Reaching for Justice: Pine Tree Legal's March Newsletter

Expanding Access to Justice

Last week, we gathered with Maine's six other civil legal aid providers at the State House to celebrate Access to Justice Day. We look forward to this day each year as a chance to share our work with policymakers and the general public, and to energize our efforts to expand access to justice across the state.

We're fortunate to work within such a robust network of other civil legal aid providers in Maine, and know that we're all stronger together. Thanks to those who joined us at the State House, and to everyone who supports and strengthens our fight for justice!

Consumer Unit Supports Victims of Auto Scams

One spring day a few years ago, a man in his early 20s went looking to buy his first car with money he had saved from his job working at an auto parts store. He approached a small local dealership that offered in-house financing, put some money down, and left with a 2009 Subaru Forester. He agreed to make weekly payments.

The vehicle broke down almost immediately. Thus began a long pattern of breakdown, return to the dealer, alleged repair, and further breakdown. He also began realizing that the dealership's bookkeeping was inaccurate, claiming he owed more than he did.

After months of back-and-forth with the dealership, he reached out to Pine Tree Legal for help. Our consumer unit advised him on his legal rights and filed a lawsuit on his behalf. Last summer, the court ruled in his favor, awarding him damages and legal fees that collectively amounted to nearly $30,000. Finally, our client was able to recuperate his hard-earned money and move forward with justice on his side.

Bringing Justice to Maine Consumers

Any single consumer issue, including an auto scam, can entirely derail a low-income person’s financial stability. If someone purchases a bad car, then they may not be able to get to work. If they can’t get to work, then they may lose their job. If they lose their job, then their mortgage payment may go into default, or they may find themselves evicted from a rental unit. These ripple effects don’t just destabilize a person's life, they also prevent a person from gaining equity in the longer term.

“If you can get in there and fix things early, then you can change the trajectory of all of that,” says Jonathan Selkowitz, managing attorney in Pine Tree's consumer unit.

Auto scams have become a new area of focus for the consumer unit over the past couple of years. Staff attorney Izzy Barnard joined the team last fall as a National Association of Consumer Advocates (NACA) Fellow to increase our capacity in this area of law, working alongside staff attorney Sophie Laing and paralegal Ashley Smith.

Izzy looks forward to helping strengthen Pine Tree's breadth of knowledge and experience in this area of law.

"We have these great laws in the books, but they are not actually going to get enforced unless we are helping people to vindicate those rights,” Izzy says.

Tal Rothstein, a staff attorney working in Pine Tree's Farmworker Unit, recently appeared in the media speaking about their work with a client who had been detained by federal immigration agents:

Single mother among those detained in Skowhegan immigration raid, Morning Sentinel, February 27

Border agents arrest more farmworkers in Skowhegan, including at least one asylum seeker, Maine Pubic, March 2

Maine Public covered a press conference that Pine Tree helped organize last week to raise awareness around the need for state funding for all seven legal aid providers in Maine:

Civil legal aid organizations in Maine say they need $3 million to prevent reduction in services, Maine Public, March 19

Congratulations to pro bono attorney Cameron Goodwin for receiving the 2026 New Lawyer Award from the Maine Justice Foundation!

An associate in Pierce Atwood’s Litigation Group, Cameron has volunteered with Pine Tree Legal's Eviction Defense Project since 2022. He has contributed an average of 30 pro bono hours each year, helping to maintain stable housing for more than seven low-income families while also working on a longer-term litigation case for a client whose mobile home was destroyed by her former landlord.

“Cameron’s meaningful and dedicated pro bono work demonstrates an abiding commitment to increasing access to justice to our community members who need it most," says Sharon Barney, pro bono staff attorney at Pine Tree Legal.

Cameron has also shown empathy, enthusiasm, and a willingness to promote the importance of pro bono work by encouraging other associates at his firm to become involved in the Eviction Defense Project.

“If more people get involved, more tenants will have someone to look out for their interests, advocate for them, and ensure that the legal process is as fair and equitable as possible,” Cameron says.

We’re grateful to Cameron for his dedication to increasing access to justice for all, and are thrilled with his well-deserved recognition from the Maine Justice Foundation.

Annemarie (Annie) Guare was sworn in to the Maine Bar last month, joined by her father Mike Guare, who has worked at Pine Tree Legal since 1998 and is one of our longest serving attorneys.

In his remarks at the ceremony, Mike noted that he and Annie's mother knew from an early age that Annie would make a very good lawyer if she ever chose to pursue this career path, because they began losing arguments to her when she was all of 5 years old.

Indeed, that early inkling has panned out! A 2022 graduate of the Northeastern University School of Law, Annie currently works as an eviction prevention attorney out of our Portland Office. Before joining our team last summer, she worked as an eviction prevention attorney in Massachusetts.

We're grateful to have Annie on our staff, and congratulate her on this milestone!

Donate to Pine Tree Legal Assistance

Donate to the Campaign for Justice

Members of the Maine Bar can support PTLA’s work by donating to the Campaign for Justice, a special collaborative fundraising effort by Maine’s legal community to support legal aid.