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Public: Recent News

For Janet Ward Black, newly inducted president of the North Carolina Bar Association, July 4, 2007, is more than just a day to celebrate national freedom. This Independence Day marks the launch of the NCBA’s “4ALL” campaign to improve access to legal services for North Carolina’s poor.

According to the 2005 census, North Carolina has a population of 8.2 million people, which is approximately double the size of the state in 1950. Of this population, 2.9 million qualify for legal services under federal poverty guidelines. 

“Justice for all is a cornerstone of our democracy,” Black said. “'4ALL' is an updated twist on the phrase 'one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all' from the Pledge of Allegiance.”

With a year-long calendar of activities already taking shape, the 4ALL campaign will culminate April 4, 2008, with a statewide legal services day. On that day, North Carolinians will be able to call a toll-free number and ask questions of attorneys all across the state for free.

Janet Ward Black

“We plan to partner with the media to make this a reality,” the Greensboro attorney added. “Newspapers, radio stations, Web sites, television stations and other information outlets will be invited to participate in the 4ALL campaign, connecting the public with qualified attorneys. In addition to the toll-free number, this connection through local media will be of tremendous importance to raise awareness of the services Legal Aid provides.”

Legal Aid of North Carolina provides attorneys for low income North Carolinians. It has 122 lawyers in 24 regional offices to serve almost 3 million people in the state.

“It is a sad reality, but Legal Aid has to turn people away because they're simply understaffed,” Black said. “The 4ALL campaign is designed to raise awareness of this epidemic and to bring the needs of Legal Aid into focus across North Carolina. This is a statewide problem that requires statewide attention.”

Legal Aid of North Carolina has enough resources to help only about 20% of those eligible for services because of inadequate staff.  The other 80% will be without legal help when facing issues such as domestic violence, child custody/support, predatory lending, and consumer fraud. The average income of Legal Aid clients is $9,100 annually.  Of the people Legal Aid is able to help, 80% are the working poor and 75% are women.

In addition to raising awareness among the general public, a major part of the 4ALL campaign will be to educate lawyers about poverty in North Carolina and the shortcomings of current Legal Aid resources to serve the population.

To this end, N.C. Supreme Court Chief Justice Sarah Parker is convening the first-ever public summit on the provision of legal services to the poor on October 12 in Raleigh. “Not only will Chief Justice Parker’s summit focus attention on this important issue for the legal community,” Black said, “but it will also provide a remarkable educational opportunity for the public and North Carolina lawmakers.”

Black was installed as the 113th president of the NCBA on June 23, and has wasted no time ramping up the 4ALL campaign.

“The result of an 80-percent-unmet need,” Black said in her installation address, “is small children unprotected from family violence; parents who can’t collect child support or avail themselves of legal solutions to remove themselves from abuse. Senior citizens, many victims of predatory lending, lose their homes to foreclosure. Seriously ill children are denied medical treatment because of a mass of public benefit red tape they can’t wade through.

“Every North Carolinian deserves access to justice, not just those who can afford it.”

The campaign’s Web site, www.4allnc.org, has been activated and will be updated continually throughout the year as the 4ALL initiative grows.

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For more information concerning the 4ALL campaign:

Janet Ward Black, Ward Black Law, 208 W. Wendover Avenue, Greensboro, NC 27401, 336-333-2244, jwblack@wardblacklaw.com

Russell Rawlings, Director of Communications, North Carolina Bar Association, 8000 Weston Parkway, Cary, NC 27513, 919-677-0561, rrawlings@ncbar.org

George Hausen, Executive Director, Legal Aid of North Carolina, PO Box 26087, Raleigh, NC 27611, 919-856-2130, georgeh@legalaidnc.org

Michelle Cofield, Executive Director, Chief Justice’s Equal Access to Justice Commission, 8000 Weston Parkway, Cary, NC 27513, 800-662-7407, mcofield@ncbar.org