William J. Whalen honored by NC Bar Association for outstanding service

Pisgah Legal Services attorney has spent 33 years advocating for the poor

 From press release:

William J. “Bill” Whalen may look like a mild-mannered attorney, but inside that calm exterior beats the heart of a Rottweiler.

As an attorney at the nonprofit Pisgah Legal Services (PLS) for the past 33 years, Whalen has fought hard to represent people in crisis who cannot otherwise afford a lawyer. This week he is being honored by the North Carolina Bar Association as the recipient of the “Deborah Greenblatt Outstanding Legal Services Attorney Award.” The award will be presented at the Bar’s Annual Meeting in Wilmington.

In the past 20 years alone, Whalen has helped more than 5,884 low-income clients. Last year, for example, Whalen saved the home of James and his elderly mother, Nettie, when they were threatened with foreclosure. James is a polio survivor who has worked most of his life, despite his significant disabilities. When his physical condition worsened, forcing him to retire, James and his mother fell behind on their mortgage and were afraid they were going to lose their home. Whalen stopped the foreclosure and secured a loan modification that allowed them to keep their home.

James said, “I found Mr. Whalen at Pisgah Legal Services, and I knew I had found the right person. I just knew I was in good hands because this guy was like a Rottweiler trying to get a bone or something. He would not relent on anything with this company that had my mortgage. I just can’t thank him enough.” [See the video of James at www.pisgahlegal.org]

Whalen is an Asheville native. He holds a BS in political science from UNC-CH and a JD from UNC School of Law (1971). After working in private practice for a number of years, Whalen joined the staff of PLS as a consumer law staff attorney in 1980. He served as president of the 28^th Judicial District Bar in 2006-2007.

Whalen initiated and led PLS’ three-decade effort to develop the Mountain Area Volunteer Lawyer Program (MAVLP), which pairs private attorneys with low-income PLS clients in need of free services. The MAVLP is known as one of the outstanding pro bono programs in the country, certainly considering the size of the communities from which it draws attorneys.

Whalen served on the local Bar’s pro bono committee for 30 years to encourage volunteerism among attorneys. In 1996 PLS started the first civil legal advice hotline in NC (staffed by pro bono attorneys), and Whalen has diligently promoted it as another way for busy lawyers to participate in MAVLP.

Whalen has been instrumental in encouraging comprehensive reviews of Pisgah Legal clients’ overall situations in order to assess their needs and help them plan to improve their lives. For more than three decades he has provided leadership and training to junior PLS staff to help them learn to address multiple issues clients face. He knows that if PLS only addresses one problem and not others, then the investment in solving that one particular problem may be wasted.

Whalen has also advocated for “big picture” change to help thousands of consumers at a time, both through public policy advocacy and targeted law suits. In the late 1980s Whalen was co-counsel on a phone company rate case in Madison County. When he helped to win this case, he preserved affordable phone service which was critical to residents who lived in isolated parts of the mountains.

Whalen advocated with the Buncombe County Tax Office to improve home owners’ ability to avoid foreclosure due to overdue property taxes. He worked with the office to set up procedures so that homeowners in arrears on their taxes can more easily access exemptions under state law and negotiate affordable payment plans to save their homes. This system has provided relief to many homeowners and produces better results for the County, as it prevents homelessness.

Whalen has also worked extensively on debtor’s rights issues in North Carolina, to prevent illegal harassment of consumers and to ensure that consumers’ exemption rights are honored. Whalen has researched and written about post-judgment collection procedures in North Carolina in order to better protect consumer rights under the N.C. Constitution and bankruptcy laws. Whalen has led and served on a state-wide consumer task force since its inception.

Whalen was nominated for this award by Tikkun A.S. Gottschalk, the Chair of the 28^th Judicial District Bar’s Pro Bono Committee. He says, “I have personally known Bill for 20 years. His is one of the most kindhearted people I know, and has been an invaluable mentor to me and many others in our Bar. He is quite zealous in his advocacy, yet he always has a smile ready.”

Gottschalk continues, “This award recognizes Bill’s exceptional life-long work and dedication to providing legal services to the poor in North Carolina.”