Serving Statewide Across A Very Wide State: Pro Bono Needs Are Evident In Every District
When the fifth edition of the North Carolina Pro Bono Honor Society was announced earlier this year, Foundation and Development Manager Jared Smith of the N.C. Equal Access to Justice Commission included a listing of the pro bono attorneys by judicial district.
In so doing, Smith helped underscore a very important aspect of the N.C. Pro Bono Resource Center initiative: the legal needs of our citizens are as vast as the state is wide.
Fortunately, thanks in large part to the members of the North Carolina Bar Association and the programs of the North Carolina Bar Foundation, pro bono service and pro bono opportunities are accessible from every county in the state.
Sarah Beth Withers of Inner Banks Legal Services in Washington participates in a wide range of pro bono programs, including the Lawyer on the Line program of Legal Aid of North Carolina and the ABA’s Free Legal Answers program, in which the NCBF has participated since 2017.
“And I represented several clients with legal issues both in and out of court,” Withers said. “I enjoy volunteering my time with NC Free Legal Answers as I can fit it into my personal schedule (5 minutes here, 10 minutes there), and offer guidance to people in need throughout the state.
“However, the most meaningful and enjoyable is the direct client representation. I have one client who I represented pro bono who makes a point to pop into the office periodically just to say, ‘thank you,’ and tell us how much better things are. It’s seeing the effect and overall improvement of my client’s situation that I find to be the most rewarding.”
Economics, she adds, should not be the deciding factor in whether a civil legal need is met.
“Pro bono services are an important part of making our courts available to all citizens,” Withers said. “It is also important to me professionally, as it gives me a chance to learn areas of the law that I do not usually practice in. It allows me to sharpen my skills and broadens the services I can provide to my community and clients.”
Catherine E. Thompson of Greenville has a similar outlook, in that she doesn’t limit her pro bono service to areas of the law she currently focuses on. Thompson serves of counsel with Colombo Kitchin Attorneys, where her practice centers on civil litigation, estate planning and estate administration. She has litigated family matters in the past, but had not handled family court litigation for some time.
“So this matter was interesting because it was different from my regular caseload,” said Thompson, whose pro bono activities in 2020 involved helping a woman obtain an award of alimony.
“When I met my client, she was suffering from health problems, including obesity, diabetes, and depression, and she was on disability leave from her job.” Thompson said. “She sat in my office and wept as she showed me pictures of the family home, which her husband had abandoned. Those pictures illustrated a pattern of physical neglect of their dwelling, of her, and of their family.
“When her husband failed to respond to my pleadings or discovery requests, I resolved to present my client’s evidence and tell her compelling story to the court in order to help her and her family. I worked hard to prepare our case, determined that I was going to help my client. That preparation paid off in the form of an award of alimony from the court.”
After winning the award for her client, Thompson said, she was like a new person.
“She lost weight, her glucose levels improved, and she began to smile and to laugh once more,” Thompson said. “She called me her ‘angel.’ She brought me a silk rose, and wrote to me:
You put the ‘Awe’ in ‘Awesome.’ Words cannot express the love and appreciation that has developed between us I will forever be grateful for your time, love and hard work on my behalf. May God richly bless the work of your hands. Love, Mrs. A.
“My client’s physical transformation, her words of affirmation, and her renewed spirit inspire me,” Thompson concluded. “I had the privilege of being able to use my gifts of education and legal experience to help someone in need. There is no higher honor than to improve someone else’s life through public service.”
Richard P. Cook is the owner and managing attorney of Cape Fear Dept Relief in Wilmington. Every year he provides pro bono representation to several clients who file for Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection who otherwise cannot afford an attorney.
“Additionally,” Cook said, “I help certain bankruptcy clients pursue adversary proceedings (lawsuits), pro bono, within their case because it is necessary for their bankruptcy case to work. As part of these pro bono adversary proceedings, sometimes these cases go up on appeal.
“One of my more memorable pro bono adversary proceedings was suing the U.S. Department of Education on a legal issue that had never been litigated before. We were seeking to eliminate Parent Plus student loans as being a constructively fraudulent obligation. Unfortunately, we lost the adversary proceeding, but I believe it helped as a test case to show how such a claim could prevail in the future. Hopefully I will be able to succeed with the next case on this issue against the Department of Education.”
Cook believes providing pro bono services such as he does are necessary because it might be the only way to change or establish precedent in this area of the law.
“In bankruptcy, my clients generally start with limited resources,” Cook said. “However, my clients’ adversaries in bankruptcy (national banks, insurance carriers, and governmental entities) have nearly unlimited resources. If my clients need to take a controversial issue up on appeal (whether as the appellant or appellee), then the only way to see the issue through to completion, is by handling the case pro bono. By resolving an unsettled issue on appeal, in favor of bankruptcy debtors, this precedent can help future clients by saving them time and money.”
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Cook is currently working on a pro bono adversary proceeding that is appealing a ruling to the Supreme Court of the United States.
“This appeal is seeking to overturn 30 years of bankruptcy precedent from the Supreme Court,” Cook said. “The only way that such an appeal could be possible is by handling the case pro bono. If the 30 years of bad precedent from the Supreme Court is overturned, bankruptcy debtors across the country should be able to benefit. It is very likely no such challenge to this bad precedent has been made before now because of the costs involved in such an endeavor.”
Floyd Henry (Trey) Cooke III of Christina Rivenbark & Associates in Wilmington provided pro bono service through Emancipate North Carolina.
“I teamed up with Emancipate North Carolina and fellow Wilmington attorneys Vanessa Gonzalez and Ryan Fairchild to provide pro bono criminal defense services for several people arrested in the Black Lives Matter protests,” said Cooke, pictured here with his wife and fellow attorney Monique Kreisman. “I used my knowledge and skills as an attorney to advocate for people who were being silenced and ensure that the right of the people to speak and to peacefully assemble was not tread upon.”
Attorneys, he added, have the tremendous privilege of being the gatekeepers of justice.
“By providing pro bono services for the Black Lives Matter protesters, I gave people a voice and defended our constitution. I will look back on my involvement in these cases fondly for the rest of my career.”
LeeAnne Quattrucci also practices in Wilmington. She is a first-generation college student and a first-generation lawyer.
“Simply put, I went to law school to help people,” Quattrucci said. “Pro bono work was a win-win: it was a way to help people while simultaneously getting experience that made me felt less unprepared for the first-generation experience.
“I did not know any attorneys growing up, so I had to meet them. Pro bono projects enabled me to network with likeminded attorneys. It also helped me hone practical legal skills that went beyond the pages of our textbooks. Pro bono work and experience made me a better law student and ultimately a better lawyer.”
Pro bono work, she added, also serves as a much-needed reminder of why she chose to become a lawyer.
“One of my favorite pro bono projects is the 4ALL Statewide Service Day,” Quattrucci said. “My pro bono work with the domestic violence shelter is also near and dear to my heart. If a project moves me, then I will give of my time and resources to participate.”
Rhyan A. Breen of Breen Law in Wilson delivers pro bono service through numerous activities, from providing free consultations to individuals for civil and criminal matters to helping individuals become eligible for reinstatement of their driving privileges to representing clients in criminal and juvenile court who could not afford to pay attorney fees. He also assists individuals with wills and powers of attorney, helps small nonprofits devise strategies to raise funds and helped businesses pivot during the pandemic so that they could find alternative revenue streams.
“Helping these clients, with whatever their needs were, was meaningful and enjoyable,” Breen said. “I do not know if I can prioritize these activities as being more enjoyable or meaningful than others. I do know that I was able to make able to make a difference in the lives of these clients.
“When I was a kid, I had a Boy Scout leader who used to tell us after camping that ‘we need to leave our campsite a little better than we found it.’ And I have taken that small nugget of wisdom and applied it to my practice. I think it is incumbent upon us as lawyers, citizens, and humans to do the same for the world. If we can help, we must. We need to leave our world a little better than we found it.”
Robert M. Talley of Ocean Isle Beach provides pro bono service as General Counsel at Brunswick Family Assistance Agency, Inc. (BFA), the largest family social services nonprofit agency in Brunswick County. He became involved with the organization as a volunteer in 2016 following a career spanning more than four decades and culminating as President-Corporate & General Counsel for a large global corporation. He was appointed to the board of BFA in 2017 and named general counsel in 2019.
“As the first GC to serve BFA,” Talley said, “I have undertaken to bolster various aspects of the organization, for example, in employment, governance, compliance, legal reviews, etc. Most recently, the COVID pandemic greatly affected the way BFA continued to operate during altered personnel, client and volunteer approaches, and this required rapid development of policies and adaptation of organization bylaws.
“Also, establishing a legal review process for previously unreviewed matters has set a productive and meaningful impact, like employment actions, contracts, leases, systems agreements, external audit, etc. This has increased the organization’s focus on risk assessment and management.”
Advising the board and executive committee on legal matters, he added, has heightened BFA leadership’s awareness of legal considerations.
“I have been keenly involved in key policy development, such as drafting a comprehensive employee handbook and other various policies for employees and volunteers,” Talley said. “Being that BFA is an organization that delivers a noble and significant community impact has been incredibly rewarding and I have been able to impart executive, business and legal skills to the organization.”
Talley, who is licensed in North Carolina, Pennsylvania and New Jersey, has always viewed serving the community and professional organizations as an inherent aspect of his career.
“I have served on the board of the United Way, homeowners’ associations, been elected twice to local public office, served in significant leadership positions with the Association of Corporate Counsel (ACC), state business councils, actively supported various charities, among others,” Talley said.
“Moreover, I have made this service to community and profession a hallmark that I imparted to those in my organizations as an essential element of being fulfilled and making a difference. What’s more, these activities give a broader perspective, engender a fuller understanding of community, and serve as an excellent networking medium.”
It was certainly no surprise to see the name of Constantine H. (Costi) Kutteh among the names of attorneys recognized as members of the Pro Bono Honor Society. Kutteh, who practices with Pope McMillan P.A. in Statesville, received the NCBA Citizen Lawyer Award in 2011.
“I have always been engaged in community service,” Kutteh said, “and see this as a logical and necessary extension of my public engagement.”
He cited two pro bono activities as especially meaningful and enjoyable.
“First,” Kutteh said, “volunteering for the Lawyer on the Line program with Legal Aid allows me the opportunity to assist individual folks with very specific, time-sensitive issues, which to them are often very formative life-altering issues. While almost all of this is done remotely, even in non-pandemic times, being able to console these clients in a time of great need is reassuring to them and to me.
“Second, I have always been a big supporter of Diakonos, Inc., our local shelter ministry. Providing pro bono services to them allows their dollars to provide additional service to their clients rather than paying for professional services.”
Carmen Pope Brown operates the Law Offices of Carmen Pope Brown, PLLC, in her hometown of Hickory. As a newly licensed attorney, she focuses her practice on family law, criminal law (including traffic), and wills and powers of attorney.
Brown, who previously served 12 years as an N.C. State Bar Certified Paralegal, said restoring driver’s licenses and assisting in child custody cases are her favorite pro bono activities.
“It is important to me as a lawyer and citizen to provide pro bono legal services because the community needs lawyers that really care about the people and not just about getting paid to help people,” Brown said.
“The community needs lawyers who help with not only the current situation, but also those who help try to avoid future troubles and situations, where the state will not and/or does not provide counsel for those who are in need of assistance.”
Russell Rawlings is director of external affairs and communications for the North Carolina Bar Association.