Joe Surkiewicz: JustAdvice volunteers team up to fill justice gap 
BY: Joe Surkiewicz
POSTED: July 17, 2011
Tags: Center for Urban Families, Civil Justice Inc., Joe Surkiewicz, justadvice, lawyers, legal aid, University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law, university of maryland medical center
You’ve heard the joke: Lawyers are so expensive now that even lawyers can’t afford a lawyer. So what about non-lawyers with legal problems? And especially those who aren’t poor enough to qualify for Legal Aid (which, because it’s ridiculously underfunded, can help only about 20 percent of the estimated need)? The University of Maryland Francis [...]
Joe Surkiewicz: With a pro bono boost, Project HEAL expands
BY: Joe Surkiewicz
POSTED: July 4, 2011
Tags: Joe Surkiewicz, Johns Hopkins Children's Center, Kennedy Krieger Institute, maryland volunteer lawyers service, Ober Kaler, Project HEAL
Thirty-seven states and the District of Columbia feature more than 225 medical-legal partnerships that help low-income patients and families with a wide array of legal services, such as assistance with special education, public benefits, landlord/tenant problems, advanced medical directives, medical insurance and family law. Maryland has one: Project HEAL (Health, Education, Advocacy, and Law), founded [...]
Joe Surkiewicz: Truancy Court Program needs a few good judges
BY: Joe Surkiewicz
POSTED: June 19, 2011
Tags: Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge David Young, ben cardin, Joe Surkiewicz, Judges, Maryland Administrative Office of the Courts, Rep. Elijah Cummings, tcp, truancy court program, University of Baltimore School of Law’s Center for Families
Are you a judge stuck in a convicting-and-sentencing rut? Would you like to step out of retribution mode and into contributing mode? Then consider volunteering in the Truancy Court Program, which has a proven track record in reducing truancy by elementary and middle school students (and keeping kids out of the justice system). The program, [...]
Equal Justice Council celebrates 14 years of supporting Legal Aid
BY: Joe Surkiewicz
POSTED: May 22, 2011
Tags: andrew jay graham, Benjamin Rosenberg, celebrates, chief judge robert m. bell, equal justice council, Jefferson V. Wright, John A. Wolf, legal aid
Founded in 1997 as the fundraising arm of Maryland Legal Aid, the Equal Justice Council has raised more than $11 million from the private bar to help balance the scales of justice for disadvantaged Marylanders in family, housing, public benefits and other critical areas of civil law. Who are these people? And why do they [...]
Public Justice Center celebrates alliance with music
BY: Joe Surkiewicz
POSTED: May 8, 2011
Tags: celebration, George Soros, Joe Surkiewicz, music, nonprofit legal advocacy organization, PJC development director Jennifer Pelton, public justice center
At its 20th anniversary gala in 2005, the Public Justice Center knocked the ball out of the park by snagging billionaire philanthropist George Soros as the keynote speaker. For its 25th year-plus one event this week, the nonprofit legal advocacy organization is taking a different tack — hosting a concert of musicians/social advocates at Goucher [...]
Joe Surkiewicz: Md. Disability Law Center is moving on, literally
BY: Joe Surkiewicz
POSTED: April 24, 2011
Tags: CityWide Special Education Advocacy Project, disability law center, Joe Surkiewicz, maryland, MDLC Executive Director Virginia Knowlton, Nonprofit, renovation, union mill, Venable LLP, woodberry
This year, Maryland Disability Law Center is hosting a “two-fer” at its Breaking Barriers awards gala. In addition to honoring Marylanders who helped pave the way to integrate people with disabilities into community life (more on that later), the gala is the kickoff for a capital campaign to fund MDLC’s move to new office space. [...]
Human rights symposium to celebrate 100 years of Legal Aid
BY: Joe Surkiewicz
POSTED: April 10, 2011
Tags: Baltimore, baltimore city circuit court, celebrate, Federated Charities, human rights, Joe Surkiewicz, legal aid, maryland, symposium, university of baltimore school of law, University of Maryland School of Law
In 1911, the Legal Aid Bureau was founded in Baltimore by the Federated Charities as part of a trend to form societies to help immigrants and the poor with their legal problems. Fast-forward a century, and Legal Aid is inventing itself again — this time, by focusing its mission to find legal solutions for poor, [...]
UB Law’s Center on Applied Feminism goes global
BY: Joe Surkiewicz
POSTED: March 20, 2011
Tags: Applying Feminism Globally, conference, global, Homeless Persons Representation Project, house of ruth, Joe Surkiewicz, maryland, maryland legal aid, Michele Gilman, Nobel Laureate Toni Morrison, University of Baltimore, University of Baltimore’s Center on Applied Feminism
While a wide abyss may separate the theoretical from the practical in some areas of the law, that’s not the case at the University of Baltimore’s Center on Applied Feminism, which keeps its feet firmly planted on the ground. “This center is an attempt to be a bridge between theory and practice — to bring [...]
Joe Surkiewicz: Law schools bid for your attention — and your dollars
BY: Joe Surkiewicz
POSTED: February 21, 2011
Tags: Baltimore, baltimore department of social services, cost, Joe Surkiewicz, Law School, maryland, maryland legal services corp., Maryland Public Interest Law Project, money, Nonprofit, private lawyers, pro bono, tax deductible, University of Maryland School of Law, volunteer
When guilt trips and plucking heartstrings fail to persuade private lawyers to take a pro bono case, volunteer their expertise to a nonprofit or write a check, then it’s time to roll out the heavy artillery. Go shopping. Or, to be more precise, bidding. And do it at a place where the purchases are tax-deductible, [...]
Joe Surkiewicz: Can’t take a pro bono case? Then offer your legal expertise
BY: Joe Surkiewicz
POSTED: January 30, 2011
Tags: ethical, expertise, Joe Surkiewicz, legal advice, Nonprofit, pro bono, reponsibility, volunteer
While attorneys know they have an ethical responsibility to serve the public — most notably, to help fellow citizens who can’t afford a lawyer with critical legal problems — the reality is that many don’t perform their pro bono duty. “People have lots of excuses — and some are justified,” said University of Maryland law [...]
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