Alaska Legal Services Corporation is looking for volunteer assistance with the following unbundled opportunities and cases. If you are interested in volunteering, contact Laura Goss by email at LGoss@alsc-law.org or by phone at 907-222-4521. If you are interested in volunteering but not sure how, please fill out ALSC’s pro bono volunteer form.
Unbundled Pro Bono Opportunities
Advice and Counsel Clinics: Provide basic screening and one-time legal assistance for a low-income Alaskan with a civil legal need, either in-person or by phone. Specific clinics are scheduled with one-hour consultations for Employment, Bankruptcy, Veterans, Family Law, Landlord/Tenant, Wills and Probate, and General Matters. Volunteering for clinics typically involves 3-7 hours per day/clinic, once a quarter, and most are booked according to your schedule.
Landlord/Tenant Hotline: During one 2 hour evening shift per month, you will answer calls from Alaskans with questions about their current situation. Your main resource is the Landlord/Tenant Act Handbook. You will receive calls at any phone of your choice.
Housing Court Justice Project: Assist Pro Se low-income tenants or low-income landlords (if the other side has an attorney) in Eviction Court. You will be present at Anchorage District Court one morning per month to provide limited assistance to clients scheduled for eviction proceedings such as: legal counseling, negotiating settlement agreements, representation in an eviction hearing, and drafting any relevant documents, such as pleadings and answers.
Early Resolution Project (ERP) – Anchorage, Palmer, Kenai, Juneau:
In one afternoon, you will offer free legal advice to family law pro se litigants referred by the Alaska Court System, who they have deemed as easy to resolve with attorney assistance. You will meet privately with your client and work out an amicable agreement between both parties that same day. 86% of ERP cases are amicably completed that afternoon. ERP volunteers are needed in Anchorage, Palmer, Juneau, and Kenai. ERP sessions are held once per month in each city except Anchorage where it is held weekly.
Pro Bono Attorney Mentoring Opportunity: The Pro Bono Training Academy (PBTA) is an exciting initiative aimed at increasing support for our pro bono volunteers. We hope to do this in many ways, one of which is by creating a mentoring system wherein experienced volunteer attorneys mentor newer volunteer attorneys in specific areas of the law. Hopefully, knowing they are supported will encourage attorneys to take on more complex cases on a volunteer basis. We are looking for experienced attorneys interested in serving as a mentor attorney. We are also very interested in your ideas about what such a program should look like. If you want to serve Alaska’s low-income population by sharing your legal expertise, please contact: Sarah Carver, Project Coordinator, Pro Bono Training Academy, scarver@alsc-law.org, 907.406.2222.
Cases
Woman in Kenai experienced substantial home damage in the 2018 earthquake. After inspection, it was determined she only had $1296 in damages. She appealed and was told by FEMA she needed a contractor to declare the damages are worse that originally determined. The contractor wrote a letter to FEMA stating the house is a total loss due to foundation damage and that repairs are not feasible. FEMA denied this claim because no bid was submitted by the contractor (because no work was to be done by him), although they accepted that the house is a total loss. She was told FEMA would give her $30,000 if contractors would submit bids.
