Honoring Dr. King’s civil rights legacy with free legal assist

Updated: 18 hrs back Published: 21 several hours in the past

If the pandemic has taught us something, it is how a lot we require every single other. Organizations need personnel. Young children require academics. The unwell will need medical professionals and nurses. Most of us need a expert hairdresser.

And to confront a lawful problem, you want an lawyer. Regrettably, 1000’s of Alaskans encounter lawful worries every 12 months without having the methods to retain the services of an attorney or entry to confined lawful assist. Filling that gap falls to attorneys prepared to volunteer their time professional bono.

On Jan. 16, attorneys across the condition will be expending their Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday break as “a working day on, not a working day off” by volunteering for the 14th once-a-year Martin Luther King Jr. Working day Authorized Clinics.

At these free in-particular person clinics in Anchorage, Fairbanks, Juneau and Bethel, Alaskans with civil legal challenges can anticipate very first-arrive, first-served consultations with an attorney. Attorneys will be available to give suggestions on a vast variety of difficulties, including household law (kid guidance, custody, divorce, guardianship), housing (eviction, foreclosure), public rewards (Medicaid, Medicare, Social Protection), work, private injuries, probate, estate organizing and Indigenous allotments. Situations and destinations will range by local community. For a lot more data, visit www.alaskabar.org/mlk.

Alaskans with small or average incomes can also submit lawful concerns at alaska.freelegalanswers.org. This free authorized clinic is accessible any time of the calendar year but will have added staffing on MLK Working day to serve individuals unable to go to just one of the in-person clinics.

The Martin Luther King Jr. Day Legal Clinics are sponsored by the Alaska Bar Affiliation, the Alaska Court docket Technique and Alaska Legal Products and services Corp. and honor Dr. King’s spirit of service and advocacy for equality and social justice.

Becky Kruse is chair of the Alaska Bar Association’s Pro Bono Services Committee.

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