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Public: Recent News

Attorneys field calls in Charlotte at WBTV News 3.

“It was a great day to be a lawyer.”

The sentiment, attributed to Caryn McNeill, co-chair of the 4ALL Task Force, was echoed by scores of North Carolina lawyers who participated in Friday’s statewide Public Service Day.

It was, in a word, overwhelming: an overwhelming response from the public met by an equally overwhelming response from the members of the North Carolina Bar Association.

The numbers, while impressive, only tell part of the story. More than 700 lawyers volunteered to provide free legal information at eight call centers statewide. More than 500 attorneys were seated, filling every available shift at every call center throughout the expansive 12-hour workday.

Lawyers in Asheville focus on the task at hand at WLOS News 13.

Attorneys from Legal Aid of North Carolina and Pisgah Legal Services provided call center support, assisting on questions that targeted their practice area. Judges, unassigned attorneys, legal assistants and law students readily accepted roles as “floaters,” assisting as needed while offering encouragement to the volunteers.

Approximately 7,000 calls were fielded; hundreds more went unanswered as the phones rang vigorously in anticipation of the 7 a.m. starting time and long after the volunteers logged off at 7 p.m.

Robin Robinson, left, and Lyana Palmer discuss a call at Williams Mullen in Wilmington.

The response tested the organizational efforts of the 4ALL Task Force and its Participate Working Group at every turn. Given that nothing of this magnitude had ever been attempted by members of the NCBA, if indeed by any bar group in the United States, the outcome was truly amazing.

It became evident at the outset that the call center network of 108 telephones faced perhaps the greatest task of all in meeting the public’s response to this unprecedented opportunity. From all corners of the state, the callers jumped in early and endeavored to reach a North Carolina lawyer, as if they were clamoring for tickets to a sold-out concert or sporting event.

Verlyn Chesson-Porte consults with Dana Simpson on a family law question at ACS, Inc. in Cary.

The Public Service Day never sold out, but it definitely maxed out during the morning hours as an attempt was made to open up more phone lines for the statewide 4ALL phone number. Once this good-faith effort proved untenable, service was restored to the existing network and calls continued non-stop throughout the remainder of the event.

Fortunately, the temporary call routing problem only affected four call centers; the others remained busy with calls routed to their own toll-free numbers which were advertised statewide.

“It was great for the profession,” said NCBA Executive Director Allan Head. “It was great for the North Carolina Bar Association.”

NCBA Past-President Hank Van Hoy is the first to arrive at the BB&T call center in Winston-Salem.

And it was definitely a team effort. From the moment NCBA President Janet Ward Black established the 4ALL campaign to expand the provision of civil legal aid to the poor in North Carolina as the focal point of this bar year, the public service day has been in the works.

“It was an amazing day!” Black exclaimed. “Hundreds of NCBA members helped thousands of North Carolinians in just one day. Callers were so appreciative of the assistance our volunteer lawyers provided.

“We are extremely grateful to our volunteers, the NCBA staff and Legal Aid of North Carolina for pulling off this unprecedented event.”

McNeill and Martin Brinkley are serving as co-chairs of the 4ALL Task Force. The Participate Working Group, co-chaired by Joshua Bennett and Michael Slipsky, played a key role in formulating the service day strategy, flanked by dozens of member volunteers and a determined team of call center site chairs.

Volunteer lawyers are busy in Fayetteville at AIT, Inc.

Call centers were located in Asheville, Cary, Charlotte, Fayetteville, Greensboro, New Bern, Wilmington and Winston-Salem.

Asheville
Sharon Robertson chaired the Asheville call center, which was hosted by WLOS News 13. Eight phones were utilized throughout the day and 838 calls were fielded. The station provided its own direct toll-free number which was extremely helpful in support of the NCBA’s statewide line.

Jack Connors and Rollin Tompkins provided key support on behalf of WLOS.

Cary
ACS, Inc. (Affiliated Computer Services, Inc.) served as host of the call center. Twenty-four lines were used to field 1,032 calls via the statewide toll-free number and their own toll-free number for over half the day.

Jay Hinckley and Tracy Hearns were present throughout the proceedings for ACS, visiting with NCBA President-Elect Charles Becton and the other volunteers. Debbie Smith and Andy Wilson also provided support on behalf of ACS.

Sara Palmer served as chair of the call center throughout the planning process before passing off those duties to Caryn McNeill in order to perform a similar role in Wilmington.

Charlotte
WBTV News 3 hosted the call center, chaired by Karin McGinnis and Anne Randall. Fifteen lines were used to field 1,376 calls. The station provided its own toll-free number which was specially requested to end in “4ALL” (4255).

Helaine Barnett, president of Legal Services Corp., traveled from Washington, D.C. to support the 4ALL endeavor. She was met there by Janet Ward Black and Allan Head who also visited call centers in Greensboro and Asheville.

WBTV’s extensive commitment of staff resources included Shelly Hill, Ron Yoslov, Amanda Rick and Alex Helms.

Fayetteville
The call center was hosted by Advanced Internet Technologies (AIT), Inc., a Fayetteville-based Web services and technology security company that also facilitated the universal toll-free number. Rebecca Britton chaired the call center, which doubled as command central for the NCBA’s technological support team.

Eight lines were used to field 306 calls, but that’s only the tip of the iceberg in regards to AIT’s efforts in promoting and orchestrating the event. Key players on the AIT end included Michael Roberts, Kris Rehder, Dan O’Flaherty, Ian Thieme and Amber Corbin.

Greensboro
WFMY News 2 hosted the call center, which was relocated to The Volunteer Center of Greensboro, housed in the United Way Building. Hollie Rose, Dale Posny and DeRee Burt played prominent roles in Greensboro, bolstering the superstar efforts of WFMY General Manager Deborah Hooper who supported the endeavor from beginning to end.

Kearns Davis chaired the call center, which fielded the largest number of calls, 1,608, via 20 phones.

New Bern
WCTI News 12 hosted the call center, chaired by Stephanie Crosby. Five lines were used in fielding 231 calls, providing a greatly needed downeast component to the statewide initiative.

Don Fisher, Dan Flaxer, Ken Hughes, Erik Hardtle and Ingrid Johansen provided support on behalf of WCTI.

Wilmington
The existence of this call center was made possible by Williams Mullen. The firm dedicated eight phone lines to the event through which 295 calls were taken through the statewide number.

Ryan Rhodenhiser chaired the call center, supported by the Williams Mullen team of Sara Palmer, Ken Shaw, James Williams and Don Budlong.

Winston-Salem
BB&T hosted the Winston-Salem call center, which fielded 1,104 calls through 20 phone lines. Allison Wagner served as chair of this call center, which was made possible in great degree through the efforts of NCBA member David Craven of the BB&T executive team.

Melissa Coad, Jance Hamrick, Mark Hutchens and Shannon Culler also played key roles for BB&T.

All of the individuals and organizations that made the success of this day possible are far too many to mention, from the media outlets who provided promotional support and coverage to the NCBA staff members who blanketed the state to manage the call centers and staff the phones at the N.C. Bar Center and its Lawyer Referral Service.

Plaudits are required, however, for the North Carolina Outdoor Advertising Association, which provided 26 billboards throughout the state for promotion of the event, and Lance and Coca-Cola Bottling Co. Consolidated which provided refreshments for all of the call centers.

But primary thanks and recognition should be extended to and shared by all members of the North Carolina Bar Association – for making the day possible, for making it work, and for making a resounding, affirmative statement on behalf the legal profession in North Carolina.

“To serve the public.”

Thus begins the mission statement of the NCBA. It happens every day.

On Friday, April 4, 2008, it happened in a very big way.

It was, in a word, overwhelming.