Pro Bono Is a Team Effort
| Publication year | 1998 |
| Pages | 29 |
1998, December, Pg. 29. Pro Bono is a Team Effort
Vol. 27, No. 12, Pg. 29
The Colorado Lawyer
December 1998
Vol. 27, No. 12 [Page 29]
December 1998
Vol. 27, No. 12 [Page 29]
Departments
Pro Bono Success Stories
Pro Bono is a Team Effort
by Patty Bennett, Charlene Sinclair
Pro Bono Success Stories
Pro Bono is a Team Effort
by Patty Bennett, Charlene Sinclair
What can this mother of two toddlers do She works full-time
at a minimum wage job, has no financial resources to hire an
attorney, and needs attorney assistance in a dissolution of
marriage and custody fight with an abusive husband
This young woman was able to obtain a volunteer lawyer
through the Uncompaghre Volunteer Legal Aid Program
("Program"), which is located in Montrose and
serves the 7th Judicial District. The Director of the
Program, Patty Bennett, called Charlene Sinclair, an attorney
in Telluride, to represent this client. The situation was
even worse than the client realized because the paternal
grandmother, who had significant financial resources, was
seeking custody of the children with the father and planned
to move the children out of state
Charlene visited the young woman at her trailer home and
observed her trying to care for her children and maintain
enough energy to work her late-night shifts. It was a
struggle for this woman to get through each day, let alone
take on a custody battle. To assess fully her ability to
handle the children, a local psychologist was recruited to
meet with the mother and children and establish a
professional opinion of the functioning of this family unit
The psychologist agreed to reduce his fees to a minimal level
after meeting the client. His conclusions fully supported the
client's request for sole custody of the children.
At the hearing, the young woman was awarded sole custody of
the children, and the husband was awarded liberal visitation
based an his expressed desire to remain close to his
children. After the court hearing, while walking down the
courthouse steps, she had told Charlene, "You're the
best attorney anyone could have."...
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