Legal Aid of North Carolina volunteers: Steven Lawrence, Kyla Harris, Melissa Haas, Stewart Butler, Tammy Laurence | | |
We are always proud of the way our partners and volunteers show up, day in and day out, but we are especially proud of the turnout for our Fayetteville Wills Clinic for Veterans event last month on Saturday, July 25th, hosted by Anderson Johnson Lawrence & Butler LLP.
Volunteer attorneys and paralegal students worked together to draft wills and advance directives for 17 veterans and veteran spouses - in total, they helped execute over 50 legal documents in one day.
This work will help our clients in many ways: in particular, these documents provide clarity to families, help preserve generational wealth, and help safeguard clients from elder abuse.
We were happy to help our clients and partners collaborate on a project that provides immediate benefits to the community. In addition to our wonderful host, we're grateful to Fayetteville Technical Community College, Davis Hartman Wright LLP, Jonathan Strange, and Jennifer Cooney for bringing us together and contributing their talents!
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Special thanks to everyone who attended our in person events over the past few weeks, including our:
📍Charlotte Triage Lawyer on the Line events on July 9th & August 5th;
📍Charlotte Triage Courthouse Clinics on July 28 & 30th;
📍High Point University School of Law Virtual Wills Clinic on July 31st.
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Client Stories
The Legal Services Corporation's 2025 Annual Report featured the work of our team member, Supervising Attorney Lauren Ashley Wright, who assisted our client, Dave, with an affidavit at a pop up Disaster Relief event post Tropical Storm Helene.
Read more about Dave's story and Lauren Ashley's work here: LSC 2025 Annual Report
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Legal Aid of North Carolina in the News
In a recent LAW360 article, Legal Aid of NC's Chief Innovation Officer Scheree M. Gilchrist and Director of Pro Bono Programs Allison Constance discussed how bringing LIA - Legal Aid of NC's Legal Information Assistant chatbot - to life has been a group effort between the firm, the Innovation Lab, and our invaluable pro bono partner, K&L Gates.
The article highlights how LIA provides clients with immediate information and resources that will help them navigate their legal challenges - a concrete way to "democratize" access to legal information across our state. Read the full article here.
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Volunteer type: Attorneys with experience in estate administration and probate
Where: 💻Remote friendly
Opportunities (ongoing): We are seeking experienced probate practitioners who are willing to consult with our staff attorneys, answer questions and help identify the best path forward for our clients.
Opportunies include:
- Providing case-specific consultation to Legal Aid staff attorneys
- Advising on probate and estate administration procedures
- Assisting with strategies for clients handling estates pro se
- Identifying alternatives to formal estate administration when appropriate
- Providing guidance on matters involving heir property, real estate, and disaster recovery.
Sign up here.
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Volunteer type: Attorney or paralegal
Where: 💻Remote friendly
Opportunity: We are assisting a widow based in Anson County who is working to avoid foreclosure following the death of her spouse. The estate administration process has been initiated with the assistance of Legal Aid staff, but because probate is not an area our team regularly handles, we would appreciate guidance on several procedural questions, particularly those related to transferring title to the home through the estate.
We are primarily seeking an attorney who would be willing to consult with our staff attorney on strategy and procedural issues.
Sign up here.
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Volunteer type: Attorney or paralegal
Where: 💻Remote friendly
Opportunity (ongoing): Assistance with heirs property matters throughout the state, including title searches, deed preparation and real property work, heir/genealogy research, probate or estate administration support, and advising on clearing title and related issues.
Sign up here.
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Volunteer Type: Attorney
Where: 📍Mecklenburg County
Opportunity: We're looking for an attorney to assist a housing client collect on a judgment against their landlord. The judgment has already been entered in the client's favor.
Support: Support/mentorship from Legal Aid of NC, malpractice coverage
Sign up here.
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Volunteer Type: Attorney
Where: 📍Statewide; Winston-Salem, Raleigh
Opportunity: We're looking for attorney volunteers to represent DV survivors in protective order hearings.
Support: Support/mentorship from Legal Aid of NC, malpractice coverage
Sign up by emailing probono@legalaidnc.org
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Welcome, Jayla!
We’re excited to welcome a new Case Coordinator to our team: Jayla McNeill. Case Coordinators manage all aspects of our pro bono cases - from initial referral to closure - and serve as the main point of contact for our volunteers.
Read on to learn more about Jayla:
What brought you to Legal Aid of NC?
I love being part of the work that helps people feel seen, supported, and connected to the legal resources they need. I’m passionate about accessible justice, community care, and making our services feel welcoming from the very first interaction.
Works From:
Greensboro, NC
Resident Of:
Greensboro, NC
Fun Fact:
Outside of Legal Aid, I run Jayla Creative Co — where I create digital products, guides, and resources for women who want to build soft, intentional, creative lives and businesses.
| | | | 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 | | |
🗓️ August 18 - Wells Fargo / McGuireWoods Lawyer on the Line*
🗓️ August 25 - Raleigh Pro Bono Collaborative Expunction Session at Wyrick
🗓️ August 26 - Charlotte Triage Courthouse Clinic
👉 Sign up
🗓️ August 28 - Charlotte Triage Courthouse Clinic
👉 Sign up
🗓️ September 10 - Charlotte Triage Lawyer on the Line
👉 Sign up
🗓️ September 15 - Cisco Lawyer on the Line*
🗓️ September 17 - Charlotte Triage Day
🗓️ September 22 - Charlotte Triage Courthouse Clinic
👉 Sign up
🗓️ September 23 - Raleigh Pro Bono Collaborative Expunction Session at DLA Piper
🗓️ September 25 - Duke Law Lawyer on the Line*
🗓️ September 25 - Charlotte Triage Courthouse Clinic
👉 Sign up
🗓️ September 30 - Wake Forest University School of Law Lawyer on the Line*
*Closed opportunities for event/law school partner
Sign up for Expunction Sessions by emailing probono@legalaidnc.org.
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Butch Segal
Segal Law PLLC
Guilford County
When our client needed help understanding what to do next with land that passed to her and her family intestate, one of our volunteer attorneys, Butch Segal, jumped in to assist. The facts were simple. The family wanted our client to own the land. They just didn't know how to make it happen. Butch assisted with deed preparation, execution and recording, pro bono. Our client and her family got legal services they couldn't otherwise afford, the title to family land resolved, and the requisite knowledge to prevent their own heirs from the same problems. When asked why this work is meaningful, Butch shared: “Keeping family land in family hands shouldn’t be a matter of paying for an attorney. Legal Aid of North Carolina’s Heir Property Program enables families to untangle title issues caused by intestate succession; it serves procedural economy by resolving intestacy matters without adding to the Clerk's workload, and it shields the court system from future expenditure by settling title as early as possible in the line of succession. ” We’re grateful to Butch for providing a practical solution to uncertainty in our client’s life – work that will benefit her and her family for years and generations to come.
| | Interns and staff from Charlotte Center for Legal Advocacy, Legal Aid of North Carolina, Pisgah Legal Services, NC Justice Center, ACLU of North Carolina, Disability Rights, Southern Coalition for Social Justice, and more at our Public Interest Intern Summit on July 10th | | Managing Attorney Allison Young and Supervising Attorney Laurena Evans at UNC Law | |
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Events
We were delighted to kick off the fall season with two events for UNC Law in partnership with our Central Carolina office and Second Chance Project. Over thirty first year law students joined us on August 11th to advise tenants on housing conditions issues and help prepare expunction petitions. Not bad for the second day of orientation!
Our Lawyer on the Line calendar is nearly filled up, so if you haven't signed up for events with us, please reach out to probono@legalaidnc.org.
Internships/Fellowships
Are you a law student interested in volunteering at one of our offices across the state? If so, fill out our Community Volunteer Interest Form on our website and we'll be in touch! And, keep an eye out for information about our 2027 Summer Internship program, which will be posted on our website and on law school job boards by the end of the month.
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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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CLE Opportunity
Join us to learn more about Reasonable Accommodations under the Fair Housing Act
12 - 1:30 PM
September 9, 2026
1.5 hrs of General CLE Credit
Free for volunteers! Use LANCVolunteer when registering
Reasonable Accommodations are a powerful tool to enable persons with disabilities to access and preserve housing. Learn more about Reasonable Accommodation Requests under the Fair Housing Act, and how you may be able to assist with this important work as a volunteer with us (be sure to use our discount code!).
In this CLE, participants will learn how to identify a housing consumer in need of a reasonable accommodation and how to assist them with seeking an accommodation. The training will also cover the interactive processes involved in pending reasonable accommodation requests and options that may be available to address Reasonable Accommodation Request denials. Finally, the CLE will cover reasonable accommodations requests involving assistance animals and recent developments in that area.
Register Here!
| | | | Topics: Child custody & simple divorce | | |
Sign up below to lead a virtual legal education presentation on child custody or simple divorce.
Opportunity: 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.
Click below to sign up!
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Volunteer opportunities are also posted on Pro Bono Go.
Find out more at probonogo.org.
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