june 1, 2016 - may 31, 2017 - nhbar.org€¦ · for example, kamala, a nepali refugee with deaf and...
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INTEREST ON LAWYERS TRUST ACCOUNTS IMPACT STATEMENT
June 1, 2016 - May 31, 2017
With a small sta� and a statewide mission, the Legal Advice & Referral Center shrewdly uses its resources. LARC’s reliance on telephone and online-based intake and service allows it to serve NH residents anywhere in the state. “Teaching clients to represent themselves is one way LARC leverages these resources,” says Breckie Hayes-Snow, LARC’s executive director. “Our advocates have mastered the ability to communicate in plain language, regardless of the complexity of the subject matter. We educate people to persuade judges of the merits of their case. We teach our clients how to �sh rather than �shing for them.”
The Disability Rights Center of New Hampshire uses its IOLTA grant to support work in four major areas: advocacy for those with mobility disabilities, aiding the developmentally disabled, facilitating communications for those with hearing loss, and selective representation for families with special education issues.
DRC has increasingly been assisting refugee and immigrant clients who are deaf or have hearing di�culties and face special challenges in their daily lives. For example, Kamala, a Nepali refugee with deaf and low vision issues, uses Nepali sign language to communicate. Her only possible interpreter is not certi�ed. DRC petitioned the state licensing board for a one-year waiver to cover all interpreting for Kamala and other Nepalese/Bhutanese people. Now Kamala can go to the doctor, talk to her son’s teacher and participate in other activities.
A single mom of six children breathed a big sigh of relief when New Hampshire Legal Assistance won an important legal victory restoring her state welfare bene�ts (TANF). The state Department of Health & Human Services had applied an illegal rule to take away more than $600 a month in TANF bene�ts from this family because two of her children were receiving federal disability bene�ts. The US Department of Justice �led a brief in support of NHLA in the case. The legal victory for this family highlights the value of NHLA’s years of expertise in areas of law that a�ect the disadvantaged and vulnerable. The legal victory helps more than just one family. NHLA estimates that at least $667,000 per year in additional TANF bene�ts will go to the neediest families in the state, and the decision will a�ect other bene�t programs such as the state’s fuel-assistance program.
For every dollar of IOLTA funding, the Pro Bono Lawyer Referral Program generates three times the value in donated services. Last year, that amounted to more than $2 million in free legal services (at an average rate of $200 per hour). Pro Bono attorneys often take on the toughest cases. The results they achieve for clients may seem modest but can be signi�cant. Insisting on proper notice of an eviction can win a family precious time to �nd another apartment and avoid homelessness, or negotiating a payment plan for �nes with small-claims court can avoid making a di�cult situation a hopeless one.
The NH Bar Association answers calls from thousands of people each year who need help with a legal problem but are unable to a�ord a lawyer and do not qualify for legal help through legal aid or the public defender. Handling both civil and lower-level criminal matters, the Reduced Fee Referral Program made 953 referrals last year to clients earning up to 275% of the federal poverty level. Many lawyers on the reduced fee panel work closely with the clients to craft cost-e�ective approaches to legal problems. These lawyers help resolve problems or bring peace of mind in a vexing situation. Sometimes the lawyer’s advice clari�es a client’s rights or remedies; sometimes a lawyer’s letter or phone call results in a delay or a small concession that makes all the di�erence for the client. The most common legal matters addressed by Reduced Fee Referrals involve family law (51%) and foreclosure prevention (21%).
18,000 peoplewhose lives were aided,
whose safety was secured,whose appeals were heard,
whose debt burdens were eased, whose civil rights were preserved,
whose dignity was restored.
Learn about the people who were helped by the organizations funded by IOLTA.
Image by Herb Neufeld via Flickr
Image by Stephen Harris via Flickr
Today’s lawyers often have staggering student debt burdens. To attract and retain the talent needed to do the challenging work of public-interest law, the Bar Foundation assists lawyers employed by IOLTA grantees with its Law School Repayment Assistance Program (LRAP), now in its 17th year. LRAP last year assisted nine attorneys, with combined debts of more than $1.2 million, providing an average grant of $5,833.
One recipient writes, “While I haven’t been able to pay down my loans as much as I would like, I’ve been able to keep up with the payments and survive while establishing my family and career. I’m beyond thankful to this program for that opportunity.”
For more information on each grantee, you can access their �nal grant reports at www.NHBarFoundation.org/IOLTA.php
Image by Christophe DeMulder via Flickr
Coos
Grafton Carroll
Belknap
Sullivan Merrimack Stra�ord
Cheshire HillsboroughRockingham
503
587
1283
1749
973
898
898
2240
60462586
Federal Grants30%
LSC12%
State Funding20%
United Way2%
2016 Foreclosure Settlement
18%
Other Grants6%
Fundraising3%
IOLTA9%
IOLTA is the largest source of non-government funding that legal services agencies in NH receive. But it is far from the only funder of a civil legal aid. IOLTA grants account for approximately 9% of all funding for civil legal aid programs in New Hampshire.
Historically, IOLTA has been the most stable funding source for these agencies from year to year. Also, because it is unrestricted in nature, legal aid agencies can direct IOLTA’s funds to core services that are not addressed by other funding sources. IOLTA funds also can boost funding when used as a local match for certain grants.
Nearly 18,000* New Hampshire residents bene�ted from services provided by IOLTA-funded agencies.
The needs are great; legal aid providers cannot assist everyone who contacts them.
Organizations receiving IOLTA funding in FY 2016-2017Total grants: $700,000
Disability Rights Center- NHStephanie Patrick, Executive Director
[email protected] 2017 Grant: $36,000
Legal Advice & Referral CenterBreckie Hayes-Snow, Executive Director
FY 2017 Grant: $27,250
Pro Bono Lawyer Referral ProgramVirginia Martin, Director of Legal Services
FY 2017 Grant: $153,750
Reduced-Fee Lawyer Referral ProgramVirginia Martin, Director of Legal Services
FY 2017 Grant: $3,500
New Hampshire Legal AssistanceLynne Parker, Executive Director
FY 2017 Grant: $427,000
NH Bar FoundationLaw School Repayment
Assistance Program
Law School Repayment Assistance ProgramLisha Brosseau, Program Coordinator
FY 2017 Grant: $52,500
Why IOLTA funding is so important
Family issues (including domestic violence and child support) and housing are the most common types of cases handled by IOLTA grantees. National studies show low-income people only recieve help for about 20% of the legal problems they face.
Family33%
Housing32%
Misc.19%
Employment/Income
10% Consumer 6%
The New Hampshire Bar Foundation is a nonpro�t, grant-making charitable foundation dedicated to supporting civil legal aid for the disadvantaged and law-related education in New Hampshire. To �nd out more about our mission and programs, visit us at www.NHBarFoundation.org or call us at 603-715-3210.
Where did the money go?
* The totals include the average number of people per household for each client represented or assisted by the IOLTA grantees.