MARYLAND VOLUNTEER LAWYERS SERVICE INC
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Mission Statement
Maryland Volunteer Lawyers Service (MVLS) removes barriers to justice through free civil legal help, community engagement, and advocacy for equitable laws. Our vision is for a fair legal system that is free of injustice and equitably serves underrepresented Marylanders.
About This Cause
MVLS directly helps Marylanders facing legal challenges, while also fighting to change systems that harm people living in or near poverty. MVLS accomplishes this through pro bono representation, community engagement, and legislative and administrative advocacy. Our volunteer attorneys and tax professionals help individual clients resolve their life changing civil issues. MVLS staff attorneys build on that impact by building meaningful community partnerships and identifying specific inequities that are borne out in our clients’ stories and in the legal system at large. We leverage this knowledge to advocate for more equitable laws. MVLS offers full legal representation to debtors to help them find a resolution and move forward with their life. Grant funding allows us to go to the Baltimore City District Court every week for a Consumer Protection Clinic to assist people who are being sued for debt collection. We meet with individuals the day of their court proceeding to review their files, assist with negotiations and/or enter a defense. In partnership with the Bankruptcy Court, MVLS also coordinates the Debtor Assistance Project to provide brief advice to clients considering bankruptcy. Our Bankruptcy Bypass Program supports older adults who may be eligible for creditor relief outside of bankruptcy. We use what we learn through our work with clients to lead educational campaigns on a variety of consumer topics and advocate for consumer relief with the Maryland General Assembly. Similarly, our Human Trafficking Prevention Project, in partnership with the University of Baltimore School of Law, supports survivors and those at the highest risk of being trafficked with holistic legal support that starts with criminal record expungement or vacatur (where survivors fight to vacate convictions for actions they were prosecuted for while being trafficked) and expands to address other legal issues like identity theft, collections, unsafe housing, or the loss of their children. In addition to the provision of legal services, MVLS’ workforce development and human trafficking prevention staff: -Conduct extensive community outreach -Facilitate community-based intake -Partner with case managers and other direct service staff -Host educational presentations -Distribute educational materials, and -Work with local and state lawmakers to improve criminal relief options in the legislature. Frequently, MVLS encounters clients who have resided in their homes for years, faithfully paid their mortgages, and kept up with their property responsibilities, but the house passed to them without the necessary legal steps to have their name on the deed. Our clients, for all reasonable purposes, are the homeowners. But not in the eyes of the law. Our My Home, My Deed, My Legacy project ensures that a homeowner can resolve this barrier to their legal status so that they can remain in their home as the legal homeowner. Avoiding Probate MVLS helps clients take proactive steps during their lifetime to help them avoid the costly process of probate. MVLS volunteer and staff attorneys can set up beneficiaries, transfer on death accounts and life estate deeds, which create a streamlined process to pass a family home and other essential assets onto the next generation. Estate Administration Individuals who did not do estate planning or are unable to avoid probate can get help from MVLS volunteers to open an estate and navigate probate. For most of our clients, the only asset being passed through an estate is the family home. In addition to this support, our LITC conducts community presentations and onsite intake at neighborhood based sites. We work collaboratively with the Comptroller and the IRS to seek better outcomes for the taxpayers we represent. The Adult Public Guardianship Review Board (APGRB) is MVLS’ longest running specialty project. APGRB attorneys represent adults under public guardianship at emergency guardianship and review hearings. MVLS also operates the weekly Washington County Courthouse Clinic which provides brief advice to people facing a family law issue. Additionally MVLS recruits experienced family law attorneys to accept contested family law cases for full representation through Judicare. These attorneys can receive a small stipend for their help.