BBVLP website
February 27, 2015 eBrief
Denise Welch, Legal Services of Alabama Attorney, explains how to win consumer credit cases against large-scale debt buyers.
43 Attorneys attend Consumer Credit CLE

Attorneys who volunteer with the BBVLP or plan to volunteer took part in a three-hour CLE today sponsored by the BBVLP to learn how to better represent low-income clients in debt litigation cases.

Shay Farley, Legal Director with Alabama Appleseed, and Denise Welch, Attorney with Legal Services of Alabamaexplained to participants how to win their cases for low-income clients.

Many low-income clients are wrongly sued for debt that they never acquired. Others do not receive due process because creditors fail to serve the clients with notice of court hearings. Still others have their wages garnished without ever being told why.

Both Farley and Welch said that for low-income clients to be successful the first thing they need is the help of volunteer attorneys, which is why your participation in the BBVLP is so important. 

Thank you Alabama Appleseed and Legal Services of Alabama for allowing Farley and Welch to share their knowledge with the BBVLP!
Shay Farley, Alabama Appleseed Legal Director, talks about how Alabama consumer debt laws are stacked against low-income people.

43 attorneys who volunteer with the Birmingham Bar Volunteer Lawyers Program or plan to volunteer took part in today's CLE.
Back to our Regularly Scheduled Help Desks

Please sign up for a Help Desk session on the BBVLP website because we expect a lot of clients starting next week as the weather gets better.
Clients in Need of a Pro Bono Attorney:


NEW! 15-0003063

Blind Client Needs Help Getting Title to his Deceased Mother's House

Late in 2013, the Client lost his vision shortly after his mother passed away. He had been living with his mother prior to her passing and has continued to do so ever since. The client has no siblings and is unaware of any other heirs. The house is in his mother's name and he would like to get title in his name.

 

NEW! 14-0001575

Father Needs Help with Visitation for his Children

A father of two is being prevented from seeing his children by his ex-wife. The ex-wife has been intentionally withholding visitation on weekends, holidays, and birthdays. The ex-wife also monitors all phone calls the children have with their father and won't talk to him about the children's grades. The father is on disability and pays child support.

 

NEW! 15-0002946

Client Wants to Adopt her Abandoned Cousin

The client has been taking care of her young cousin since the cousin was abandoned by her mother seven years ago. The birth certificate does not list a father. The client wants to adopt her cousin and make her a permanent part of her family.

 

NEW! 15-0002983

Grandmother Wants to Provide a Better Life for her Grandchildren

A grandmother needs help adopting her three grandchildren. The children's father passed away in 2011 and the grandmother has had sole custody of them ever since. The mother will consent to the adoption.

 

NEW! 14-0002634
Mother Needs Help in Upcoming Divorce Trial
The client is a mother who signed temporary custody over to her husband while the divorce has been pending. The mother has been paying child support during this time. The divorce trial is set for May and the mother desperately needs representation. The parties have already been to mediation.

15-0002974

Client Needs Help with Probate Issue

The client was supposed to get his brother's house through his will. However, another brother got title by getting the incapacitated brother to sign over the deed on his deathbed. The client needs to open the estate and get the house that his brother wanted him to have.

 

14-0000551 and 14-0000547

Two Clients Need Help Finishing Bankruptcy Process

Two clients need help with Chapter 7 Bankruptcy. These clients have been working with a volunteer attorney and have already started the process of filing for bankruptcy. Unfortunately, the attorney has had to pull out of the cases and these clients need guidance. Both clients are extremely motivated and organized. They have already taken credit counseling courses but need help from an attorney to finish things up. Please consider taking one or both of these cases. 

 
To accept a case, please reply to this e-mail or contact Nancy Yarbrough 
with the case number.
Thank you to Joseph P. Callaway, Boyd Fernambucq & Dunn, for accepting an extended service divorce case. 

Thank you to Brett A. JanichLloyd Gray Whitehead Monroe, and John C. Guin, Campbell Guin Williams Guy & Gidiere, for accepting an extended service probate case. They will be helping a client work with a mortgage company about his deceased mother's house.

Thank you to Andrew P. Wheeler-Berliner, 23rd Street Law, for accepting an extended service case. Mr. Wheeler-Berliner will be helping his client recover money owed to her by another individual.

Thank you to Loring S. Jones, III, Jones & Associates, for accepting an extended service guardianship case. Mr. Jones will be helping his client get guardianship and power of attorney for her two children. One of her children is disabled and the other is unresponsive in ICU. 
Thank you to Melissa L. Doggett for closing an extended service divorce case. Ms. Doggett helped a mother gain custody over her two-year old child and receive child support payments. 

Thank you to Ginger Hamilton for closing two extended service divorce cases. In the first case, Mrs. Hamilton helped an elderly woman obtain a divorce after a contemptuous marriage. The ex-husband refused to agree to spousal support for the wife who had not worked throughout their 40-year marriage. In the second case, Mrs. Hamilton helped her client get a divorce where the ex-husband had deserted over ten years ago. Mrs. Hamilton helped her client obtain service by publication and get a Final Judgment of Divorce. 
Thank you BBVLP Help Desk Volunteer Attorneys!

Due to the weather, the BBVLP had to cancel the Wednesday and Thursday Help Desks.

District Court Help Desk: 7 Clients Helped on Monday
Michael D. Florie, Starnes Davis Florie, LLP
E. De Martenson,  Huie Fernambucq & Stewart, LLP
Eric M. Scott