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MBA and WBZ team up to provide free legal advice to Bay Staters

Issue September 2012 By Jennifer Rosinski and Tricia M. Oliver

Massachusetts residents looking for free legal advice were in luck on Wednesday, Aug. 15. The MBA and WBZ Call for Action collaborated to present the Ask A Lawyer call-in program. Nearly 150 residents took advantage of this free service and spoke to an MBA volunteer attorney regarding their legal concerns or questions.

Phones were staffed by six MBA volunteers, while WBZ and MBA staff helped facilitate call-backs. The Ask A Lawyer was a regular program from 1978 until 2005. The MBA and WBZ Call for Action have revived the program to meet the growing legal needs of the commonwealth's citizens.

"The Massachusetts Bar Association is proud to have worked with WBZ radio to bring back this critical program," MBA immediate past President Richard P. Campbell said. "The country's current economic crisis has both pushed the need for legal help to an all-time-high and made it harder for the average citizen to afford legal services. We hope this program can help bridge that gap."

In the midst of the call-in program, Campbell and Eric Parker, chair of the MBA's Task Force on Law, the Economy and Underemployment, were in-studio guests on WBZ's NightSide with Dan Rea. Rea pledged on air to hold the program annually again.

MBA extends special thanks to volunteer attorneys Daniel Occena, Mary K. Lee, Richard Sugarman, Sheryl Furnari, Scott Heidorn and Stuart Rosnick for donating their time to participate in this public service.

WBZ Call for Action, in existence for 40 years, is a non-profit telephone information, referral and action service dedicated to resolving people's problems. A free service, it is a member of the national organization, Call For Action, Inc.