The Fight for Civil Legal Aid

Story by NATALIE BREYMEYER

Low-income residents find themselves unsure of how to deal with civil cases, but attorneys in Whatcom County are dedicated to providing them with legal aid.

Jenny Balletine has always thought of herself as an independent woman. But in 2011, she was helpless — a stay-at-home mom in an abusive relationship; she felt defeated. She knew she wanted out, but had no money, and no idea where to start.

“I had a really hard time identifying that I was a victim in the first place,” she says. “I didn’t know where to get legal paperwork, I had never even filed a police report before.”

Balletine felt let down by the system. The courts were telling her she should have already been filing reports and gathering evidence, but that information was all new to her.

“I felt at fault, even though I was the one getting abused,” she says. “I was afraid to do anything after awhile, but I knew I had to protect my kids.”

Somewhere in between what seemed like endless court dates and legal documents, Balletine lost her job. A few late rent payments and she found herself without a home. She was now staying at shelters with her children, building her case and representing herself in court.

It wasn’t until the fall of 2016 when she reached out to Northwest Justice Project (NJP), a publicly funded legal aid program with locations throughout Washington, that she finally felt like someone was listening.

NJP and similar groups are filled with attorneys who, every year, take on thousands of cases and provide legal assistance to community members who cannot afford it on their own. At the same time, they are toeing the threat of losing the very funding that keeps their organizations afloat.

As uncertainty wanes on a federal front in terms of civil legal aid, the staff members at NJP, LAW Advocates and a multitude of private attorneys who volunteer their services are not intimidated by this threat. They are consumed by another problem: the people who need their help.

Not your typical attorney

Unlike a criminal case, where defendants are guaranteed an attorney provided by the state, civil cases offer no constitutional right to legal services. Individuals are instead left on their own to either pay for an attorney out-of-pocket or attempt to represent themselves, like Balletine. Or, they may be referred to one of the organizations that work to provide legal aid.

Their offices are small, housed in unassuming establishments. They aggregate downtown, tucked among local breweries, a dance studio and a yarn shop. The locations are deliberate: they are all in close proximity to the Whatcom County Courthouse.

Josefina Ramirez, a staff attorney at Bellingham’s NJP location has been involved in public-interest law since the genesis of her career.

“I just knew I wanted to help people,” Ramirez says. “I worked for a private attorney at first, doing a lot of discrimination and family law cases. They were the kind of cases where you were helping someone fix an injustice.”

Ramirez came to NJP in 2016 and has since worked on cases relating to Social Security, food assistance, evictions from public housing and domestic violence. They’re the type of cases private law firms turn down because the clientele tends to be low income, she says.

“You really have to want to help people. You’re not in it for the money, because the money is not there,” Ramirez says. “But these clients have something to lose if we don’t step in– they could be evicted and lose everything. They need legal services just as much as anyone else.”

More than 70 percent of low-income households in Washington will face a civil legal problem in a 12-month period, according to the Civil Legal Needs Study Update commissioned by the state Supreme Court.

In Whatcom County, where 16 percent of the population falls below the poverty line, it remains a pressing issue.

The Equal Justice Coalition (EJC) is a nonpartisan organization that advocates for civil legal aid funding. Their efforts focus mainly on state legislature. With each legislative session comes an opportunity for furthered funding that would allow legal aid to expand its services.

The people involved in legal aid are in it to make a change, says Jay Doran, Communications and Advocacy Director of EJC.

“It’s clear these Legal Aid attorneys are driven by values rather than profit,” Doran says.

LAW Advocates is another organization dedicated to providing legal aid, but its efforts are concentrated in Whatcom County. Rather than supplying extensive representation like NJP, they are better known for holding regular clinics around town providing free legal advice.

“The public doesn’t understand how great the need is. It’s not something you think about unless you’re in that position,” says Executive Director Michael Heatherly. “But the reality is, everyone’s living on the edge. You could spend tens of thousands of dollars on a private attorney, but who can afford that much to protect their rights?”

Since an increase in state funding toward civil legal aid went into effect in the new calendar year, LAW Advocates was able to make their entire staff full time. They currently employ one staff attorney, but a bulk of their services are provided by volunteer lawyers.

“People think of lawyers as being untrustworthy, selfish and greedy. They don’t like them. I see the complete opposite,” Heatherly says. “Over a year’s time, there’s about 50 to 60 lawyers who have donated their time here.”

Nick Fay mainly works as a private attorney, but in 2017 volunteered about 280 hours of his time to providing legal aid to individuals through LAW Advocates.

“I get to help people at a high level, with what for a lot of people is the most important thing going on in their life at that given time,” Fay says. “It’s satisfying to be able to play a positive role in someone’s life.”

The individuals behind the numbers

For Balletine, escaping her abusive relationship and getting legal help at NJP was the intersection of life or death.

“If I didn’t have the courage to get out, just out of sheer fear, I don’t know what would have happened,” Balletine says. “I hope people know there is help out there. If I hadn’t figured out it out, I would have been gone in 2011.”

Her attorney at NJP not only helped her family find an apartment, but now Balletine has complete custody of her children.

Years of collecting evidence for her case paid off as the trial date drew nearer. NJP helped her gather the paperwork in support of a parenting plan that protected her children from their abusive father.

“Their dad can’t come back into their lives again,” Balletine says. “Thanks to NJP, that’s a promise I know I can keep.”

Similar to Balletine’s situation, Michael Nelson of Aberdeen found himself stuck. With no way to pay off the mountain of debt he accrued over the years, he was feeling conquered.

“I was an addict for 10 years,” Nelson says. “At the time I didn’t have a job and my license was suspended, which made it hard to find work. It was just a vicious cycle, and I don’t know how I would have broken it if I hadn’t gotten help.”

Nelson reached out to NJP after he had enough. He was in and out of jail, falling into a routine of owing more money to the state with no way to pay it off.

“You could say I was sick and tired of being sick and tired,” he says. “I was unwilling to give up. I did whatever I needed to do to move the process along.”

With the aid of his attorney at NJP, Nelson was able to drop a bulk of his debt to a less daunting amount that he felt he could reasonably repay. He obtained his license and acquired a job driving company vehicles.

“I moved into a recovery home as this was unfolding with just a backpack and some clothes,” he says. “Now I’m living in a four-bedroom house with my girlfriend.”

Recently, Nelson shared his story with lawmakers in Olympia to advocate for more civil legal aid funding alongside EJC.

“It’s nice to hear about the people who were able to get help,” he says. “But there’s still so many who are left behind. We can’t forget that.”

A resilient community

The individuals in Whatcom County advocating for justice stretch beyond the organizations that strictly practice law.

“The vast majority of people who need help never get it. So, one part of our job is making sure people know we exist,” Heatherly says. “We network with other organizations like DVSAS.”

For a lot of people in the midst of a problem relating to a civil case, finding legal help is not their only priority.

DVSAS, which stands for Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Services, is an empowerment-based agency that aims to help survivors at any stage in their life. They will often refer clients in domestic violence cases to LAW Advocates.

“They’re called civil processes because theoretically you’re able to do them without an attorney,” says support services manager Elizabeth Hart. “I have an education, I have access to resources and it’s still confusing to navigate the legal field.”

Hart says their relationship with LAW Advocates is one of balance. Just as they often are not able to offer extensive knowledge on the law, attorneys may not have the time to listen to a survivor process their emotions — something DVSAS does offer.

“We rely on each other,” she says. “We’re not attorneys. Our skillset ends. We can provide information and further resources and be supportive through that process.”

For organizations like LAW Advocates and NJP, their services can only extend as far as their funding.

“In any community, civil legal aid is hugely important,” Fay says. “Some communities do it better than others, Bellingham is one of them, and there’s still a huge need.”

Even though LAW Advocates does not rely on state funding as heavily as NJP, it’s still a concern.

“We are all in this together. We all get some money from the state and if one group is not getting the money from somewhere else, something is going to have to give. It could mean less for all of us,” Heatherly says. “I’m always thinking, next year can we afford to keep all our staff? It’s stressful.”

EJC is one force making sure the funding stays intact and continues to improve so communities like Bellingham can help its low-income individuals.

“This is the second year the Trump Administration has proposed a budget that calls for complete elimination of funding for legal aid,” Doran says. “But there is strong bipartisan support for legal aid funding in Congress. In the scheme of our national budget it’s a small amount of money. If Congress can take the steps Washington is taking, we’ll see some real improvement.”

Looking forward

The effects of a budget increase passed over the summer show tangible developments at NJP.

“We are currently in the process of hiring an attorney that will focus on Native American issues,” Ramirez says. “It was something we previously didn’t have the capacity for, despite the number of tribes we have in our region. Now we can meet that need.”

As another legislative session comes to a close, Doran admits they are not expecting the $2.8 million increase they asked for, which would have gone toward enacting another facet of the Civil Justice Reinvestment Plan.

The plan, which was created in 2016, details the need of civil legal aid in Washington and proposes methods for executing new programs and hiring attorneys.

“It’s looking like we will still see a small increase in funding, and it’s a step in the right direction,” Doran says. “It seems like there are a lot of members working to prioritize funding for legal aid. The need is obviously there but the more we can continue to work with the state, the better.”

While progress in funding seems to crawl at an incremental pace on the state and federal level, individuals like Balletine and Nelson prove this resource is one of value and urgency, and in Bellingham there remains a band of lawyers ensuring these individuals don’t fall through the cracks.

“It’s just the right thing to do,” Fay says, laughing as if the answer is plainly obvious. “Sometimes it’s that easy. There’s not much profundity to it.”

Editor’s note (6/1/18 at 3:10 p.m.): This story has been updated to reflect that LAW Advocates provides legal services to Bellingham and Whatcom County. A previous version stated services are provided in Bellingham, without the inclusion of Whatcom County.