Local attorneys honored for pro bono work to help low-income people in crisis

Here’s the press release from Pisgah Legal Services:
Local attorneys have been nominated for annual awards sponsored by the North Carolina Bar Association (NCBA) to recognize volunteer attorneys who provide exemplary pro bono service to low-income people.  The nominees were recognized today at a meeting of the 28th Judicial District (Buncombe County) Bar at the Venue in downtown Asheville.

The 28th Judicial District Bar and Pisgah Legal Services (PLS) co-sponsored the nominations of attorneys Victor C. Garlock, Victor C. Garlock, P.A.; D. Rodney Kight, Kight Law; and Bryant D. Webster, Stone & Christy, P.A., for the NCBA’s 2014 William L. Thorp Pro Bono Service Award.  PLS and the Bar nominated Shannan Barclay Tuorto, Ingrid Friesen, P.A., and Joshua W. Harrold, Law Office of Joshua W. Harrold, for the Younger Lawyer Pro Bono Service Award.

These attorneys are being recognized for their volunteer service through the Mountain Area Volunteer Lawyers (MAVL) Program, which is administered by Pisgah Legal Services. Through MAVL, more than 300 private attorneys provide free civil legal services each year to low-income people to help them meet their most basic needs, including housing, health care, income, safety from domestic violence, and consumer protection. MAVL includes attorneys from Buncombe, Henderson, Madison, Polk, Rutherford, and Transylvania Counties.

Pisgah Legal Services is a nonprofit, community-based law firm providing free, civil legal services to low-income people in Western North Carolina. MAVL attorneys work with PLS to help people in crisis solve legal problems to secure urgent necessities. In 2013, Pisgah Legal’s staff attorneys and MAVL volunteers helped more than 14,000 low-income people.

In 2013, MAVL attorneys donated 3,085 hours of legal services to help PLS clients, which is modestly valued at more than $462,700. MAVL stands out across the state as a model volunteer attorney program.  Local attorneys, both as individuals and as firms, have been recognized numerous times at the state level for their tremendous volunteer commitment.

Highlights of the contributions of award nominees include:

Vic Garlock has been a volunteer attorney with the MAVL program for 14 years, donating more than 122 hours in 49 cases. In 2013, Vic volunteered a total of 25.85 hours in 24 cases. Vic’s area of expertise is in guardianship law, and he played an instrumental role in the creation of the Guardianship Clinic at Pisgah Legal Services. He is currently a shareholder at his firm, Victor C. Garlock, P.A., in Asheville. In the past, Vic has worked primarily in personal injury litigation and business litigation, but more recently, his concentration has been in guardianship, estate planning, administration, and business organization and development. Vic serves as the Public Guardian for Buncombe County, and he acts as Trustee for several special needs trusts. Vic also founded Fidelicare, Inc. to help people with their daily affairs. He has also served as treasurer for the 28th Judicial District Bar Executive Committee in 2006 to 2007.

As a bankruptcy lawyer, Rod Kight works primarily with people who are financially struggling from individual bankruptcy debts involving credit cards or medical debts or student loans. In his 14 years of pro bono work with the MAVL Program, Rod has worked on 85 cases, providing a total of 251.30 hours of legal services to lower-income people in the area, primarily dealing with bankruptcy issues. In 2013, he volunteered 10.50 hours in five cases. Through working with Pisgah and providing free legal advice and services to people in WNC, Rod found that reaching out and helping the community, engaging with people who need financial help, has helped him feel like a part of the community and given more meaning to his professional life.

Attorney Bryant Webster began volunteering with MAVL Program in 1997. Since then he has volunteered a total of 1,302.13 hours in 589 cases. Bryant has a long history of pro bono service, resolving disputes of real estate property title issues and assisting people through the Attorney Hotline. In 2013, Bryant volunteered 335.83 hours in 31 cases. Bryant worked at a firm in Asheville for four years until 2000, when he moved his practice to the law firm of Stone & Christy, P.A., in Black Mountain. He became an Eagle Scout at the age of 16 and has remained active as a volunteer throughout his life, most recently serving as President of the Daniel Boone Boy Scout Council. In addition he is a member of the Freemasons of America, earned the degree of Master Mason in 1999, and is active in local lodges in Asheville.

Shannan Barclay Tuorto, began her work with Pisgah Legal Services as an intern during the summer before her third year at Vermont Law School. After graduating in 2009, she moved to NC and was accepted into the state’s bar. In 2011, Shannan began practicing as an associate at the law office of Ingrid Friesen, P.A. She practices in the field of Family Law, with experience in divorce, custody, child support, alimony, and equitable distribution. Since Shannan began working with MAVL, she has closed 16 cases and donated 81.40 hours. In 2013, Shannan volunteered a total of 65.70 hours.  She also volunteers through the Legal Issue Family Empowerment Line (LIFE Line), and is a member of the Family Law Section of the NC Bar where she serves on the pro bono committee. Shannan serves as the Secretary for the Buncombe County Chapter of the North Carolina Association of Women Attorneys and is a member of the NC Bar Association of Young Lawyers.

After graduating from the John Marshal Law School in Atlanta, Georgia in 2012, Joshua Harrold moved to Asheville. He started his own law office and began volunteering with Pisgah Legal Services shortly after. This is his first year working with MAVL Program. He volunteered 42.40 hours in 11 cases in 2013. Josh also assists Alan Coxie in the Expungement Clinic, a free service that provides free screening of criminal records for eligibility for Expungement as well as clearing of charges that can be dismissed. Josh practices primarily in the field of indigent defense. During his third year of law school, he worked under Professor Kathleen Burch, J.D. as a research assistant, and in 2011 he served as the Law Clerk at American Civil Liberties Union of Georgia.