Pro bono clinics open in Moses Lake

Volunteer attorney program draws 'overwhelming' response

MOSES LAKE — Apparently, it's not hard to find people in the area with legal needs.

The North Columbia Community Action Council held its first pro bono legal clinic Tuesday afternoon, and already the first appointments were booked, said NCCAC Executive Director Ken Sterner.

"Overwhelming," he said of the response. "We are not having any problem with the number of people looking for services."

Tuesday's clinic was booked, and the clinic was booked for the next week, too, he said.

NCCAC executive assistant Gricelda Ohrazda echoed Sterner's assertion.

"The phones have not stopped ringing, and it's awesome," she said.

Ohrazda said that she facilitates the appointment between clients and attorneys. Clients call the Northwest Justice Project Coordinated Legal Education Advice and Referral System (CLEAR) program, which screens them for the program and faxes a referral.

Approximately 30 attorneys have signed on to volunteer for the pro bono clinic, Sterner said.

"Most of the folks that we're going to be seeing are probably going to be more associated with family law issues, such as landlord-tenant law, issues such as custody, and to a certain extent we may see some folks that have some domestic issues," he said.

"I think it's going well," Ohrazda said. "We're excited and clients are excited because they've been waiting a while for this …. They really need somebody. Sometimes it's just to sit face-to-face and listen to what they have to say and their suggestions. That just makes them feel so much better."

She said she sees where many people may have a need, but cannot go see an attorney because of the high price.

The NCCAC used to fund a part-time attorney to see cases on an individual basis, until funding dried up, Sterner said. In addition, the need for legal services has grown with the community to the point where there is more than a part-time attorney can handle.

"What we decided about a year ago is that the only way we were really going to be able to serve that increase was to go out and solicit volunteers," he said. "We abandoned our staff attorney program and started to work on volunteers."

The NCCAC made local contacts and began to work with the local Bar Association, forming a committee of attorneys helping to put together a volunteer legal program.

"Community Action is providing the administrative support under our umbrella," he said, noting that translation services are also available.

For the next few months, the program will meet twice every month or every other week, Sterner said, depending on the number of cases and volunteers. Eventually it may work its way up to once a week, he said.

One attorney will set aside a certain amount of time and see individuals for a period of time, typically half an hour in length, Sterner said, trying to provide some advice and direction.

Volunteer attorneys can apply their time towards Continuing Learning Education, or CLE, credits that they're required to earn each year, he added.

"I think as an attorney you have an obligation to the community," said attorney Ted Vanden Bosch, the first to volunteer his services at the clinic. "I really didn't know or realize how many people in our community need our help."

The clinic comes at a time when the local Bar Association has been portrayed in a negative light, Sterner said, noting recent disbarments or suspension of local attorneys as an example.

"I think this is an opportunity, and I think they see it as an opportunity to say, 'We're part of the community too and we give back to the community,'" Sterner said.

"To me, it's like we were born with gifts, and I think if we can give a little bit of that without asking for anything back, then that's what we're here for," Ohrazda said.

Vanden Bosch said that the people he's helping have no other means to the legal system, and noted that problems are not always resolved in the courtroom.

"Just having a correspondence from an attorney that tries to resolve a matter where everybody's happy with the resolution is the greatest thing I can contribute," he said. "There's a need, and that need is as real as a problem any client, any person, regardless of means to pay for it, or not, would have, and they would expect some sort of just resolution."