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Tag: Legal Aid

2021 LEGAL SERVICES / PRO BONO Q&A

Tara Casey

University of Richmond School of Law, Richmond

Title: Professor of law, legal practice

Education: Bachelor’s degree, University of Virginia; law degree, Washington University in St. Louis School of Law

Spouse: Dr. Alan W. Dow III

Children: Sylvie and Ezra Dow

Recently read book: “Alone Together: Love, Grief, and Comfort in the Time of COVID-19,” a collection of essays and poems edited by Jennifer Haupt

Favorite vacation spot: Eastern Shore

Has the pandemic impacted the availability of pro bono services? Accessing and delivering pro bono services became more difficult, as in-person delivery became at best fraught and at worst impossible. For example, how do you provide legal assistance to individuals who
do not have access to the internet? The past
18 months have been transformative for the pro bono community as we consider how to reach communities in need and rethink how our systems both increase and impede access to legal services.

Your public policy class worked to pass a state law to protect homeowners impacted by the pandemic from foreclosures. What did they learn from the experience? In fall 2020, we were so fortunate to partner with the Virginia Poverty Law Center to address issues of housing equity in Virginia — ranging from how foreclosures are handled in our court system to how our legal structures treat manufactured home communities. Throughout the semester, they conducted extensive research, both in the legal and social science space. They interviewed practitioners, scholars and community members. They developed a deep understanding of the issues. … Ultimately, their work helped to inform the development of the Preserving the American Dream Act, which passed the Virginia General Assembly in its 2021 session.

Ikea, state pledge $4M for eviction legal assistance

Gov. Ralph Northam announced a $4 million fund Monday that will support 20 Legal Aid attorneys in defending Virginia tenants facing eviction over the next two years.

The Ikea U.S. Community Foundation pledged $2 million, based on the unemployment funds its retail workers in Virginia received earlier in the year, and the state’s COVID-19 Relief Fund will match the donation. The funds will go to the Legal Services Corp. of Virginia, which oversees nine Legal Aid Society offices across the state and the Virginia Poverty Law Center.

In April, the General Assembly approved the COVID-19 Relief Fund, funded with profits from electronic skill machines, which were set to be banned before the pandemic. However, tax revenue from the machines is now collected by the Virginia Lottery, with proceeds assisting small businesses, out-of-work Virginians and people at risk of eviction. The ban on so-called “gray machines” will take effect next July, Northam has pledged.

Ikea has two furniture and house wares stores in Woodbridge and Norfolk, where it employs about 550, and it recently left Pittsylvania County, where it employed about 300 people in its manufacturing plant. In December, Morgan Olson LLC, a step-van manufacturer, purchased and renovated the former Ikea plant.

“We are appreciative of the ongoing support from the commonwealth of Virginia, including the unemployment funds paid to our coworkers who were furloughed in the early weeks of the pandemic,” Ikea Retail U.S. President Javier Quiñones said in a statement. “People are the heart of our business, and these unemployment benefits helped Ikea U.S. coworkers during a difficult time. We now have a better understanding of the impact of COVID-19 on our business, and we’ve decided to pay it forward to support the ongoing relief efforts in our local communities.”