Ventura County Bar Association
Promoting legal excellence, high ethical standards and professional conduct in the practice of law.
The Annual Ventura County Bar Association Installation and Awards Banquet will be held on Saturday, November 20, 2010, at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Ventura.
Honoring Mark O. Hiepler, recipient of the Ben E. Nordman Public Services Award and presenting the James D. Loebl, VCBA/VLSP, Inc. Pro Bono Award to Deborah E. Jurgensen.
Seating is limited RSVP by Friday, November 13, 2010
Proceeds to benefit VCBA/VLSP, Inc.
By Verna Kagan
After some difficult instances, I asked my superiors and committee members for permission to refuse out-of-state applicants. Primarily such cases were quite costly both monetarily and in time consumption. The out-of-state applicant is frequently hard to locate for follow-up and is hard to satisfy with outcome. Those of you who have been kind enough to accept such matters in the past are probably quite familiar with the problems. In the process, I made a discovery that took a long time coming. It appears that legal services agencies receiving federal funds are required to give reciprocity. Therefore, assuming that VLSP was one such agency, they expected that I would accept the matter. Some callers became argumentative when I said that, as a matter of policy we do not accept out-of-state applicants. They explained that their applicants had “prequalified” and that I was under obligations to accept. I have finally learned that I must explain that we do not receive public funding. I also learned that accepting funds from a public resource diminishes our autonomy.
In one instance, I was called on behalf of a woman living in a battered women’s shelter. She had a restraining order against her husband and was awarded custody of their minor child. Husband picked up the child ostensibly for a visit, got drunk, drove with the child in the car and was arrested. For reasons unknown to me, the child was turned over to an aunt. She, in turn, picked up the husband the following morning, gave his car back, gave him the child and off he drove to Ventura. He immediately filed an action for dissolution of marriage and for custody of the child. He had left his former state while his criminal action was still pending. One of our wonderful attorneys went in to contest jurisdiction. Though the case seems simple on the surface, many hours were spent bringing the matter to conclusion. A local woman had her children stolen from her and removed to Nevada by family members. They then filed for custody. God help anyone trying to deal with Nevada. They don’t believe in the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction Act. If someone removes a child to Nevada even for a day, Nevada will take jurisdiction. It cost us many hours, lots of long distance calls and some help from the child abduction and recovery unit before the matter was resolved. It is these kinds of struggles which keeps this old lady active and somewhat youthful.
Verna Kagan is the VLSP Senior Emeritus Attorney
The year 2009/10 has presented the pro-bono program with some unique challenges.
Under the able leadership of Michelle Erich we have developed a new program of relative adoption. An article about this program appeared in a previous issue of Citations.
Through some struggle we are still hoping to launch a Lawyer for a Day Program. Many of you have expressed an interest in the program and I thank you so much for your willing assistance.
The mortgage fraud matters continue to hit our agency as well as others. Thank heavens for Miles Weiss and his team at the District Attorney’s office who have given us good direction again and again helping us to successful outcomes.
Among the more unusual requests, we have been asked to help defend a mother in a civil suit whose son shot and killed a classmate at Junior High School. Devastated as she walked into our office, we were able to assure her that things were not as bleak as they seemed.
We were asked to defend a young single mother who shared a bank account with her father against a civil suit from embezzlement.
Identity theft is always a problem. However an interesting matter arouse when a man registered his car in the name of our applicant at an address where she resided several years ago. Our applicant has never met this individual and has no idea who he is. Nonetheless, he became involved in a very serious accident while drunk and caused substantial damage for which our applicant is being sued. When we have consumer problems, Greg Brose, of the District Attorneys office is our competent go to person.
We have tried to avoid cases coming here from out of state without always being successful. Nonetheless, we have taken a couple of such cases that seemed unavoidable. I am reserving for another article fuller explanation of the problems involved. For now, kudos to Tom Johnson of the District Attorney’s office for his enormous help.
A tiny dog who bit a neighbor has now become a major negligence matter including all the discovery techniques usually reserved for every large cases.
In conclusion, I am very proud of our pro bono program. Our Emeritus Attorneys are dedicated and concerned. They willingly put in the hours and hard work to accomplish our goals. Private attorneys who have accepted our pro bono cases have been magnificent and there are not enough honors we can heap on the for all their work. I believe we have a well deserved reputation in the community which have driven away some of the public perception of attorneys as sharks. Thank you everyone.
The year 2009/10 has presented the pro-bono program with some unique challenges.
Under the able leadership of Michelle Erich we have developed a new program of relative adoption. An article about this program appeared in a previous issue of Citations.
Through some struggle we are still hoping to launch a Lawyer for a Day Program. Many of you have expressed an interest in the program and I thank you so much for your willing assistance.
The mortgage fraud matters continue to hit our agency as well as others. Thank heavens for Miles Weiss and his team at the District Attorney’s office who have given us good direction again and again helping us to successful outcomes.
Among the more unusual requests, we have been asked to help defend a mother in a civil suit whose son shot and killed a classmate at Junior High School. Devastated as she walked into our office, we were able to assure her that things were not as bleak as they seemed.
We were asked to defend a young single mother who shared a bank account with her father against a civil suit from embezzlement.
Identity theft is always a problem. However an interesting matter arouse when a man registered his car in the name of our applicant at an address where she resided several years ago. Our applicant has never met this individual and has no idea who he is. Nonetheless, he became involved in a very serious accident while drunk and caused substantial damage for which our applicant is being sued. When we have consumer problems, Greg Brose, of the District Attorneys office is our competent go to person.
We have tried to avoid cases coming here from out of state without always being successful. Nonetheless, we have taken a couple of such cases that seemed unavoidable. I am reserving for another article fuller explanation of the problems involved. For now, kudos to Tom Johnson of the District Attorney’s office for his enormous help.
A tiny dog who bit a neighbor has now become a major negligence matter including all the discovery techniques usually reserved for every large cases.
In conclusion, I am very proud of our pro bono program. Our Emeritus Attorneys are dedicated and concerned. They willingly put in the hours and hard work to accomplish our goals. Private attorneys who have accepted our pro bono cases have been magnificent and there are not enough honors we can heap on the for all their work. I believe we have a well deserved reputation in the community which have driven away some of the public perception of attorneys as sharks. Thank you everyone.
We have just come through the holidays. During that period the press and charitable organizations remind us about compassion. They give us stories about the less fortunate who need everything – food, shelter, clothing, toys for children, medical care and legal services.
What is most important to remember is that these needs exist throughout the year.
So, my dear pro bono friends, all year long the emeritus attorneys team has been calling upon you to assist us by providing service for the many applicants who come through our program. We depend upon your continued compassion and concern.
How do I thank you for all your service? I cannot write this article often enough to fulfill my desire to thank you. This year we will again and again come knocking at your door and hope that my team and I will be invited in. In the meantime, I want to take this opportunity to wish you and those you love all the joy and good health that life can bring for the New Year.
It is a few days before Christmas. The sounds of footsteps, clatter and laughter scatter in the single-file line. The kids are waiting with anticipation to see Santa at the North Fillmore Community Storefront. Every year the Fillmore Volunteer Fire Department and other civic organizations collect donated toys to give to the kids who would otherwise not be getting toys this Christmas.
There are more children in this line than in years past. My seven-year-old looks on with awe and curiosity. I tell him that many children are not getting presents this year because their parents have lost their jobs, lost their homes or there just isn’t anything extra to buy presents; that in this line where they stand exposed to the late afternoon chill for their one toy it will be their only Christmas present. He goes quiet. With saucer eyes he indignantly asks: “Mom, why won’t Santa give presents to these kids?”
I look at the line with a different kind of awe. None of the kids have on coats. My mind judges immediately: “Did the children forget their coats? They knew it was cold and that the wait was long.” The line snaked as the little boy tucked into his mother and the realization hit me like the
cold wind – he didn’t forget his coat. He doesn’t have a coat.
Please join Santa Clara Valley Legal Aid’s third annual Winter Coat Drive. On December 21st we will be giving away brand-new warm winter coats to needy children of the Santa Clara Valley who are standing outside in line in Fillmore to receive their toy from Santa. Please donate either checks or brand new coats with hoods and with tags. There are no “administrative” costs. You send the checks and my teams go and buy the coats. We all feel the effects of this economy and know that there are very financially challenged families who cannot provide warmth for their kids this winter.
If you would like to join this community of generosity, you can send checks to:
Winter Coat Fund, c/o Laura Bartels, 540
Sespe Avenue, Suite #2, Fillmore, CA 93015,
or to Winter Coat Fund at the Santa Clara
Valley Bank, 527 Sespe Avenue, Fillmore,
CA 93015 Account #002-112027 or go
to www.wintercoatdrive.com and make a
donation using Paypal. Your donation is
tax-deductible.
As Marion Wright Edelman, the founder of the Children’s Defense Fund says:
“We must not, in trying to think about how we can make a big difference, ignore the small daily differences we can make which, over time, add up to big differences that we often cannot foresee.”
A warm coat makes a big difference.
Laura Bartels practices with Taylor, Scoles
and Bartels in Fillmore.
