Two local professionals hold up an example for volunteers
Attorney spurs legal clinic for women in need
In Kelly Walsh’s five years as deputy prosecutor in Bend, Ore., she tried countless cases of child abuse, domestic violence and sex crimes. In 2005, she transferred to Schwabe, Williamson and Wyatt’s Vancouver law office, but the needs of women in abusive relationships stuck with her.
Schwabe, Williamson and Wyatt serves business clients across the Northwest and has other offices in Portland, Bend, Salem and Seattle.
About a year ago when Walsh was on the YWCA of Clark County’s public policy board, she approached Executive Director Kathy Kniep about whether her legal services could be of use to the YWCA.
"It was like Christmas," said Sherri Bennett, SafeChoice Domestic Violence program director. "That doesn’t happen, it was amazing. We said, ‘Okay, I’m sure we can find something for you to do.’"
SafeChoice offers temporary short-term shelter for women seeking safety from abusive relationships, and supplies emergency food and clothing, a legal advocate, weekly domestic violence support groups, counseling and referrals to community resources.
Several years ago, it employed a full-time attorney and paralegal with federal Violence Against Women Act grant funding.
But when the funding dried up, so did the positions.
Walsh and YWCA’s legal advocate Margo Priebe put their heads together, and with the help of the Clark County Volunteer Lawyers Program, dreamed up the SafeChoice Legal Clinic. Priebe helps clients with paperwork for protection orders, parenting and general advocacy, but for all legal advice, they are now able to consult with Walsh at no cost.
A month into operation, she already has a case load. Walsh meets with four women who are referred by Priebe or other YWCA advocates confidentially every other Monday night.
"These are women who are ready to make a change," said Walsh, who in September was appointed to the YWCA of Clark County’s board of directors. "It’s nice that we can be a resource for them, they just need a little help."
For the time being, full representation is not available, but Bennett said she hopes the clinic will expand with more attorneys stepping forward to volunteer.
Ethical responsibility
Providing service for those who can’t afford it is just part of being a good business, said David Bartz Jr., shareholder at Schwabe, Williamson and Wyatt’s Portland office.
"Pro bono is a responsibility of every lawyer," he said. "It’s part of our payback to the community as part of the special privilege of being licensed as lawyers."
Pro bono work is not required by the Oregon or Washington bar associations, but is encouraged and expected by them. Schwabe, Williamson and Wyatt has pushed it as a firm for many years, Bartz said.
"We think it’s part of what being a good lawyer is about," he said. "As a law firm grows, one of the things you have to keep an eye on is pro bono work."
In 1991, the Portland office became the founder and funding agent for a low-income legal clinic that serves the Hispanic population of east Multnomah County. The program is coordinated in partnership with the Oregon Law Center, a nonprofit organization that provides staff assistance and Spanish translation to the volunteer attorneys.
In 1992, the Seattle office began sponsoring a clinic run by Legal Action Center at Catholic Community Services of Western Washington by supplying volunteers and funding to make the already-established program more robust, said Dennis Dunphy, a Seattle shareholder. Schwabe also pays for half of the salary of a law student to work as a paralegal at the clinic that focuses primarily on reducing homelessness by preventing unnecessary or unfair evictions through counseling and court representation.
"Pro bono is part of what we’re evaluated on at the firm – are you doing your part for the community?" Dunphy said. "It makes the firm a good part of the community."
Setting up or becoming part of a pro bono clinic doesn’t have to be difficult or expensive, Bartz said.
Joining up with existing providers is a good idea, Bartz said.
"We’re filling a need in a system that was already there," he said. "It was pretty easy to say, ‘These are the systems, we just need to expand the services.’"
Hurdles may include covering liability or malpractice insurance for the attorneys. In the YWCA clinic’s case, the Volunteer Lawyers Program is providing malpractice insurance.
Finding a location for a clinic also can prove expensive. The Portland clinic was first housed in a church, but has moved to the Schwabe offices. Some personnel also may be required.
Walsh said attorney time may add up, but it’s not necessarily true that every hour she is working at the YWCA could be a billable hour of work for Schwabe’s paying customers.
"The expenses generally aren’t expensive," Bartz said. "In Kelly’s case, it’s mostly been her hard work. Sweat equity rather than hard dollars."
Vancouver dentist named citizen of the year
Clark County attorneys aren’t in the only sector providing valuable services to the underprivileged at no cost.
The Washington State Dental Association recently named Vancouver dentist Eugene Sakai as its 2006 citizen of the year for his dedication to the dentally underserved in Southwest Washington through the Free Clinic of SW Washington.
The clinic provides free medical and vision care for the uninsured through donations and volunteers, and which recently started a dental program. In July 2005, an anonymous donor gave a 31-foot motor home, now dubbed the Dental Express, which has become a dentist’s office on wheels.
Sakai was involved with Smile Savers, a nonprofit agency that provided dental care to uninsured children and families, before it went out of business in 2004. Without the service, hundreds of Clark County residents had few places to turn for dental care.
In response, Sakai, who also sits on the clinic’s dental advisory board, rallied local dentists to volunteer for the clinics in the Dental Express. Now, about 40 local dentists, dental assistants and hygienists volunteer through the Free Clinic of SW Washington, said Ann Gilbert, dental program coordinator.
"Dr. Sakai is a man with vision," Gilbert said. "His vision is to take care of this population, and he is always looking for ways to do that. Through the years, he has been a constant thread to get us to this point, and pushes everyone to get involved. In a word, he is invaluable."
Gilbert said she receives at least 10 phone calls a day from people who need dental care and can’t afford it.
"There is such a huge need in this community and we can’t even begin to address it," she said.
The clinic serves about 200 people a month currently, but if it expands by providing sealant clinics at local school districts and McDonald’s restaurants, it could help as many as 350, depending on the number of volunteers helping out, Gilbert said.
"I can’t begin to express what Dr. Sakai’s work has meant to the populations I work with," said Melody Scheer, the oral health coordinator at the Clark County Health Department.
