For one afternoon, about a dozen Ward and Smith attorneys stepped into the digital fray to become keyboard warriors to answer calls for legal help from North Carolinians in need.
This bold initiative, dubbed 'Empower Hour,' is part of the NC Free Legal Answers pro bono program run by the North Carolina Bar Foundation. North Carolina residents who meet the program's eligibility requirements submit their legal questions online. Volunteer attorneys are able to select questions from a variety of legal categories and respond to the users' questions through the NC Free Legal Answers web-based platform.
On June 15, eleven Ward and Smith attorneys participated in the firm's first Empower Hour, which connected attorneys from the firm's labor and employment, creditors' rights, intellectual property, litigation, construction, and business practice groups through Zoom. Alex Rogers, the Bar Foundation's Director of Programs, was also on hand to provide vital technical support.
"I was happy to see our attorneys' enthusiastic response to this pro bono program," stated Mary Cavanagh, the firm's Pro Bono Committee Chair. "The Bar Foundation has done a great job setting up this program and making it easy for us to volunteer our time and legal expertise to help our fellow North Carolinians."
Over the course of the Empower Hour session, the firm's attorneys addressed 23 questions from residents of 15 North Carolina counties across the State. The questions spanned eight areas of law, including civil procedure, constitutional rights, bankruptcy, estate planning, housing, property rights, and labor and employment.
As Ms. Cavanagh commented, "Although pro bono projects are often litigation oriented, this program offered attorneys in all of our different sections a chance to apply their specialized legal knowledge. It was a great opportunity for us to accomplish some good in a short period of time."
The Empower Hour event ended on June 15, but the NC Free Legal Answers program allows the participating attorneys to continue to answer questions on the portal when they are able. Licensed North Carolina attorneys interested in volunteering should visit the organization's website for more information: https://ncbarfoundation.org/our-programs/nc-free-legal-answers/.
The Ward and Smith attorneys who participated in Empower Hour are:
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