Memphis Area Legal Services created the Urban/Rural Consumer Telephone Clinic to provide a Pro Bono referral network to individuals in rural West Tennessee in need of legal assistance with issues pertaining to consumer law. Pro Bono Attorneys are extremely hard to obtain in the twenty rural counties served by Memphis Area Legal Services (MALS) and West Tennessee Legal Services (WTLS). The purpose of the Urban / Rural Consumer Telephone Clinic is to make use of the large Memphis Bar to serve clients as Pro Bono attorneys in these rural counties. Cases from these counties are initially processed through the Jackson office of WTLS and the Covington (Rural) Office of MALS. Client applications and documents are faxed to MALS' Memphis office staff, who open a file, and to private attorneys in Memphis, who perform conflict checks. Then the volunteer attorney provides appropriate advice and/ or brief service in the case, with the closure report being faxed back to the MALS office. This arrangement allows for services to be provided by Memphis based attorneys to low-income individuals in rural Tennessee who otherwise would have no meaningful access to legal assistance.
Contact Information:
Elder L. Shearon Memphis Area Legal Services 109 N. Main St., Suite Memphis, TN 38103 Phone: (901) 523-8822 Fax: (901) 543-5087 Email
LSC:
America's Partner for Equal Justice 