SPRING EVENTS ARE HERE! 📣
Over the last few weeks, our team has been serving clients across the state with the help of our incredible community partners:
📍Cisco Legal joined us on March 3rd for an expunction session at their RTP offices. With their help, in just two hours we were able to assist 25 clients with their petitions.
📍Legal Aid of North Carolina Supervising Attorney Matthew Fox assisted Wake Forest University School of Law volunteers with housing conditions advice and letter drafting for a Monday night Lawyer on the Line session with 20 students.
📍UNC School of Law and Habitat for Humanity of Orange County hosted a wills clinic for seniors, assisting with wills drafting and advance directive preparation and execution on the same day.
📍NCCU School of Law hosted a three day Lawyer on the Line event the last week of February, preparing advice and guidance for our tenant clients experiencing dangerous and unsanitary housing conditions.
📍Volunteers joined us at our offices in Raleigh for an expunction session on February 19th sponsored by the Wake County Bar Association.
📍Legal Aid of North Carolina, the Black Law Students Association and Law Students Advocating for Survivors at Campbell University, Norman Adrian Wiggins School of Law hosted a Pro Bono week for students focused on assisting domestic violence survivors. The week began with training and culminated in the opportunity to interview and assist survivors in obtaining protective orders or attend hearings. Supervising Attorney Marquita Pittman lead the event and Staff Attorney Trynity Ojeda assisted with supervision.
📍Eight Elon University School of Law students assisted six clients with their housing conditions issues as part of their Lawyer on the Line event with the help of Supervising Attorney Nicole Mueller and Renee Gabriel-Morrison.
Next up, we will be hosting students from Harvard Law next week, who will be assisting clients as part of two clinics - a wills and power of attorney clinic on Tuesday and Wednesday, March 17 and 18, at the Billy Graham Training Center (operated by Samaritan's Purse) in Asheville and an heirs property and disaster relief clinic on Thursday, March 19th at the First United Methodist Church of Waynesville.
We are thrilled to work together with these community leaders to help families plan for their futures, protect their loved ones, and open doors to employment and job opportunities!
| UNC Law students at Habitat of Humanity of Orange County | | | |
NC LAWYERS ON CALL
7,005 Total Calls ✅
Calls Answered, Clients Served
As part of the North Carolina Bar Foundation's 19th Annual NC Lawyers on Call event, thousands of North Carolinians received free assistance with their legal questions on topics as varied as family law, housing, employment, and estate planning.
Every year, Lawyers on Call brings together legal professionals across the state to serve their communities, and this year 245 attorneys and 119 paralegal and law students volunteered their mornings, afternoons, and evenings to make this event a success.
Congratulations to the NCBF on another fantastic event, and shout out to Legal Aid of North Carolina's own Meredith Gregory and Elysia Prendergast-Jones, who served as co-chairs this year!
Learn More about NC Lawyers on Call
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Featured
Pro Bono Opportunities:
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Wills and advance directive volunteers are needed (drafting + execution) in the following counties: Cabarrus, Randolph, Rockingham, Wilson
Trainings and templates available!
💻 Volunteers for heir property cases are also needed (research, family mapping, title examination, possible deed work and/or assistance with administering estates)
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Help survivors of domestic violence prepare for court
We're looking for attorney volunteers to represent DV survivors:
📍in Winston-Salem
📍in Raleigh, and
📍statewide!
| | | Interested? Reach out to probono@legalaidnc.org | |
UNC School of Law Students and Alumni Receive Dogwood Awards
North Carolina Attorney General Jeff Jackson recognized UNC School of Law students and alumni with Dogwood Awards for participating in last year's spring break trip with Legal Aid of North Carolina's Pro Bono Programs and Disaster Relief teams.
Congratulations to these volunteers for their commitment to serving communities in Western North Carolina heavily impacted by Hurricane Helene:
| | | | NC AG Jackson presenting the awards to Meghan Moran and students/alumni. | | Charlotte Triage is a task force comprised of law firm, corporation, and nonprofit pro bono leaders dedicated to serving the Charlotte community in its areas of highest need. Learn more | | |
On March 5th, over 15 volunteer attorneys and law students joined our Lawyer on the Line event at the Charlotte offices of Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft to provide advice to tenants experiencing serious habitability issues. We're thankful to all the volunteers who took time out of their day to partner with us, and especially grateful to our hosts and Charlotte Triage Housing Champions Cadwalader and Wells Fargo!
Volunteers included:
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Pro Bono Institute Honors Wells Fargo with Laurie D. Zelon Pro Bono Award
Last week, Wells Fargo's Pro Bono Program and Ellen Patterson, Senior Executive Vice President and General Counsel, received the Laurie D. Zelon Pro Bono Award as part of the Pro Bono Institute's 2026 Annual Conference.
The award "recognizes an individual or organization's exceptional commitment to pro bono as demonstrated by exemplary engagement in pro bono legal services," and we were honored that the Charlotte Triage Pro Bono Partnership was mentioned as one of Wells Fargo's key pro bono initiatives.
Congratulations to the Wells Fargo team on this well-deserved award!
Read more about Wells Fargo's Pro Bono Program
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📝 March 19 - Raleigh Pro Bono Collaborative Expunction Session
👉 Email us at probono@legalaidnc.org to sign up!
⚖️ March 24 - Charlotte Triage Eviction Courthouse Clinic
👉 Sign up
⚖️ March 26 - Charlotte Triage Eviction Courthouse Clinic
👉 Sign up
📝 March 31 - Charlotte Triage Child Custody Complaint Drafting
👉 Sign up
📞 April 16 - Charlotte Triage Housing Lawyer on the Line
👉 Sign up
⚖️ April 21 - Charlotte Triage Eviction Courthouse Clinic
👉 Sign up
⚖️ April 23 - Charlotte Triage Eviction Courthouse Clinic
👉 Sign up
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Susan Yanagi
Mecklenburg County
After learning more about a serious assault that left her client, Gina* and Gina’s toddler at risk, Legal Aid of North Carolina volunteer attorney Susan Yanagi jumped in to represent Gina pro bono. With Susan’s help, Gina was ultimately able to secure a domestic violence protective order and ultimately, sole custody of her child.
Susan’s special ability to connect with her clients led to a key development in the case: Gina agreed to share a previously unknown video in court documenting the most recent assault, which contradicted Gina’s husband’s account of the events that occurred. Susan helped guide Gina’s case, even as it evolved in complexity, including navigating a potential out of state move. Through her dedication, Susan was able to aid Gina’s family to a new chapter, away from the years of abuse Gina had suffered, to safety and security with her family.
Read more about Legal Aid of North Carolina volunteer Susan Yanagi’s story and Gina's case here.
Ready to make an impact? Sign up to volunteer with us here!
*Name has been changed to protect our client’s privacy.
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Mueni Muli Raburu
Durham County
When Omari*, a client who speaks primarily Swahili, reached out for assistance through our partner, World Relief Durham, our team reached out to attorney Mueni Muli Raburu to ask for help with translation. Mueni, a managing attorney at Wanjohl & Muli Law Firm, responded within the hour, sharing that we could simply give her a call and she would join our conversation – no advance notice needed. The case was next shared with NCCU School of Law students as part of our Lawyer on the Line housing conditions event. As a result of the collective efforts of this network of dedicated community partners, Omari will be one step closer to securing stable housing for himself and his family.
*Name has been changed to protect our client’s privacy.
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Join Our Justice Legacy Circle - Make Justice Part of Your Legacy
Did you know you can include Legal Aid of North Carolina in your estate plans?
Planned gifts - including bequests, charitable trusts, and gifts of life insurance - create a legacy of justice that will continue to protect North Carolinians for generations to come.
By making a planned gift of any size, you become part of the Justice Legacy Circle, a community of supporters whose foresight ensures that Legal Aid's mission endures long into the future.
Together we can make justice not just a value we hold, but a legacy we leave.
Learn more or make your gift today:
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Join us on March 25th for our virtual “Expunction 101: NC Expunction Law and Courtroom Best Practices” CLE, from 12 - 1:45 PM.
Registration is free for pro bono volunteers (otherwise $65): use code “LANCVolunteer” when signing up.
This CLE will cover:
✔️ Eligibility requirements for common expunctions, including dismissals, acquittals, Raise the Age relief, and adult misdemeanors & felonies
✔️ A brief overview of Certificates of Relief and how they can benefit eligible clients
✔️ Best practices for expunction hearings — what to bring, how to prepare, and what courts expect to hear
Approved for 1.5 hours of General CLE Credit
| | | | Lead a virtual legal education presentation | | Topics: Child custody, simple divorce, and housing | | |
Only able to volunteer for a few hours?
We have a great opportunity for you! Sign up below to lead a virtual legal education presentation on the following topics: child custody, simple divorce, and/or tenant rights.
The ask: Present on a topic 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.
We are also looking for presenters on the topic of tenant rights on the following dates: 3/17, 4/21, 5/19, and 6/16.
Click below to sign up for Child Custody and/or Simple Divorce presentations.
To sign up for Tenant Rights presentations, please email probono@legalaidnc.org.
| | Interested in giving back? Our volunteer opportunities are also posted on Pro Bono Go -- a few of which are highlighted here. Find out more at probonogo.org. | | |
Help serve clients through our Volunteer Wills Program
We're looking for volunteer attorneys to assist with interviews and help prepare wills and advance directives.
This is primarily a remote opportunity; however, we are particularly in need of volunteers who are local to the following counties and willing to assist with occasional in-person signing day clinics: Buncombe, Cumberland, Davidson, Edgecombe, Guilford, Henderson, Johnston, Pitt, Randolph, Rockingham, and Wilson.
🗺️ Statewide; specific counties listed above
Learn more
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Have a few hours to volunteer? Join us as a Resource Counsel!
If you have significant experience in a specific practice area and would be open to outreach from Legal Aid of NC attorneys interested in consulting on case-related questions, please reach out to us at probono@legalaidnc.org.
🗺️ Statewide
Learn more
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