Pro Bono Update

July 2025

A Difficult Update from Legal Aid of North Carolina

Dear friends and supporters,

It is with a heavy heart that I share that Legal Aid of North Carolina, like many legal services organizations, is facing serious budget challenges. While our mission-driven work and impact remain as strong as ever, our funding has reached a critical point.

In December, we did not receive anticipated federal funding for our disaster legal services. Our domestic violence program has seen a $2 million cut compared to last year. Additionally, the North Carolina General Assembly has frozen IOLTA grants for 2026, and looming threats to the Legal Services Corporation—our largest single funder—continue to create uncertainty.

As a result, on June 30th, we were forced to implement a reduction in force that impacted more than 40 of our dedicated attorneys and paralegals, including members of our Pro Bono Programs team. Many other staff members also opted for early retirement as part of our cost-saving measures. We ask for your patience and understanding as we navigate our work with a smaller staff.

If you are able, we ask you to consider making a financial contribution to help us weather this difficult time and continue providing critical legal services to those who need them most.

Thank you for standing with us.

Warmly,

Allison Constance

Director of Pro Bono Programs

Legal Aid of North Carolina

Despite these challenges, we're proud to share that at the 2025 North Carolina Bar Association Annual Meeting last month, Legal Aid of North Carolina was honored as a recipient of the Outstanding Collaborative Pro Bono Award with the NCBA Young Lawyers Division, Pisgah Legal Services, the NC Pro Bono Resource Center, ABA Young Lawyers Division, and FEMA.

For more information on our work, and to learn more about our volunteer attorneys and the Legal of NC staff honored at the event, please visit ncbarblog.com, NCBA’s member focus, and our LinkedIn page.

Raleigh Second Chance Event

On July 10, first-time and seasoned volunteers alike advised clients on potential avenues for expunction relief at a Second Chance Project event in our offices in Raleigh.

In a few hours, they prepared advice letters and drafted petitions for 14 clients.

With this advice, clients can move one step closer to clearing their records, which can open doors to previously unavailable housing and employment opportunities.

Special thanks to our Second Chance Project team: Emily Mistr, Alicia Suter, Laurena Grissett Evans, and Trenor Bender.

Would your firm, organization, or law school like to host one of our monthly expunction events?

Reach out to us at probono@legalaidnc.org.

Charlotte Triage is a concerted effort of the Queen City's private and public-interest legal communities to harness the power of pro bono to meet residents' most pressing legal needs. An inaugural member of the partnership, we help coordinate services to housing clients and domestic violence survivors. Learn more

SAVE THE DATE

Charlotte Triage Training and Celebration

🎉September 18, 2025 🎉

Thank you, Dechert LLP and Bank of America!

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Thanks to our volunteers who attended our Lawyer on the Line clinic through the Charlotte Triage Pro Bono Partnership on July 15!

Volunteers from Dechert and Bank of America advised our tenant clients facing unsafe housing conditions.

Special thanks to Triage Housing Champions Julie Leopold from Dechert LLP and Tim Hughes from Bank of America for coordinating the event.

Learn more

Upcoming Charlotte Triage events

Courthouse Clinics (eviction)

July 29 and July 31

👉 Sign up

Lawyer on the Line (housing conditions)

August 6

👉 Sign up

"Ask a Lawyer"

WNC Disaster Recovery Hotline Event

Sign up for our second WNC Disaster Recovery Hotline Event!

Help answer calls from WNC residents who have legal questions related to disaster recovery.

In our first event in June, we served 216 callers in a single afternoon.

Don't miss the next one!

Two shifts are available:

12 PM to 3 PM and 3 PM to 6 PM.

Topics: FEMA claims and appeals, housing issues, property damage or title concerns, insurance disputes, consumer protections, and more.

Both attorney volunteers and call screeners (law students, paralegals, and non-attorney legal services staff) are needed.

👉 Sign up here!

Volunteer Spotlights

Maxwell Bertini

Charlotte, North Carolina

Thank you to Maxwell Bertini, a solo practitioner in Charlotte, for attending the Charlotte Triage courthouse clinic last month to assist our tenant clients. Maxwell represented clients in eviction court, leading to one tenant’s case dismissal. Thanks to Maxwell's talents, our client was able to receive peace of mind in the face of an eviction proceeding.

Edward Boltz

Durham, North Carolina

Edward Boltz has been representing clients in bankruptcy matters and consumer rights litigation for decades. In addition to his firm’s practice, Edward has provided advice and shared resources with our Pro Bono Programs team. Most recently, he signed up to counsel a client on her options for filing for Chapter 13 or Chapter 7 bankruptcy. Thanks to his work and extensive experience, our client will be able to consider which option will work best for her and her family.

Connect on LinkedIn

Andrea Davis

Greensboro, North Carolina

Andrea generously offered to run a title search in connection with a property dispute in Robeson County. Andrea not only provided a preliminary title opinion and reference documents but also shared invaluable advice on what she would advise as next steps prior to closing, including answering detailed questions regarding extra measures that would need to be considered due to potential liens on our client’s property.

Connect on LinkedIn

Lead a virtual legal education presentation!

Topics: Child custody and simple divorce

Interested in giving back to your community for a few hours?

The ask: Present on either (or both) topics and answer general questions (no specific legal advice is given during the presentations). Volunteers receive training and all presentations are moderated.

When: Child custody presentations are held the second Tuesday of the month; simple divorce presentations are held the third Thursday of the month. All presentations run from 2:15 to 4:30 p.m.

Click below to learn more and sign up!

Child Custody

Simple Divorce