Foreclosure Situation Has Put Pressure on Legal Aid Society
The foreclosure situation that has led to a slump in the economy is putting pressure on the Legal Aid agency of North Carolina. There are people knocking at their doors for help but donations and money coming from grants have started to dry up – thanks to the ongoing recession. This was reported by The News & Observer of Raleigh.
Attorney Victor Boone of Legal Aid Society, Raleigh, said that his agency couldn’t provide help to all who come seeking for it. He said, “We’re seeing more unemployment insurance appeals, foreclosures, efforts by creditors to collect.”
Lawyers have to give priority to criminal cases – in fact there is a guarantee in this regard. But it is not so with civil matters like adoptions, child custody problems, foreclosure related issues, domestic violence and discrimination at places of work.
The Legal Aid of North Carolina operates from 23 offices across the state and it has a staff numbering 250.
Because of financial constraints George Hausen, who is the Executive Director of Legal Aid, had to cut down 20 posts that were part- time. These lawyers used to screen cases over the telephone. He also had to freeze contributions to retirement measures so as to balance the year’s budget of $18 million. Despite these steps the Legal Aid agency may have to shut offices for a day or may be two each month to balance expenses.
To add to their problems the Legal Aid office at Raleigh got $29,000 less from United Way. The sum is equivalent to the salary of a paralegal.
These cuts have cut the pockets of some of their clients. One lady said her phone bill shot up while she kept on trying to connect with Legal Aid on the telephone for advice. Boone explained, “It wasn’t because nobody wanted to speak with her. She just couldn’t get through because there were so many people calling.”
Most of the funds for Legal Aid come from the federal government. Nobody knows how much they will get in the forthcoming year. They are also in the dark about how much the state will give – taking into account the massive budget cuts.
Legal Aid also gets money from the interest earned from trust accounts of lawyers. It is collected by the State Bar of North Carolina. Legal Aid got all of the $4 million from this account.
Legal Aid is a big issue – my own grievance is that I earn too much and don’t qualify. To some degree it keeps some businesses alive as they deal with magistrates courts and the majority who want legal representation aren’t on any income.