N.C. Free Legal Answers Empower Hour Volunteers Answer 107 Questions
N.C. Free Legal Answers is a web-based pro bono opportunity where lawyers log in to an online portal to review a queue of civil legal questions from low-income North Carolinians. There are more than 20 civil legal categories to choose from, and lawyers are able to sort the questions in a number of different ways.
The North Carolina Bar Foundation coordinates N.C. Free Legal Answers Empower Hours, where volunteers come together to learn more about the platform and answer questions in a group setting.
On Oct. 29, 2025, an in-person N.C. Free Legal Answers Empower Hour took place at Cantina 18 in Raleigh.
The event capped off an extended Empower Hour, organized by Foundation Program Partner Mark Holt, that encouraged colleagues to answer questions online from Oct. 24 through Oct. 29. During that time, volunteers answered 107 questions.
“I love doing pro bono together through an N.C. Free Legal Answers Empower Hour because we enjoy the company of friends as we live out our calling to serve others,” said Holt. “I am so grateful for those who joined us online and in person on Oct. 29 as we served people across our state who needed our help. Thank you!”
Other participants included Brandon Robinson, Linda Oldham, Mark Turner, Afi Johnson-Parris, Allison Constance, Manisha Patel, Meghan Moran, Peter Robinson, Gordon Brown, Hope Carmichael, Jake Epstein, Janet Steddum, Katherine Frye, Kim Bart Mullikin, Laura Davenport, Lauren Ashley Redmon, Mary Irvine, Celia Pistolis and Will Owens.
Pictured left to right: Jake Epstein, Gordon Brown, Katherine Frye, Brandon Robinson, Hope Carmichael, Mark Holt, Mary Irvine, Celia Pistolis, Alex Rogers and Kim Bart Mullikin.
Question categories included bankruptcy, civil procedure, civil and constitutional rights, contracts, debts and purchases, domestic violence, estate planning, expungement, family law, health care, housing, insurance, Medicaid/Medicare/Affordable Care Act, name changes, personal injury, property rights, traffic tickets, employment law and workers’ compensation.
Clients were served from the following counties: Alamance, Brunswick, Buncombe, Burke, Cabarrus, Caldwell, Carteret, Catawba, Cherokee, Cleveland, Craven, Cumberland, Davidson, Durham, Forsyth, Franklin, Guilford, Harnett, Iredell, Johnston, Lenoir, Lincoln, McDowell, Mecklenburg, Moore, New Hanover, Onslow, Orange, Polk, Randolph, Richmond, Rutherford, Stokes, Union, Wake, Warren, Wayne and Wilkes.
“N.C. Free Legal Answers is a great first pro bono opportunity for folks if they are not used to doing pro bono in their day-to-day practice,” said NCBF Director of Programs Alex Rogers. “It’s an anonymous service. Attorneys can pick a question they feel comfortable answering and take some time to research their answer, making it an approachable way to do pro bono service that people really enjoy.”
On the same night as the in-person Empower Hour, Holt was presented with the John B. McMillan Distinguished Service Award — and on his 65th birthday.
The NCBF continues to recruit new volunteers for the N.C. Free Legal Answers platform and has a particular need for attorneys who can answer family law, housing, estate planning and employment law questions. Learn more about how to volunteer with N.C. Free Legal Answers.