The Red Velvet Lawyer

Earlier, I profiled one of the three  pro bono legal service opportunities available at ASL.  Today, I profile the second pro bono  program offered by students to area residents in need of low cost legal services.  Later in this series on student organizations, I profile the third opportunity -- title work for the Great Eastern Trail  project . The ASL Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) Program offers free tax preparation to local Buchanan County residents and fellow students with low income (below $53,000) or special need. Fellow students train incoming students during the fall semester.  New students become IRS-certified volunteers in the spring semester.  With guidance from faculty supervisor, Professor Alan Oxford, and our community coordinator, Linda Midget at People's Inc., VITA volunteers give back to our community and gain hands-on tax experience. Benefits of the VITA Program VITA offers many great benefits to the volunteers, clients, and the communi

The Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) Project  at the Appalachian School of Law The Appalachian School of Law offers three  pro bono service programs.  Today, I'll talk about the first program --  the Court Appointed Special Advocates ( CASA ) program.   In later postings, here  and  here , I profile the VITA tax service program and the Great Eastern Trail project, respectively. Court Appointed Special Advocates CASA is a national organization managed on a state and local basis through the court system.  The 29 th Judicial District, which includes Buchanan County , employs case managers to supervise volunteers from the community.  ASL students serve as the majority of the local volunteers.   ASL students spend 30 hours in intensive training at the school to learn to advocate for children in court.  ASL provides a classroom and materials for the training.   The trainer brings in speakers from the Department of Social Services ( DSS ), the police dep