Virginia Legal Aid Society having to turn away more clients

With the economic woes across much of the state and double-digit unemployment in parts of its service area, the Virginia Legal Aid Society now estimates it is turning away more qualified clients than it is serving.

The legal aid society, headquartered in Lynchburg, serves clients from the Hill City to Suffolk. The group assigns 4,000 to 4,500 new cases per year from clients needing the extended service of a lawyer. But in the last two years, the number of cases turned down because of capacity has grown from 3,000 per year to 5,000, Executive Director David Neumeyer said.

For no charge, Legal Aid works with clients seeking help with civil cases whose incomes fall within 125 percent of the federal poverty guidelines. That is $22,000 per year for a family of three, he said.

Most of those who qualify for help get legal advice through LawLine, a phone service staffed by paralegals. Since the service opened in 2005, LawLine has closed more than 13,000 cases, Managing Attorney Larry Nordick said.

Those cases that require more help, what Legal Aid calls “extended service,” are referred to a lawyer, if one is available to help. That’s where demand is exceeding capacity.

Deborah Hudgins is responsible for coordinating those cases with private attorneys who provide pro bono service. Hudgins said she’s seeing an increase in demand for family law cases — usually no-contest divorces, which are already a large part of the group’s work — and in estate planning for seniors.

“There seems to be increased awareness and sensitivity, or realization that ‘hey, I’m not immortal,”’ Neumeyer said. “They hear stories about other people who are left hanging out there by themselves when they become more advanced (in age).

“It’s a combination of the economy and an increased level of sophistication.”

While demand has increased, funding from some sources has decreased, he said. The United Way cut Legal Aid funding by 20 percent. Another source of funding, interest on lawyers’ trust accounts, is going to decrease dramatically, he predicted, based on lower interest rates.

Neumeyer said Legal Aid has done well in finding new contributors this year, but predicted finding funding next year will be much more difficult — and demand is not projected to decrease.

Hudgins and private attorneys like Lynchburg lawyer David Bice have turned to the local bar associations for help.

Earlier this year, they started calling lawyers in Amherst, Appomattox and Campbell counties.

“Not one attorney I contacted refused,” Bice said.

Having more lawyers in these areas away from Lynchburg and Legal Aid’s offices is especially important since those who need the assistance often have trouble getting around, Hudgins said.

“How we provide more extended service help is by seeking more financial resources to hire more staff — very difficult right now — and by asking private attorneys to take more cases,” he said.