Charlotte Center for Legal Advocacy

Earlier this week, our wonderful paralegals enjoyed a well-deserved lunch together to celebrate National Paralegal Day. We’re incredibly grateful for their hard work supporting our mission every day.

🌟It's time to Celebrate Pro Bono Week!🌟 This year’s theme is "Making Justice a Reality in Our Communities," and our pro bono attorneys do just that by helping to close the justice gap here in the Charlotte region. While those facing criminal charges have the constitutional right to an attorney, no one has the right to legal assistance in civil cases. That leaves most people without the means or resources to get legal help on their own to face legal problems that threaten their safety, economic security, and family stability. At the Advocacy Center, our goal is to close the justice gap—but this mission would be impossible without the dedication and expertise of pro bono attorneys. To our amazing pro bono attorneys: We are so grateful for all that you do. Thank you for sharing your time, skills, and passion to help meet our community's most pressing legal needs 💙⚖️

We are hiring! Join our team to support our mission to pursue justice for those in need. We are seeking a full-time Ombudsman for the NC Medicaid Ombudsman Program, working closely with the Advocacy Center’s Family Support and Healthcare Program. The NC Medicaid Ombudsman helps North Carolina Medicaid beneficiaries understand the Medicaid program and resolve issues with their managed care health plans. Learn more about this job and other opportunities at https://lnkd.in/eV2SJVy7.

We are hiring! Join our team to support our mission to pursue justice for those in need. The Paralegal Advocate serves veterans by intaking their cases for the Attorneys and ensuring the highest quality of client communication for the duration of representation. Service areas include service discharge upgrades, housing stability support and various civil legal assistance (including but not limited to expunctions, property tax exemptions, landlord/tenant and eviction dispute resolution, etc.). The Paralegal Advocate assists with conducting outreach to the community and to pro bono professionals, participates in community events, assists with project management for clinics, and supports the efforts of the VLSP in engaging veterans to vital legal and community support resources. Sound like you? Click here to learn more and apply: https://lnkd.in/gjS7mFgA

🎉 Congratulations to Karla Manzanares, Attorney and Immigrant Justice Corps Fellow with our Immigrant Justice Program, on being officially sworn in as a licensed attorney in North Carolina! 🎉 The swearing in took place yesterday in Uptown Charlotte with Judge Marvel and Judge Kessler presiding over the ceremony. Cristina Cerón, Co-Director of our Immigrant Justice Program, introduced her to the court and motioned for her admission. This marks Karla's second bar admission, as she is also a member of the D.C. bar. We are so lucky to have such a dedicated advocate on our team!

📢Attorneys, paralegals, and law students 📢 You can provide crucial pro bono legal assistance to North Carolinians impacted by Hurricane Helene through NC Disaster Legal Services coordinated by the North Carolina Bar Association Young Lawyers Division. Please click here to sign up here: https://lnkd.in/e3jR9v-H Please note that they have advised that you may not receive a referral immediately after signing up to serve as a volunteer. They expect that NC residents affected by this disaster will have need for legal assistance over the next year or more. Volunteer training will be offered in the coming weeks — additional information about training opportunities will be sent to all volunteers who register at the link above.

Twice a year, Charlotte Center for Legal Advocacy's Community Empowerment Project and Pro Bono Unit team up with the Mecklenburg County SelfServe Center, Public Defenders, Clerks, and District Attorney to assist clients in expunging criminal records removing barriers to stable housing, employment, and other collateral consequences. Last weekend, volunteer attorneys met with clients at the Mecklenburg County Courthouse during our second Courthouse Expunction Clinic of the year.

We loved being in the room during Bank of America's Know & Grow Community Resources event! We are grateful for your partnership and the numerous resources you offer to help people "know and grow" in our community.

Our dedicated team of attorneys, paralegals and support staff at Charlotte Center for Legal Advocacy are thinking about all the people in our state and community whose lives have been harmed by Hurricane Helene. While our staff is typically focused on legal issues affecting the safety, stability and security of our communities, our hearts are touched by the emotional impact of those devastated by this storm. In the coming days/weeks/months, we will share community resources on our website, along with ways we can directly help.

Congratulations to Chelsea Corey (Haynes and Boone, LLP) for being named the Champion of the Year by the Charlotte Triage Pro Bono Partnership last week! Chelsea was selected by the Triage for her involvement involved as a pro bono volunteer with our Healthcare Navigators since 2018, Triage’s first year. She has been a champion for the past several years and is one of the most dedicated and brilliant advocates we’ve had the pleasure of working with. Because Healthcare volunteers often see a lull in involvement opportunities outside of open enrollment, Chelsea even went so far as to recruit attorneys to other areas of need. Chelsea’s efforts exemplify the ideals of the Charlotte Triage Pro Bono Partnership, an initiative within the Charlotte legal community which strives to leverage the power of pro bono work to serve more clients and address our community’s pressing legal needs.