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Pro Bono Reporter Volume 21 Summer 2016 23
Charlotte Attorneys Help the Homeless Overcome Legal Obstacles
For the past six years, attorneys in the firm’s Charlotte
office, under the leadership of partner
Woody Lay
,
have staffed a clinic at the Urban Ministry Center
to assist the homeless population navigate the
intimidating and confusing legal issues that often
contribute to their situation. Woody,
Jack Knight
,
Tim Hughes
,
Melissa Laws
, and paralegal
Kristen
Parsons
assist the “neighbors” at the Center with
issues such as assistance with preparation of a simple
will, completion of uncontested divorce paperwork,
resolving outstanding fines and penalties to allow
neighbors to obtain an identification card from DMV,
and expunction of criminal charges to provide a better
opportunity for reemployment. In one situation, they
were able to assist a neighbor with completion of loan
modification paperwork to avoid foreclosure and, most
importantly, correct a deed issue that had resulted in
the lender rejecting prior applications. That neighbor
now refers to Woody as “Cousin Woody”!