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Lawyers work free for those in need

Program connects attorneys with people dealing with civil, probate issues.

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By Lou Grieco, Staff Writer Updated 1:25 AM Sunday, January 23, 2011

DAYTON — When Kay Harmon suddenly needed a probate attorney, she didn’t have the money for one.

The sudden death of her husband took her companion of the past 30 years and her family’s main source of income. To get his last paycheck, she would need to go through probate court.

“It was scary,” Harmon said. “Very scary.”

Harmon, 49, turned to the Greater Dayton Volunteer Lawyers Project, a local program that helps people who are financially strained find lawyers who are willing to offer “pro bono” work, or free services.

“He explained stuff to me very well,” Harmon said of lawyer Charles Allbery. “It was just a big relief.”

Since the 1960s, it has been recognized that criminal defendants have the right to an attorney, even if they cannot pay for one. But no corresponding right exists for poor people in civil matters, which can include divorces, child custody cases, evictions or employment cases.

“It provides access to justice through an open court system that they otherwise would not have because of a lack of finances,” said attorney Jim Kelleher, past president of the GDVLP board of trustees.

Since 1988, the GDVLP has provided lawyers in more than 21,000 cases, providing more than $10 million in donated services to the poor. But Montgomery County Common Pleas Judge Mary Katherine Huffman, president of the GDVLP Board of Trustees, said those numbers are probably understated, as attorneys are probably under-reporting the hours spent on pro bono cases.

The GDVLP is located at the Dayton Bar Association and is supported by Legal Aid of Western Ohio. The program has 1,000 lawyers from various specialties who donate services.

“It’s the gold standard,” said Jane Taylor, associate director for pro bono for the Ohio Legal Assistance Foundation. “That’s fantastic participation.”

The OLAF provides staffing for a statewide pro bono task force started in 2007 by then Ohio Supreme Court Chief Justice Thomas J. Moyer. The goal is to bring pro bono service projects to all of Ohio’s 88 counties, and the task force has studied the GDVLP.

The GDVLP serves the counties covered by the Ohio 2nd District Court of Appeals: Montgomery, Greene, Darke, Miami, Clark and Champaign.

The difference in Dayton is that local judges support the GDVLP, Taylor said, leading lawyers to want to participate.

“Lawyers always look up to judges as leaders,” Taylor said. “They want to do well for the judges.

Gary Froelich, a GDVLP volunteer, said he did so because he believes all lawyers should provide community service.

Froelich represented Tracy McGlothan in an eviction case last fall.

McGlothan said her former landlord had not complied with Section 8 requirements and tried to get her to make up the difference illegally.

“He wanted me to give him $100 under the table,” McGlothan said. “It would have cost me my Section 8.”

When she refused, the landlord filed to evict her. But when McGlothan arrived in court with Froelich, the landlord immediately agreed to withdraw the case.

“It saved me and my family from becoming homeless,” said McGlothan, who has since moved.

For Harmon, whose 54-year-old husband died of a heart attack while jogging July 11, the process of dealing with probate was overwhelming. William Harmon, who worked for the city’s Wastewater Treatment Plant, was the main income source for his wife and three children.

Kay Harmon, a school cafeteria worker and hairdresser, was mourning her spouse, comforting their three children, and trying to understand legal issues she never thought she would have to deal with.

The couple did have a will, but “the will is not always everything,” she said. “You still have to deal with the probate.”

That meant getting car titles signed over, filing a letter of authority with the city to get his paycheck and signing up for Social Security benefits.

“I never had to deal with a lawyer before,” she said. “I think he treated me really well.”

Kelleher and Froelich both said that was the point: to help those who need it, but can’t afford it — at the time they need that help most.

“Lawyers are given a unique opportunity to give back to the community,” Kelleher said. “Our profession requires it, in my opinion.”

Anyone interested in applying for legal services should call the Legal Aid Line at (888) 534-1432.

Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2057 or lgrieco@DaytonDailyNews.com.

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