November CBA Report

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legal community news
Self Help Clinics Expand Access to Justice in Hamilton County
The Help Center
On Monday, Sept. 25, members of the Cincinnati legal
community gathered to celebrate the opening of the Help
Center located in the clerk’s office on the first floor of
the Hamilton County Court House. The Help Center, a
joint venture with the University of Cincinnati College of
Law, will offer help to the public with forms, and where
necessary, limited legal advice, for Small Claims Court
and other small civil cases. It will have close liaison with
Legal Aid, Volunteer Lawyers for the Poor, and the CBA’s
Lawyer Referral Service. The Help Center is staffed by
attorney Rob Wall, who is employed by the University Of
Cincinnati College Of Law. The CBA’s 2017 CALL Class
adopted the Help Center as its project for the year and
helped the program take shape. More information on the
help center can be found at
about-the-help-center/.
The Family Law Clinic
The Hamilton County Domestic Relations Court has seen an increasing number of people who cannot afford an attorney trying to
file for divorce and post-divorce relief on their own. Pro se litigants often make mistakes that cause delays and frustration for both the
parties and the court. The volume of these cases was straining the court’s ability to handle all cases expeditiously. The court asked the
Legal Aid Society, the Volunteer Lawyers Project (VLP), and the Hamilton County Law Library to create a clinic to assist these individ-
uals. The Family Law Clinic was launched in June 2016 and is open Tuesdays and Thursdays at the Domestic Relations Court. Self-filers
can speak with a volunteer lawyer to receive limited legal advice, information, and guidance to ensure they file correctly and under-
stand what to do next. The demand for the clinic’s services continues to grow. The clinic is staffed by private attorneys through the VLP.
Juvenile Cour t Custody and
Companionship Clinic
The Hamilton County Juvenile Court has also seen an
increase in the number of unrepresented parents and grand-
parents filing for changes of custody or seeking visitation.
Judge John Williams asked the Legal Aid Society, the Volun-
teer Lawyers Project, and the Hamilton County Law Library
to develop a clinic using the Family Law Clinic as a model. On
Sept. 25, 2017, the court opened its Juvenile Court Custody
and Companionship Clinic to help meet this need. Volunteer
Lawyers staff the new juvenile clinic to educate and advise the
self-filers on issues surrounding custody and companionship. In
addition to providing a coordinator for the clinic, the Juvenile
Court Clerk’s office has set up a help desk to provide self-filers
with pro se form packets. The goal is for an individual’s filing to
be complete and correct the first time, which will ensure that
the system works efficiently for everyone. The clinic is open
Mondays and Wednesdays at Juvenile Court.
If you’d like to volunteer at The Family Law Clinic or The Juvenile Court Custody and Companionship Clinic contact Anne Lucas,
VLP managing attorney at .
The juvenile court clinic planning committee joins Judge John Williams.
Members of the 2017 CALL Class attended The Help Center’s opening. Barkha Patel,
Katie Neff, Maggie Nestheide, Anne Lucas, Eugene Droder III, and Curtis Scribner (left
to right).
November 2017 CBA REPORT l 31