Login | April 25, 2025
Law firm teams up with Legal Aid to hold free clinic on April 6
SHERRY KARABIN
Legal News Reporter
Published: April 5, 2024
It’s been more than six years since attorneys at Brennan, Manna & Diamond first partnered with those at Community Legal Aid’s Volunteer Legal Services Program to hold a neighborhood law clinic in Akron to assist low-income residents with civil legal matters.
This year’s event takes place from 9 a.m. to noon on April 6 at Mason Community Learning Center (CLC) at 700 E. Exchange St. in Akron. Organizers expect more than two dozen people to show up.
“We started partnering with Community Legal Aid to hold a pro bono neighborhood legal clinic prior to Covid and this is our seventh year doing it,” said Brennan, Manna & Diamond Member Duriya Dhinojwala, who focuses on immigration, bankruptcy and creditors’ rights. “We provide one-on-one counseling to residents to help them resolve their legal issues.
“We are the only mid-sized firm in Akron that does an event like this one and even during the Covid years we kept the clinic going virtually,” said Dhinojwala, who chairs the firm’s pro bono committee and is one of the organizers of the event.
Elsa Reale-Gottfried, managing attorney for Community Legal Aid’s Volunteer Legal Services Program said the clinic helps to address the growing demand for assistance among those who cannot afford to hire an attorney.
“In the aftermath of the pandemic, we are seeing an increase in the number of landlord/tenant cases in the area,” said Reale-Gottfried. “This is primarily the result of the lifting of the moratorium on evictions and the reduction in government funding.
“Collection and debt cases are also on the rise as courts seek to eliminate the backlog that accumulated during Covid,” Reale-Gottfried said. “We are very grateful for the partnership we have with Brennan, Manna & Diamond, which helps us address the civil legal needs of the low-income community.
“Their commitment, time and talent given to this clinic is an invaluable resource to our clients and the community.”
In addition to eviction, collection and debt matters, attorneys at the clinic will also provide advice on issues such as foreclosures, bankruptcy, taxes, employment, wills and estate planning, powers of attorney and advanced directives, name changes and concerns related to business startups.
Those who show up will be asked to fill out an intake form, with attorneys noting whether the individual’s issues were able to be resolved that day or if further assistance is required.
“If the person needs more help, the case goes back to Community Legal Aid, which tries to match the client with an attorney who will take the case pro bono,” said Dhinojwala.
“Brennan, Manna & Diamond is very passionate about doing its part to give back to the community and we usually have six to eight volunteer attorneys from the firm staff the event each year,” said Dhinojwala. “However, they are not obligated to continue to handle the case beyond the initial consultation, unless of course they decide to do so.”
While walk-ins are welcome, residents are encouraged to register in advance by calling 800-998-9454 or applying online at www.communitylegalaid.org/apply.