Lawyers Clearinghouse Newsletter
Winter 2010/2011
New Partnership with The Trustees of Reservations
The Clearinghouse is pleased to be working with our newest partner, The Trustees of Reservations (TTOR) in Leominster. The traditionally conservation focused group actively involves community organizations of all types to seek out ways to work together to achieve their missions more effectively.
We were contacted last year by TTOR to explore the possibility of bringing our legal seminars to Central Massachusetts. Since that time, we have planned and organized three seminars led by our pro bono lawyers and have two more scheduled for the spring. The seminars are held at the Doyle Center which is a gold registered LEED building and a beautiful conference facility. It is also the home base for the Putnam Conservation Institute, established by The Trustees in 2003 to help volunteers and conservation professionals working in Massachusetts connect, learn, and share their experiences. With this committed partner, the Clearinghouse is better able to reach out to nonprofits in Central Massachusetts to offer needed legal assistance.
For more information about our upcoming educational programs, please visit our website or contact Legal Referral Director Machiko Sano Hewitt at (617) 778-1954.
Pro Bono Spotlight – Jane Urban, Esq.
Jane Urban is an associate at Nolan Sheehan Patten LLP where she concentrates her practice on real estate transactions, particularly in the area of affordable housing and community development. Nolan Sheehan Patten recently signed on as a sponsor firm of the Massachusetts Legal Clinic for the Homeless and Jane volunteered to assist clients at the Medeiros Center, a comprehensive program that serves the needs of Boston’s older adults who are poor and homeless.
Jane met with a disabled gentleman who wanted to address a defaulted student loan that he had co-signed with his daughter many years ago. He had recently received a default notice indicating that he owed several thousand dollars. He was not aware that the loan was in default and had been accruing interest and penalties, and he was financially unable to bring the loan current. He needed help communicating with the collection agency and the Department of Education to resolve the default situation. Jane advocated on her client’s behalf and demonstrated that her client was permanently disabled and unable to work, and was therefore entitled to a full discharge of the loan. She obtained the discharge and relieved her client of the hardship of repaying the loan which given his disability, would have been impossible for him to afford.
Jane commented that, “Participating in the legal clinic gives me perspective on how fortunate I am to have both legal training and access to legal resources. So many people need help solving legal problems, and it’s easy to forget how hooked in lawyers are to a network that most people are unable to access. In many cases, I think the problems our pro bono clients face don’t involve thorny legal issues, but instead are more about making contact and then following up proactively on behalf of the client.”
Throughout her legal career, Jane has appreciated the opportunity that pro bono work provides to work in areas of law and with clients that she would not otherwise be exposed to. She finds these challenges to be rewarding, and gets great satisfaction from helping indigent clients who, in her experience, are extremely grateful for help in resolving their legal problems.
In addition to working with the Lawyers Clearinghouse, Jane has taken on pro bono work through Health Law Advocates, Boston Lawyers’ Group, and The Advocates for Human Rights for the Liberian Truth and Reconciliation Commission Diaspora Project.
Jane feels fortunate to work at a firm that supports and encourages pro bono work and stated that, “Nolan Sheehan Patten has a strong commitment to pro bono work and community service, and we participate as a group, which makes the work even more enjoyable.”
We thank Jane and Nolan Sheehan Patten for their support of the Lawyers Clearinghouse and their extraordinary commitment to serving their community.
