Pine Tree Legal's intake process serves as the gateway to accessing vital legal assistance for Mainers in need. Through a combination of empathy, expertise, and a commitment to justice, our incredible team strives to provide a supportive and empowering experience for all those seeking legal aid.

Read below to hear from our Director of Intake, Maureen Boston!


"As the Director of Intake at Pine Tree Legal Assistance, I often get asked when the slow and busy times of year are for us. The answer is easy: It’s always busy.


Every Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday our team of hardworking, knowledgeable paralegals are on the phones answering around 10,000 calls annually from people in Maine with legal issues.


Right now, approximately 40% of the calls we receive are from people who are facing eviction. The other 60% are a combination of questions from public benefits and consumer issues to less frequent but no less compelling legal questions, like a parent looking for information about their nonbinary child’s name change petition, a 65 year-old woman who fell for an online scam and lost $10,000, and a person who had all of their belongings mistakenly sold by a storage unit company.  

 

Our call-in hours are vital to Pine Tree’s mission of expanding access to justice because we address the urgent questions our callers are asking. There are many wonderful grants that help us address specific issues in specific areas of the law. Your support allows us to bridge the gaps between grants, to help people with the legal issues affecting them even if it is a less common issue that doesn’t fall cleanly in a box. With your support, we are able to address the issues that are most important and pressing to our callers. This is crucial not only to Pine Tree’s work but also to justice in Maine. Justice can’t be available only at certain times for certain issues. For justice to truly exist, it must be ever-present. Your support of Pine Tree allows us to use grants to provide high quality, effective legal assistance and fight for justice more broadly.

 

There is still more work to be done. We are forced tell people no every day because of our staff capacity. Our paralegal team would say that informing someone in crisis that we cannot assist them is the hardest part of working in legal aid. For the cases we closed in 2023, we were only able to provide advice and brief assistance in 55%. We will continue to work to address the legal needs of people in Maine and also to fight the justice gap by expanding the reach of our services.


We are grateful to have your support as we continue this fight. We could not do it without you." 



How long have you been at Pine Tree and why did you want to work here?


"2.5 years; I started in December 2021.Before working at PTLA, I was an advocate and manager at two Sexual Assault Support Centers in southern and midcoast Maine. In those roles, I was often working closely with PTLA helping survivors navigate the civil justice system. I got super burnt out and needed a break from the anti-violence agencies in Maine, but still wanted to be doing meaningful work helping people. The job for PTLA popped up and seemed like the perfect shift for me!"


What is your favorite thing about working at Pine Tree?


"My favorite thing about working at Pine Tree is the passion and compassion the staff has for the clients they support as well as for their coworkers. The way the Lewiston Office shows up for each other and the clients is inspiring. Staff here are always eager to meet the clients where they are at, and to show unconditional positive regard for them. I feel so lucky to work with so many intelligent and fierce humans, who don't back down when they believe in something."


If you could learn to do anything, what would it be?


"Work on cars. I'd love to be able to do my own car repairs and not have to worry about getting taken advantage of anytime something goes wrong with my car."


If you could pick one song to play every time you enter a room, what would it be?



"Either MIA's Bad Girls or Beyonce's Run the World (Girls)"

This month we are spotlighting our partners at the

Immigrant Resource Center of Maine!


At Pine Tree Legal, we know the importance of collaborating with organizations whose missions are interconnected with ours and support them to ensure they are also strong. We want to introduce you to their great work in our community!

The Immigrant Resource Center of Maine embodies and promotes diversity and inclusion in every aspect of their work as they strive to create a more equitable and inclusive Maine for all communities. They are committed to achieving this vision by empowering vulnerable immigrant, refugee, in asylum-seeking communities with essential tools, resources, an opportunity is to navigate our community's complex systems.


Check out the Immigrant Resource Center of Maine website and learn more about their work and how you can volunteer today!

Save the Date!

Tickets available now!


Check out the Muskie Fund for Legal Services website for more information!

muskiefund.org


Pine Tree's intake system is central to our ability to carry out our mission. Intake is the essential bridge between outreach and individual legal advice and representation. It is our first, and sometimes only, direct interaction with clients. The people who make this endeavor work, against sometimes challenging odds, are primarily Director of Intake Maureen and Pine Tree's 22 paralegals, including Ali. They work together in locations all over Maine to ensure that each client's initial contact with us is compassionate, informative, effective and efficient, and that each call ends with clear next steps. 


I know from my own experience that it can be a quiet act of courage to pick up the phone without knowing who is calling or what they are experiencing and be ready to listen and try to help solve problems. I am deeply proud that our team comes together to do this, and do it exceedingly well, thousands of times each year. 





Our clients are why we do what we do,


you are the how.


You are the essential piece of the puzzle that allows our clients the same safety and protections as everyone else, regardless of economic status.


Your support keeps people housed, provides workplace opportunities for low-wage workers, keeps community members protected from abuse, provides a voice to those unheard and breaks down barriers to justice for Maine people experiencing poverty.


On behalf of the entire team at Pine Tree Legal,

we thank you for your support.




The fight for justice continues because of you.


Become a Champion of Justice now!
Make a monthly commitment to justice today!

*Members of the Bar please consider donating to the Campaign for Justice.

Click below to follow Pine Tree Legal today!

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