Mid-Shore Pro Bono’s new Executive Director Meredith Lathbury Girard. Photography by Stephen Buchanan
Lawyer Jimmy Persels has prevailed in dozens of cases for Mid-Shore Pro Bono. But one especially stands out. It was one of Persels’ first cases he took on after he started volunteering for the organization in 2009.
A disabled police officer who lived in Caroline County was having trouble getting benefits that were due to him and faced losing his house. It took some time, but Persels, a Centreville resident, eventually saved him from foreclosure while restoring his benefits.
“He and his family were really struggling,” says the 77-year-old Persels, who now gives consultations and law clinics for Mid-Shore Pro Bono. “We helped him and his family through the process and it ended up coming out good. It was very rewarding.
“Volunteering keeps me busy, and I still enjoy it,” he adds.
The police officer’s story is just the kind of positive outcome the organization always strives for as it helps hundreds of clients in the eight counties across the Eastern Shore. The mission of the 17-year-old nonprofit is to provide free or reduced-fee legal assistance and counsel to individuals and families who otherwise couldn’t afford these services.
The organization provides about $2 million in legal assistance services to more than 3,000 individuals and families each year. Mid-Shore Pro Bono is largely funded through county, state, and private grants, and individual donations.
“I think there is a huge need for people to get legal representation,” says Meredith Lathbury Girard, the organization’s new executive director and former managing attorney for three years. “It costs a lot of money to hire an attorney. The average rate is 250 dollars an hour. You usually need a nice chunk of change upfront to get an attorney.”
Mid-Shore Pro Bono deals with cases that involve nearly everything, including housing, divorce, child custody, consumer debt, and elder law. These cases are handled by a network of about 200 volunteer attorneys.
“They are absolutely amazing,” Lathbury Girard says of the volunteers. “They do incredible work. They make our clients feel they have been seen and heard. Their services create access to a legal system that often creates a lot of barriers to keep them out.”
Fortunately, former long-time Executive Director Sandy Brown and Lathbury Girard have helped assemble the organization’s extensive network of lawyers who are willing to donate their time and expertise.
“We do have 25 lawyers that give us more than 100 hours of service,” Brown says. “It’s almost two million dollars of free legal service that we are providing to the community.”
Brown left the organization in December after serving 13 years as executive director. During that time, she was instrumental in the organization’s dramatic expansion. Mid-Shore Pro Bono only had an office in Centreville when Brown started with the organization in 2008. Today, it has locations in Chestertown, Easton, Salisbury, and a fourth location planned for Cambridge.
“Sandy has really built up this organization from the ground up,” Lathbury Girard says. “It’s an extraordinary opportunity for me. It’s not often you get to walk in as executive director with a really professional staff and excellent programs already built.”
From the beginning of Brown’s term, one of her biggest challenges was letting the public know about the availability of the organization’s pro-bono services. They cover the entire Eastern Shore of Maryland.
“It can be a hard message to spread,” Brown says. “Law services are not in the mind of most people. It’s not like Habitat for Humanity that’s built houses, where there is something physical to show. We have a full-time outreach coordinator who does one-on-one outreach. She goes to nonprofits that service similar clients. We do mailings to low-income households. We also communicate with social services agencies and counties.”
What it all comes back to is helping the clients. Lathbury Girard helped a woman in Caroline County whose boyfriend had been murdered. It left her with a near hopeless situation because the woman wasn’t working, had health issues, and has three kids, including an infant. But Lathbury Girard restored her hope.
“It turned into a very positive situation,” Lathbury Girard said. “We were able to prevent eviction and work together with the local rental agency to get money for past rent and future rent for the client to get back on her feet. It’s a privilege to help her this way and make such a concrete difference in her life.”
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