cases can be filed in State or Federal Court in the jurisdiction in which the child is located. If you would like to accept this case or be included on the attorney list for the Hague Convention, please contact Patricia Hoff at 202-485-6124.

For more information on the Hague Convention Attorney Network, please visit their website.

FREE CLE for Volunteer Attorneys on February 27th

To thank our volunteer attorneys and to provide them the tools they need to defend BBVLP clients, we are holding a free three-hour CLE on Consumer Debt Litigation hosted by Alabama Appleseed Center for Law & Justice and Legal Services Alabama.

Please mark your calendars for 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on February 27th at the Birmingham Bar Center. Participants will learn how to effectively use relevant statutes and case law to help their clients win consumer debt cases.

To qualify for the free CLE, you will have had to volunteer at a Help Desk during the past year or taken a full representation pro bono case. You can also attend the CLE free of charge if you commit to working a Help Desk or commit to accepting a case in 2015.

Clients in Need of a Pro Bono Attorney:

NEW! 15-0002944

Client Needs Help Collecting Judgment

The client has a judgment against a defendant and needs help collecting the judgment.

NEW! 15-0002937

Mother Wants to Adopt Father's Son

The client is married and has a son. The father's wife would like to adopt his son.

NEW! 15-0002946

Client Needs Help Adopting her Cousin

The client has been taking care of her minor cousin for over 7 years and would like to adopt her. The mother has not seen the child since 2007 and there is no father listed on the birth certificate.

NEW! 15-0002848

Father with 2 Children Needs Help with Divorce

The client needs help filing divorce. He has two children from this marriage. They have no property together.

14-0002609

Blind Client Needs Help Collecting Against Contractor

The client has had electrical damage to the appliances in his home. The contractor admitted to the client that he would pay for some but not all of the damage. The client has receipts for all of the damaged property.

15-0002920

Single Mother Needs Help Filing Contempt Against Ex-Husband

Client needs help filing contempt against her ex-husband. The ex-husband has continually violated the final judgment of divorce and the client is extremely fearful of leaving her children with him.

To accept a case, please reply to this e-mail or contact Nancy Yarbrough with the case number.

Thank you to Ms. Kellie S. Avery-Tubb for closing an extended service child custody and support case. Ms. Avery-Tubb helped her client successfully modify her child support and custody agreement.

Thank you to Mrs. Jessica K. Drennan, Kirk Drennan, PC, for obtaining a Final Judgment of Divorce in an extended service case. Mrs. Drennan and her client faced a complicated service of process issue where publication would not benefit the client or her children. Mrs. Drennan was able to locate the husband and obtain a favorable judgment for her client.

Thank you to Mrs. Eugenia "Ginger" Hamilton for closing an extended service divorce case. Mrs. Hamilton obtained a Final Judgment of Divorce for her client at trial.

Thank you to Mrs. Lauren H. Shine, Shine Law Firm, for helping her client obtain a Final Judgment of Divorce. Mrs. Shine and her client encountered several setbacks during the divorce process, including having to have the ex-husband served in jail by hand.

Thank you to Ms. Benita B. Jenkins, The Law Office of Benita Jenkins, for accepting an extended service contempt case for unpaid child support.

Thank you to Ms. Jeannie C. Jones for accepting an extended service case for child support modification and contempt.

Help Desk Opportunities

The BBVLP offers three Help Desks to provide legal services to low income community members every week. The Civil Help Desk is every Monday and Thursday from 8:30 am - Noon at the Jefferson County Courthouse on the 5th Floor. The Domestic Relations Help Desk is every Wednesday from 8:30 am - Noon at the Domestic Relations Courthouse. Please check out the Help Desk calendars for February and March for available time slots. Please reply to this e-mail or contact Nancy Yarbrough to sign up.

Thank you BBVLP Help Desk Volunteer Attorneys!

22 volunteer attorneys assisted 60 clients this week at our Help Desks.

District Court Help Desk: 20 Clients Helped on Monday and Thursday

Sara E. Adams, Lorant Law Group

Patricia A. Doblar

Shaun E. Styers

Rima P. Patel

Eric M. Scott

Rosemary N. Alexander, Shunnarah Injury Lawyers, PC

Loring S. Jones, III, Jones & Associates

Andrew P. Wheeler-Berliner

Joseph G. Waters, Southern Company Services, Inc.

Jennifer M. Buettner, Southern Nuclear Operating Company, Inc.

Domestic Relations Help Desk: 40 Clients Helped on Wednesday

John Carradine Baker

April E. Bauder, Gathings Law

Matthew A. Griffin

Amy M. Hazelton, Southern Company Services, Inc.

Leon K. Johnson

Priscilla L. Kelley

T. Anderson Mears, II

John B. Milledge

Louis M. Montgomery, Bhate Environmental Associates, Inc.

Allan L. Morton, Southern Company Services, Inc.

Megan M. Nix

Rima P. Patel

Birmingham Bar Volunteer Lawyers Program
205-250-5198
nyarbrough@vlpbirmingham.org