Login | November 13, 2024
Legal Aid/FirstEnergy to hold free clinic on Nov. 14
SHERRY KARABIN
Legal News Reporter
Published: November 8, 2024
Attorneys from FirstEnergy Corp. and Community Legal Aid Services are gearing up to host a free wills and estate documents clinic.
The Nov. 14 event takes place at FirstEnergy’s Akron headquarters at 76. S. Main St. and runs from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
While it’s being held just days after Veterans Day to pay tribute to those who served, nonveteran low-income residents are also encouraged to take advantage of the opportunity to meet with an attorney and obtain advice and assistance with the preparation of wills and advanced directives, including powers of attorney, healthcare powers of attorney and living wills.
“Our organization offers many legal clinics to assist the low-income community with their civil legal needs,” said Elsa Reale-Gottfried, managing attorney for Community Legal Aid’s Volunteer Legal Services Program. “We provide differing levels of service at our clinics ranging from general counsel and advice clinics to limited service clinics with legal document preparation.
“The volunteer attorneys can also provide individual client representation pro bono outside a clinic setting.”
In this instance, she said people should expect to leave with their estate planning documents in hand.
“We feel this service is particularly important because it gives clients peace of mind,” said Reale-Gottfried. “The clients often own homes, automobiles and personal property and they want to make sure that their end-of-life wishes are carried out.”
FirstEnergy Supervisor of State and Regulatory Communications Lauren Siburkis said the clinic is part of the utility’s Empowering Pro Bono Initiative, which is designed to provide free legal services to those residing in the communities it serves.
“As a leading electric company in northeast Ohio, we see our responsibilities as going beyond just delivering safe and reliable energy,” said Siburkis. “We’re dedicated to uplifting our communities and ensuring people from all backgrounds have access to essential resources.
“This is the first year we’ve teamed up with Community Legal Aid for this type of event,” she said. “Many of our peer electric companies nationwide have collaborated with similar organizations in the past to offer free legal aid events in their communities.
“We chose to take part in this event because we believe it is a fantastic opportunity to assist residents throughout northeast Ohio who may not have access to this support otherwise,” said Siburkis.
“We are excited and thankful to collaborate with FirstEnergy's legal staff in providing this needed service to the community,” said Reale-Gottfried.
Anyone interested in taking advantage of the opportunity must preregister and be prequalified for the service.
The clinic is open to those who financially qualify for legal aid and reside in Community Legal Aid's service areas of Summit, Portage, Stark, Medina, Mahoning, Trumbull, Columbiana and Wayne counties.
To register, call 800-998-9454 or go to www.communitylegalaid.org/apply. Spots are limited.