Gene Nichol offers a thoughtful opinion on the state of legal aid funding nationally -- and how we compare to other wealthy nations worldwide.  We are dead last in "actual access to justice."
 
Read Gene's opinion piece here.
 

Here's a compelling piece from The Nonprofit Quarterly on the past, present and future of Legal Aid funding. The Legal Services Corporation, which provides funding to local agencies that offer direct civil legal services to low-income families and individuals, faces a significant cut at the federal level.

Additionally, IOLTA (Interest on Lawyers Trust Accounts) funds have been shrinking rapidly over the last several years, in response to the economic downturn -- a downturn that has increased the number of people eligible for legal aid services. With supply decreasing and demand increasing, Legal Aid programs -- and the clients they serve -- are facing a tough road...

Click here to access the full article.

Here at Legal Aid, we couldn't accomplish everything that we do without seeking out relevant news and learning from the good work others are doing, as well. In this ongoing feature, we'll highlight Legal Aid Justice Center staff members and some of the sources they are currently turning to in order to inform their work.

Here's what JustChildren Legal Director Angela Ciolfi had to say about UVA Law Professor James E. Ryan's new book, Five Miles Away, A World Apart:

The Legal Aid Justice Center's JustChildren program works to improve Virginia’s public education, juvenile justice, and foster care systems. JustChildren advocates use direct representation, education and organizing outreach, and state-level advocacy to achieve positive outcomes for low-income families in the Commonwealth.

Angela is a long-time member of the JustChildren team, becoming its legal director in 2010, the same year in which she won the Child Advocacy Award from the American Bar Association's Young Lawyers Division.

Rural areas of Virginia have been hit hardest by home foreclosures, according to a new report from Richmond, Va.-based housing advocacy group Housing Opportunities of Virginia Made Equal, Inc. (HOME). The group's report found that foreclosure rates nearly doubled in rural areas between 2008 and 2009. Rural foreclosures increased at four times the rate of elsewhere in the state between 2009 and 2010.

Click here to read more on this report and foreclosures in Virginia from the Richmond Times-Dispatch.

Brenda Castañeda is one of several Legal Aid Justice Center attorneys who handle foreclosure cases. "People do have options when they are being foreclosed upon," Brenda notes. "They can come to us and we can evaluate their case to determine whether they have a  possibility of preserving their equity or even modifying the loan to stay in the house."

Brenda works in our Charlottesville office, which handles cases and offers advice within the city, but also in the surrounding counties of Albemarle, Fluvanna, Greene, Louisa and Nelson.

The foreclosure issues that we see at the Legal Aid Justice Center often highlight the large information gap that exists between homeowners and the options that may be available to them during the foreclosure process. "We have been able to help several homeowners file suit against lenders to rescind or reform those loans, and have helped others negotiate a postponement of the foreclosure process to allow modifications time to process.  Even though we are not able to take every case, we can let people know what to expect from the foreclosure process and what their options are," Brenda said.

The Legal Aid Justice Center provides free legal services and advice on a variety of non-criminal matters, including foreclosures, to income-eligible persons in our service areas.  Please click here to find the office nearest you for more information.