LSNV NEWS
Your source for everything Legal Aid
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IN THIS ISSUE
The COVID-19 Crisis; How LSNV is Making an Impact
The CARES Affidavit
The Low Income
Taxpayer Clinic
LSNV's Veterans Law
Pro Bono Project
Meet Kelly O'Connor
LSNV Board of Directors
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Virtual community outreach continues
o
n June 4th, when LSNV Staff Attorney Alex Lydon, along with a representative from the Alexandria Office of Human Rights, will present a summary of the Virginia Values Act and other new LGBTQ-supportive legislation. The program, entitled
“The Changing Legal Landscape for LGBTQ Virginians,”
is part of
the Alexandria Pride Workshop, and will include a question and answer session with some of the legislators who supported the bills.
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THE COVID-19 CRISIS
HOW LSNV IS MAKING
AN IMPACT
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LSNV's dedicated staff are continuing to serve the Northern Virginia community remotely and assist our low-income clients during this crisis.
Additionally, staff have participated in many outreach and educational activities to help ensure that our community partners and the local legal community have the most up-to-date information available to help our clients get through the crisis. Here are a few of LSNV's recent accomplishments:
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- On April 2nd, in partnership with the Virginia Bar Association and Central Virginia Legal Aid Society, LSNV participated in a 2 hour CLE on Unemployment Compensation cases. As a result of the CLE, LSNV now has 23 Pro Bono attorneys and 10 staff attorneys ready to handle these cases.
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- On April 29th, LSNV Deputy Director Dipti Pidikiti-Smith was a panelist on a webinar entitled, "Report from the Field: Domestic Violence Survivors & the Impact of COVID-19", hosted by the ABA Commission on Domestic Violence, the ABA Judicial Division, and the ABA Section of Civil Rights & Social Justice.
- On May 1st, Jennifer Fulmer, LSNV's Pro Bono Managing Attorney, participated in a 1 hour CLE community webinar, along with Vanessa Cullers of the Domestic Violence Action Center and Amy Bradley of BrigliaHundley, discussing domestic violence, the court process, resources for victims and the impact of COVID-19.
- On May 7th, LSNV, in conjunction with The National Center on Violence Against Women in the Black Community, presented a forum entitled "Unseen: Domestic Violence in the Black Community". The event was moderated by LSNV Attorney Jessica Harris.
- On May 8th, the Virginia State Bar's Standing Committee on Access to Legal Services presented a CLE on the CARES Act. Five LSNV staff members presented to 300 attendees. Topics included Unemployment Compensation, Housing, Consumer, Tax, Medicaid, and Pro Bono.
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- On May 16th, LSNV staff attorneys spoke at the 2020 Latino Outreach Summit on Special Education and Guardianship.
- LSNV attorneys have trained community partners and agencies on legal issues that have arisen because of the crisis. These agencies include the Fairfax Department of Social Services, the Office to Prevent and End Homelessness, and the Loudoun Abused Women Services.
- LSNV has coordinated with the local courts on access to Justice during the crisis including coordinating remote hearings.
- Jennifer Fulmer, LSNV's Pro Bono Managing Attorney, served on a panel hosted remotely by the Pro Bono Institute, entitled, "The Building Blocks of a Pro Bono Partnership". The discussion concluded with specifics on how to continue operations in light of the crisis.
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The new federal CARES Act provides for a moratorium on evictions for covered properties. Covered properties include those that: (1) participate in a “covered housing program” as defined by the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) (as amended through the 2013 reauthorization); (2) participate in the “rural housing voucher program under section 542 of the Housing Act of 1949”; (3) have a federally backed mortgage loan; or (4) have a federally backed multifamily mortgage loan. See Sec. 4024(a)(2).
LSNV attorneys recognized that ascertaining whether a landlord’s property was covered could easily present a problem in court, particularly for low-income, unrepresented tenants. So they got to work! They teamed up with the Virginia Poverty Law Center and the Virginia Legal Aid Crisis Response Committee, and after a month of advocating, Loudoun, Arlington, and Falls Church City have now adopted a policy requiring each landlord to file a CARES affidavit, attesting that theirs is not a covered property. The affidavit will help protect the rights of pro-se tenants who may be unaware that a moratorium is in place. Moreover, it is expected that the affidavit requirement will decrease the number of eviction cases filed during the moratorium and therefore, benefit not only LSNV’s clients and other low-income persons, but the judicial system as well.
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LOW INCOME TAXPAYER CLINIC
LSNV's Low Income Taxpayer Clinic (LITC) has been working tirelessly to address the issues that have arisen due to COVID-19 surfacing during tax season. Virtually every IRS Service Center and phone line has been shut down, effectively cutting off all direct communications between taxpayers, their representatives, and the IRS. As the agency charged with providing tax refunds, as well as the Economic Impact Payments (EIPs) mandated by the CARES Act, access to the IRS is vital to our clients.
The local Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) and AARP Tax-Aid programs suspended services in mid-March, leaving low-income and senior taxpayers unable to obtain necessary help other than by the FreeFile program available on the IRS website. Unfortunately, the FreeFile program requires computer access and the skills necessary to navigate tax preparation software. Many of our clients do not have either. While mobile low-income individuals have free computer access at local libraries and community centers, these are now closed.
LSNV's taxpayer clinic recognized that disadvantaged individuals, including homeless persons and disabled veterans, would likely be unable to receive their EIPS or tax returns as a result of these closures and acted quickly to receive special permission to prepare returns and assist with accessing the IRS's online systems.
In the past month, our staff has assisted more than 50 clients to obtain their refunds and EIPs.
Naomi is one of the clients we represented this past month. She is the legal guardian of her granddaughter and was forced to cease working as a massage therapist as a result of the virus. Because she was under audit for claiming her granddaughter as a dependent in 2017, prior to obtaining legal guardianship, the IRS put a "hold" on her Earned Income Tax Credit refunds for both 2018 and 2019 pending the outcome of the audit. LSNV successfully advocated on her behalf with the IRS. Naomi received a refund of more than $10,000 in Earned Income Tax Credits due to her COVID-19 related economic hardship and a stimulus payment of $1,700!
In addition to direct representation, the LITC has also engaged in educational activities for taxpayers, practitioners, and other organizations. In April, Nancy Ryan, the Director of the LITC,
and pictured above,
served as a panelist for the ABA Tax Section webinar entitled, "Tax Implications of COVID-19: Tax Collection in the Time of COVID-19". Earlier this month, LSNV attorney Jessica Harris lectured on economic impact payments and related IRS issues for a Virginia CLE entitled "The CARES Act and Relief for Your Clients."
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LSNV's Veterans Law
Pro Bono Project
Being involuntarily separated from the military and receiving less than an honorable discharge can cause an individual shame, present a barrier to employment, or result in a loss of VA Benefits and healthcare. In order to combat the injustices caused by these discharges, LSNV established the Veterans Law Pro Bono Project (VLPBP) in 2018.
The VLPBP is directed by Jennifer Fulmer, LSNV's Pro Bono Managing Attorney, and Project Attorney, Justine Pelham. As the daughter of an Army veteran with PTSD, Justine watched her father struggle to reintegrate into civilian life. Determined to make a difference, Justine volunteered at the Urban Justice Center’s Veteran Advocacy Project during her second year in law school at Brooklyn Law. After graduation, Justine received funding for an innovate project to establish a medical-legal partnership at the VA’s Brooklyn Healthcare Center, where she built a coalition of law students who went on to provide legal services to hundreds of low-income veterans.
Since the pandemic, VLPBP's knowledge of remote learning tools has dramatically increased and the team transformed this project into a completely remote pro bono opportunity.
LSNV is currently recruiting law firms and corporate legal departments to take on pro bono cases assisting veterans who wish to challenge their discharge status. Volunteer attorneys receive free training, which has been approved for 4 CLE credits, and ongoing support and advice from Justine,
in
exchange for a commitment to handle at least one initial claim before a Department of Defense military board. Additionally, volunteer attorneys will receive training materials and sample memoranda.
Each case that is assigned to a volunteer has been thoroughly vetted. Attorneys will receive a memo outlining the facts of the case along with potential legal theories. Additionally, volunteers will be assisted by our partner, Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE), which electronically tabs the medical records for the most relevant information and provides a table of contents. On average, a discharge status upgrade case lasts for a year and requires 60 hours of work, primarily consisting of organizing records and preparing a brief. In some cases, an in-person hearing may be required. When unsuccessful, participating attorneys have the option of retaining the case throughout the appeals process.
To learn more about this innovative program or to volunteer, contact Justine at
[email protected]
or 703-778-4806
.
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Meet Kelly O'Connor, Director
LSNV Board of Directors
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Kelly O’Connor has served as a Director on LSNV's Board since 2013 and is a former President of the board. She works at Verizon Media as Vice President and Chief Counsel supporting Verizon’s digital media brands including Yahoo, AOL, HuffPost, TechCrunch, Autoblog, and Makers. Kelly focuses on commercial transactions and partnerships, licensing, marketing, and product review. She leads Verizon Media’s pro bono program, and is a contributing author of
Pro Bono Service By In-House Counsel – Strategies and Perspectives
(PLI 2010.) Kelly helped expand the pro bono efforts of AOL and Verizon by including local in-house legal departments in a monthly pro bono advice and referral clinic in Reston, which was co-founded by AOL and is now in its 12th year of operation having served over 3,500 members of our community. Outside of work and pro bono, Kelly enjoys spending time with her husband and two kids, biking, training their golden retriever puppy, and fitting in as many trips to the beach as they can
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Supporting LSNV
Did you know that you can make your annual gift to LSNV with recurring monthly credit card transactions directly through our website? It's as easy as clicking the Donate Now button below.
Thank you!
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