CBA and UConn School of Law Collaborate to Help Individuals with Low Income

On Friday, April 1, the Connecticut Bar Association and UConn School of Law jointly held a Free Legal Answers Comes to Campus event. At the event, CBA President Cecil J. Thomas, CBA President-Elect Daniel J. Horgan, and UConn School of Law Dean Eboni S. Nelson spoke to student participants about the access to justice gap in Connecticut and the need for volunteer and pro bono assistance. After opening remarks, a team of eight volunteer attorneys from the CBA mentored a group of 20 UConn law students through the process of providing free legal advice to individuals with low or no income. The free advice was provided through the American Bar Association (ABA’s) Free Legal Answers website, a resource which allows individuals in need to post written questions about their legal situations and receive confidential responses written by volunteer attorneys.

“The CBA is proud of our many collaborations with the University of Connecticut School of Law, particularly in addressing the civil access to justice gap,” said CBA President Cecil J. Thomas. “UConn law students have been an integral part of our Virtual Free Legal Advice Clinics and have now proved invaluable in working alongside our attorney volunteers through our CT Free Legal Answers program. The civil access to justice gap in Connecticut is significant, but I am incredibly hopeful for the future when I see the enthusiasm that the future members of our profession bring to these volunteer opportunities. I look forward to seeing many more such collaborations in the future.”

At the Free Legal Answers Comes to Campus event, the CBA and UConn School of Law volunteers assisted 19 Connecticut clients by posting responses to real-world client questions. The clients seeking help included, among others, six who were experiencing family law issues, such as being subjected to abuse, and five clients facing housing issues, such as eviction or landlord misconduct. Due to the outstanding efforts of all who were involved with the event, the participants set a record for the most questions answered in Connecticut on the ABA Free Legal Answers website in one day.

The CBA is grateful to the event speakers: CBA President Cecil J. Thomas, CBA President-Elect Daniel J. Horgan, and Dean Eboni S. Nelson as well as Assistant Dean Karen DeMeola and Associate Dean Jennifer Mailly of UConn Law School, who worked with CBA Director of Access to Justice Initiatives Jenn Shukla, to organize and coordinate the event. In addition, the CBA thanks the additional volunteer attorneys and law students below who volunteered their time to help narrow the access to justice gap at the event.

CBA President Cecil J. Thomas		CBA President-elect Daniel J. Horgan		Uconn School of Law Dean Eboni S. Nelson
		Photos courtesy of Molly Sullivan

CBA ATTORNEY VOLUNTEERS

UCONN LAW STUDENT VOLUNTEERS