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2010 News Articles › Citizen Lawyer Profile: Kim Sieredzki
Citizen Lawyer Profile: Kim Sieredzki
Article Date: Tuesday, June 01, 2010
KIMBERLY W.
SIEREDZKI
Residence:
Clayton
Education: University
of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (B.A.), Campbell University School
of Law (J.D.)
Firm: N.C. Office of
Appellate Division Reporters, Raleigh
Practice areas: Writes
headnotes for N.C. Supreme Court and Court of Appeals
reporters.
On being a Citizen Lawyer: "I like to do
this type of work, but I also consider it part of my duty as a
lawyer. And I have children, and I want them to understand that
it's important to help people who are in your community."
STORY
During her one-year tenure as chair of the
N.C. Bar Association's Young Lawyers Division in 2007-2008,
Kimberly Sieredzki had many service projects she could have chosen
to focus on.
But one project in particular caught her attention:
Wills for Heroes.
The program, started by an attorney from South
Carolina in the aftermath of 9/11, is aimed at ensuring that law
enforcement officers, firefighters and emergency medical
technicians have basic estate-planning documents in place should
tragedy strike in the line of duty.
"These are people who are not taught to think about
death. They're taught to save people. So, they're not the types who
are going to go out and get a will," said Sieredzki, recently
chosen as a 2010 Citizen Lawyer award winner by the N.C. Bar
Association.
"I looked at this as a good public service, and I
thought it would be a good way for us to create good will. It was
an opportunity to do a lot of good at one time."
Working with North Carolina estate-planning
attorneys, Sieredzki adopted a program for the state's
first-responder community and launched it with astounding success
in October 2007 in Charlotte in conjunction with the American Bar
Association's YLD Fall Conference.
During a one-day event staffed by a team of
volunteers that included attorneys, paralegals, notaries public and
law students, more than 200 wills were prepared free of charge for
the area's first responders. It turned out to be the largest Wills
for Heroes event in the country.
Since then, the program has soared in North Carolina.
There have been 14 Wills for Heroes events staged throughout the
state, with each one receiving a heavy turnout of first responders
and generating a tremendous amount of appreciation from those
served.
"There was a real need there," Sieredzki said, "and
there was an opportunity to help."
Sieredzki, a Clayton resident who writes
headnotes for North Carolina Supreme Court and Court of Appeals
decisions, didn't let up after her one-year stint as YLD
chair.
She went on to serve as a co-chair for the next two
years of the 4ALL Task Force, which was launched by former NCBA
President Janet Ward Black in 2007 to bolster the provision of
civil legal services for the state's poverty-level residents.
As part of her duties, Sieredzki has helped to
organize the largest, single-day service event the NCBA conducts
each year: the 4ALL Statewide Service day, in which lawyers provide
free legal advice to callers at call centers across the
state.
This year, the massive project involved call centers
in seven cities, including the first Spanish-speaking call center,
and fielded a record 8,467 calls.
"It's something that helps the public have a better
perception of attorneys, and I really think it makes attorneys feel
good about themselves and reminds them, 'This is exactly why I
became a lawyer,'" Sieredzki said. "And if you can do all of that
in one day, it's that much better."
When she isn't undertaking large volunteer projects
for the NCBA, Sieredzki can be found working with local Girl Scouts
or serving as a classroom mom for her two
children, Jennifer, 8, and Michael, 6.
The community work she engages in, she said, is
actually meant to inspire them.
"I like to do this type of work, but I also consider
it part of my duty as a lawyer," she said. "And I have children,
and I want them to understand that it's important to help people
who are in your community."
About the Citizen Lawyer Award
The NCBA Citizen Lawyer Award was
established in 2007 to recognize lawyers who provide exemplary
public service to their communities. Honorees include elected and
appointed government officials, coaches, mentors and voluntary
leaders of non-profit, civic and community organizations. Since
2007, there have 64 recipients of the award.
About the N.C. Bar
Association|
The North Carolina Bar Association, founded
in 1899, is a voluntary organization of lawyers, paralegals and law
students dedicated to serving the public and the legal profession.
The N.C. Bar Center in Cary serves as headquarters for the NCBA and
the NCBA Foundation, Inc. Though similar, the NCBA (www.ncbar.org)
and the mandatory North Carolina State Bar (www.ncbar.gov) are not
affiliated.