LLA Foundation Makes Major Grant to Provide legal Representation of Families in PFA Cases
The Lycoming Law Association awarded a grant to North Penn Legal Services to will contract with private attorneys to represent low-income victims of domestic violence who are trying to obtain protection for themselves and their children. In 2021, there was a surge in the number of protection from abuse petitions filed in Lycoming County.
The grant of $20,000 is the largest awarded by the LLA Foundation in its history. The purpose of the grant is not to replace pro bono service by LLA attorneys, but to supplement the free services provided by many local lawyers in complex cases where the victims cannot afford representation. The number of cases often exceeds the ability of the local bar to provided pro bono services.
Typically, the plaintiffs in these cases are referred to North Penn Legal Services which assigns a staff attorney to represent them or finds a local attorney, who agrees to represent them for free. The Lycoming County bar has a long-standing history of volunteering to represent plaintiffs in these cases, but the resources of the local bar and Legal Services cannot meet the increasing need for help, and the county judges are seeing more cases in which neither side has representation.
Most PFAs are settled by agreement, which is negotiated by an attorney. When neither party is represented, there is little opportunity to settle, and the result is more contested hearings, with victims of abuse trying to present evidence and question the opposing party on their own. Representation of at least one party increases settlements and improves outcomes.
North Penn Legal Services, is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization that provides free civil legal assistance to low-income families, individuals, and groups in northeastern Pennsylvania. Services include individual representation (ranging from document preparation to litigation), information, referral and advice through a telephone helpline, community legal education, and support for those clients who will be taking responsibility for handling some or all aspects of their own problem.
The Lycoming Law Association Foundation is a tax-exempt not-for-profit, 501(c)(3) corporation. The mission of the Foundation is to cultivate the science of jurisprudence, improve the legal and judicial system and facilitate the administration of justice for residents of Lycoming County; to promote education generally, including the cultivation of law-related education in schools of Lycoming County, the granting of scholarships, assistance to public libraries in Lycoming County and advancement of continuing legal education; and, to make such grants as are consistent with Foundation policies and guidelines.
