MVLS Celebrates 25 Years
~Volunteers have helped 40,000+ poor Marylanders; anniversary
gala to pay tribute to attorney volunteers~
By Janet Stidman Eveleth
In the last 25 years, more than 3,800 volunteer attorneys have helped 40,000+
low-income Marylanders with their civil legal needs through the Maryland Volunteer
Lawyers Service (MVLS). MVLS was created as a pro bono assistance program in
1981, and today it has evolved into a comprehensive pro bono entity offering
an array of services and programs to support the poor. MVLS has come far in
the last 25 years and, as it proudly celebrates its milestones, it is looking
ahead to the challenges that await in the next 25 years.
Through MVLS, volunteer attorneys have helped the state's indigent
population with everything from custody disputes, denial of benefits,
wills, deed and name changes, landlord/tenant conflicts, tax issues and
child and adult guardianship to consumer rights and senior citizen matters.
Many of its initiatives target special groups of people with similar
needs. Volunteers advocate for children and the disabled, aid citizens
confronting bankruptcy, help victims of domestic violence and get people
off of welfare and into jobs. Over the years, MVLS has made a difference
in the lives of tens of thousands of Marylanders.
Since 1981, MVLS's volunteer lawyers have donated well over a quarter
of a million hours of pro bono service to support the state's indigent
population. This is worth roughly $25 million in legal services. In addition
to volunteer lawyers, there are also a large number of donors who support
MVLS through their generous contributions. MVLS's handful of donors in
1981 has today grown into a force of over 500 attorneys and law firms
who support this non-profit organization with contributions every year.
"For 25 years, MVLS has provided the network of volunteer attorneys
and funding for assistance programs benefiting low-income residents throughout
Maryland, who otherwise would not have access to legal representation," declares
MVLS President Jerald B. Lurie. MVLS's volunteers and donors, along with
its succession of outstanding leaders, are the backbone of this pro bono
organization.
The exceptional efforts of MVLS volunteers have resulted in three Herbert
S. Garten Special Project Awards for MVLS, presented by the Pro
Bono Resource Center: MVLS Income Tax Clinic; MVLS's Somerset County
Welfare-to-Work Project; and Project Heal. MVLS was also awarded the
Maryland Association of Nonprofit Organizations' Standards of Excellence
certificate.
"MVLS's impact and reach have spread to every corner of the state," states
Winifred C. Borden, MVLS Executive Director. "We have grown from serving
several hundred people a year to over 4,300. We have created programs
that allow thousands of Maryland's lawyers to translate their commitment
to pro bono service into representation on behalf of the working poor
in our communities. However, while we have expanded our programmatic
focus, our core mission has stayed the same – providing legal services
to people of limited means."
On April 6, 2006, MVLS will celebrate its 25th anniversary and its
accomplishments with a gala event at the National Aquarium in Baltimore.
This special event will "honor all of the MVLS volunteers and donors
who have made it possible to serve more than 40,000 low-income clients," declares
Borden. Presented by the law firm of Miles &
Stockbridge P.C., the event begins at 7:00 p.m. with dinner; the audience
will then be treated to a private viewing of the Aquarium's new Animal
Planet Australia exhibit. Proceeds from this event, which costs $125
per person, will go to support MVLS initiatives and its new Children's
Law Project.
As MVLS celebrates 25 years, Borden celebrates 15 years as MVLS's Executive
Director. She finds this the perfect time to reflect on what she believes
to be MVLS' most significant accomplishments. "The sheer number of clients
MVLS has helped, over 40,000, is astounding," she exclaims. "Our collaborative
programs – domestic violence, Project HEAL and Welfare to Work
Project –
have broadened our impact by offering integrated services.
Background
In the midst of federal and state budget cuts for legal services
to low-income people in 1981, MVLS was established as a pro bono legal
assistance organization to provide free legal representation in civil
cases to people unable to afford it. The Maryland State Bar Association,
the American Bar Association, the Bar Association of Baltimore City and
the Maryland Bar Foundation contributed the start-up funding.
MVLS's mission has always been "helping low-income citizens throughout
Maryland get protection under the law." Over the years, MVLS has adhered
to this mission, connecting individual volunteer pro bono attorneys with
needy clients. At the same time, it has developed an array of legal assistance
programs and reached out into the community, collaborating with community-based
social services providers and other agencies to meet the indigent's civil
legal needs. MVLS initiated this outreach effort with the Homeless Persons
Representation Project in 1987, when volunteers began assisting the disadvantaged.
In 1995, MVLS launched its successful Income Tax Clinic so attorneys
could prepare tax returns for low-income Marylanders. The Family Law
Assistance Project followed in 1997. MVLS's first pro se project,
this program trained people wanting to represent themselves in divorce
cases. Two Domestic Violence victim assistance programs were added in
1999 and the Community Development Project, where volunteers provide
free legal services to nonprofit groups to strengthen and revitalize
communities, opened in 2001. Project Heal commenced in 2004 to provide
legal advocacy to families and train healthcare workers to advocate for
their patients.
As MVLS looks to the future, it faces a number of challenges. Borden
believes one of MVLS's major ones is the development of "stronger relationships
with the local bar associations in order to assist more people who live
outside of Central Maryland." At the same time, she asserts, "MVLS must
continue to develop programs that meet lawyers' interest and time commitments
and serve the growing number of clients in need of representation for
divorce and custody matters." Borden anticipates MVLS "redefining the
types of service it provides these clients" in the future.
For ticket information about the April 6 MVLS Anniversary Gala, contact
Asylynne Wright at (410) 539-6800.
