MBA attorneys provide free legal advice to callers at the October Western Mass. Dial-A-Lawyer program.
Photos by Jason Scally.
For the second time this year, MBA volunteer lawyers lent their
ears -- and their advice -- to residents from Berkshire, Franklin,
Hampden and Hampshire counties seeking free legal advice through
the MBA's Western Massachusetts Dial-A-Lawyer program.
The semi-annual call-in program is provided as a public service
of the MBA. It is sponsored by Western New England University
School of Law, which hosted the program, and The
Republican, El Pueblo Latino, the Massachusetts
Association of Hispanic Attorneys and the Hispanic National Bar
Association.
Held on Oct. 17, the hotline took place fittingly in the middle
of Pro Bono Month, allowing approximately 200 callers to get their
legal questions answered by an attorney for free.
"It's one way to give back a little bit, and it's important to
let folks know what the resources are out there to help them," said
Stephen Manning, who has been volunteering regularly with the
Western Mass. Dial-A-Lawyer program since its inception.
"It's like a bridge to getting legal assistance," added Melissa K.
Long, an attorney in Agawam. "I like to help them control any
misconception about lawyers being scary or difficult, and just talk
to them."
Twenty-seven MBA members took calls during the four-hour event
and answered questions that ran the gamut from domestic issues and
probate queries to employment- or housing-related matters. When a
caller needed advice in a particular area of expertise, volunteers
could refer calls to other Dial-A-Lawyer volunteers sitting nearby,
or provide the number for the MBA's Lawyer Referral Service.
MBA member Elizabeth D. Katz, a Northampton attorney who is also
president of the Hampshire County Bar Association, said she
typically hears from older callers, many of whom are on a fixed
income who appreciate being able to call and ask a question. "At
one point I got three calls asking me about life estates. You would
think it would be the same family calling, and it's not, because
they're all calling from different towns. They're all worried about
the state taking the house because the older person is going into a
nursing home."
A veteran of many Dial-A-Lawyers, Katz added: "A lot of time
people actually know the answer. You'll say, 'What have you been
thinking you should do?' And I'll tell them, 'Yes, that's what I
think you should do.'"
The two call-in programs held in Western Massachusetts
complement the monthly Dial-A-Lawyer programs held at the MBA's
Boston office on the first Wednesday evening of each month. The
next Western Mass. Dial-A-Lawyer will take place in May 2014. For
more information on how to get involved, e-mail Claudia Staten at
[e-mail dal].
The MBA thanks the following members for donating their time and
energy to this important public service effort.
- Leslie A. Curley, Berkshire Mediation Group, Pittsfield
- Colleen C. Currie, Colleen A. Currie, Attorney at Law,
Northampton
- Mary K. Eaton, Eaton & Rescia, LLP, East Longmeadow
- Kenneth P. Ferris, Hashim & Spinola, Pittsfield
- Stephanie Fitzgerald, Fitzgerald Attorneys at Law PC, East
Longmeadow
- John E. Garber, Weinberg & Garber PC, Northampton
- Michael S. Gove, Gove Law Office, Northampton
- Lisa L. Halbert, Bacon & Wilson PC, Northampton
- Elizabeth D. Katz, Attorney at Law, Northampton
- Oran Kaufman, Oran Kaufman Attorney at Law, Amherst
- Kelly A. Koch, Bulkley, Richardson & Gelinas LLP,
Springfield
- Melissa K. Long, Attorney at Law, Agawam
- Stephen Manning, Stephen R. Manning PC, East Longmeadow
- Issac J. Mass, Law Office of Isaac J. Mass, Greenfield
- Amy Megliola, Siddall & Siddall, PC., Springfield
- Richard T. O'Connor, The Law Office Of Richard T O'Connor LLC,
Longmeadow
- Thomas D. O'Connor, Jr., Thomas D. O'Connor, Jr., Attorney at
Law, Springfield
- Stephen J. Phillips, Dunn & Phillips PC, Springfield
- Andrea D. Reid, Reid & Gaudet Law Group, LLP,
Springfield
- Katherine A. Robertson, Hampden County District Attorney's
Office, Springfield
- Daniel Mark Rothschild, Bulkley, Richardson & Gelinas LLP,
Springfield
- Denise M. Shear, Ostrander Law Office, Northampton
- Barbara Smith Carra, MassMutual Financial Group,
Springfield
- Gillian Szlachetka Dubay, Szlachetka Dubay PC, Chicopee
- Peggy A. Torello, Peggy A. Torello, Attorney At Law,
Greenfield
- Gregory A. Wolf, Law Office of Gregory A. Wolf Esq.,
Pittsfield
- Dorothy Varon, MassMutual Financial Group, Springfield