Page 13 - July August 22 CBA Report

A ward Winners
JOHN W. WARRINGTON COMMUNITY SERVICE AWARD
W. John Sellins
The John W. Warrington Community Service Award recognizes attorney members who have performed extraordinary volunteer community service work.
All too often in our community, when adults are incarcerated or overdose on drugs, their children suffer. When these unfortu- nate situations arise, kids and families are thrown into our legal system. Before September 2017, they often had little guidance, unless they were willing and able to hire counsel, which is often not an option due to financial constraints.
That’s when attorney W. John Sellins stepped up to the plate and provided critical time and advice to those kids and fami- lies. He became the leading volunteer at the newly created Custody and Companionship Clinic at the Hamilton County Juvenile Court. Over the course of the next two and a half years, Sellins met personally with hundreds of families who needed advice in facing crises involving custody and companionship issues in our Court system. He volunteered over 400 hours of his time to listen to people, explain the system, and guide their efforts in court. Although the clinic has several volunteers, it has
been said that the clinic absolutely would not have succeeded without Sellins’ tireless personal efforts, which accounted for a huge portion of the volunteer hours necessary to get the program successfully started. The clinic is still operating today, helping local children and families.
When the pandemic hit in March 2020, Sellins conducted Zoom sessions until the clinic effectively shut down for a while. Still, looking to help those in need, he transitioned to the Municipal Court help desk which remained open, to help pro se litigants. While navigating some personal health problems over the past couple of years, he has remained dedicated to the Munic- ipal Court help desk to this day.
W. John Sellins’ tireless volunteer efforts have made a major impact in our community by helping children to remain with loving friends and families, through our court processes, during periods of family crisis.
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