Memphis attorney Vincent Perryman discusses Memphis Area Legal Services with Linda Seely

Memphis attorney Vincent Perryman discusses Memphis Area Legal Services which is a not for profit organization the provides free legal services to indigent, people who are elderly, and additional grants provided by contributors. The biggest contributor is the Legal Services Corporation. The Services consists of 17 lawyers. Two attorneys for consumer related issues. They specialize in predatory lending cases and fair housing market cases. They help clients with mortgage and foreclosure problems. They also help clients with Domestic Violence and council people on handling their own divorce. The Senior Citizen unit handles cases that deal with elderly losing their home, are having problems with their health care, and are being exploited by their family members. The Memphis Area Legal Services consists of four law units: the Benefits and Seniors Law unit, Consumer Law Unit, the Fair Housing Center, Low Income Tax payer Unit. The Low Income Tax payer unit is eligible to personal income taxes. Feel free to contact them at 901-523-8822.

There are some initiatives the Supreme court wants private practices to do more pro bono work to assist people that otherwise can't afford access to justice. The court is encouraging private paralegals and the private bar to supplement what the Memphis Area Legal Services does. Memphis Area Legal Services can only accept about half of the cases that are requested of them. The initiatives the court is taking is to help the private practices to provide the pro bono work without the legal ramifications. Other initiatives include learning credits for pro bono work, pro bono mediators, and something called the 4 all initiative that is a public day of service. A day of free service to the community. Memphis Area Legal Services provided a Saturday legal clinic at the Collierville United Methodist Church. For 3 hours they provided free advice to anyone that wanted to come in. The Tennessee Bar Associations provides Wills for Heroes, which is free Wills to all service men. There is a right to council in almost all criminal cases, but in Civil cases there is no right to representation. About a quarter of all the cases handled by the Memphis Area Legal Services is handled by volunteer attorneys.

People can help Memphis Area Legal Services with monetary donations. They are a 501c3 entity. Anyone can donate to this organization and it is tax deductible. None of the money goes to pay any of the attorneys for their legal services. Any law students, attorneys, paralegals, etc... can volunteer their time. Paralegal volunteers help and support the attorneys, verify paperwork is filled out properly. Memphis attorneys will come to the office and speak with the clients. There is an Outreach program called Attorney of the Day and it is every Thursday from 1:30 - 3:30. Attorneys are at the Shelby County Courthouse at 140 Adams Ave and provide advice and council services. These volunteer positions are good for Law students that have difficulty finding a summer law clerk position. It helps get Law students client contact. The Memphis Area Legal Services is a good training ground for new attorneys and they go up against very large businesses.