Justice 4 ALL of North Carolina

Under the presidency of Janet Ward Black, the North Carolina Bar Association has embraced the "4ALL" campaign which sets a formula through which the NCBA will commit to make legal services available to all North Carolinians, focusing on those at or below the poverty level. The slogan is an updated twist on the Pledge of Allegiance, "one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."

The NCBA will achieve this initiative on five fronts:

EDUCATE
The NCBA will educate lawyers about the poverty issues of North Carolina, the shortcomings of legal aid as it is today to service that group and the professional and moral obligations to act on that knowledge. As part of this step, the video, Waiting for Justice, will be viewed at every Continuing Legal Education seminar held this year. Before lawyers can solve the problem, they must understand it. Link to Lawyer Education Working Group Charter.

LEGISLATE
The North Carolina Bar Association is creating a grassroots lobbying effort toward every member of the state legislative and executive branches about the critical needs for legal services for the lowest income individuals. Please click here to be part of this important initiative supporting legal services "4ALL" in North Carolina. Link to Legislate Working Group Charter.

DONATE
The Bar Association will undertake an unprecedented effort to encourage donations from NCBA members. The Legal Aid of North Carolina (LANC) Fund has been created within the endowment for this purpose. Significant fundraising has already taken place with good initial results via online and mailed/faxed contributions. Link to Donate Working Group Charter.

PARTICIPATE
In conjunction with the Young Lawyers Division, the NCBA has declared its first ever "Statewide Service Day" to provide pro bono services on April 4, 2008. It will include statewide "ask an attorney" phone numbers at which North Carolina lawyers will answer legal questions for free for one day. The day will be highly promoted as a community service, and will hopefully serve as a stepping stone towards getting more attorneys to become pro bono volunteers. Link to Service Day Working Group Charter.

LRAP
On a fifth front, the LRAP Working Group will make recommendations to the NCBA Board of Governors in June 2008 on how the NCBA can help Legal Aid of North Carolina, Inc. ("LANC") retain experienced staff attorneys by eliminating or significantly reducing law school debt. It will also, consider how the new NCBA Endowment Fund might be used to address loan repayment assistance program ("LRAP") concerns, interfacing with NCLEAF as appropriate. Link to LRAP Charter.

Last Update: Friday, April 04, 2008