Purpose - Funding - Case Handling - How Long Should It Take?
Arkansas Volunteer Lawyers for the
Elderly, Inc. (AVLE) was organized in late 1983 by the Young Lawyer’s
Section of the Arkansas Bar Association for the purpose of providing
pro bono legal services to a
target population of rural, low-income, elderly Arkansans.
AVLE is the only organization in Arkansas that offers free legal assistance
to low-income persons, who are 55 years or older, in 67 of 75 Arkansas
counties. Our service area excludes the Little Rock metropolitan area,
which is served by the Center for Arkansas Legal Services’ VOCALS
program, as well as the seven counties surrounding Pulaski County.
Funding
The collective resource that makes our program possible is the private
bar. AVLE is sponsored by the Arkansas Bar Association and funded by
the state Legal Services programs and the Arkansas Department of Human
Services, Division of Aging and Adult Services.
In May 1988 AVLE received 501(c) (3) tax exempt status from the federal
government. This nonprofit status affords our organization the opportunity
to seek outside funding for special projects that would directly result
in the provision of free legal services to greater numbers of low-income,
elderly Arkansans seeking our assistance.
AVLE has received generous funding over the past several years from the
IOLTA Foundation and the Arkansas Bar Foundation. In 1992, AVLE received
a Marie Walsh Sharpe grant from the American Bar Association Fund for
Justice and Education. AVLE has also received grants from such foundations
as the Rockefeller Foundation and the Roy and Christine Sturgis Trust.
What Happens When Your Case is Handled By AVLE?
The Area Agency on Aging (AAA) or the Legal Services Program (LSP) sends
your case to the AVLE office in Little Rock as quickly as possible. The
AVLE staff calls an attorney in the county where you live. When an attorney
volunteers to help you, the AVLE staff sends a letter asking you to contact
the attorney to set a time for a meeting. Attorneys are out of their
office in court a lot so you may have to call them several times. You
should keep trying!
After the first meeting, your lawyer will have an idea about whether
he can help you. If the attorney says he cannot help you, you should
call AVLE right away to see if someone else can help you.
top
How Long Should This Take?
If the problem is an emergency, AAA/LSP and AVLE will handle it as quickly
as we can, in order to protect your rights. Even if it is not an emergency,
we understand you are worried so we will try to handle it quickly.
If you are unhappy with how much time a case is taking, you should call
the staff to talk about it. There may be a reason it takes longer than
it seems it should or the volunteer attorney may need some help from
the AVLE staff to complete the case.
