Warm and Fuzzy Story

It is with a heartfelt expression of gratitude that I write this blog today. As a legal pro bono legal aid organization relying on many volunteer attorneys to assist our growing number of vulnerable clients, I find the need to tell you of one client's story and her positive outcome. This disabled client relied heavily on her vehicle for transportation to work and doctor’s appointments.

In October, her vehicle was levied upon to satisfy an outstanding judgment, but the value of the car far exceeded the judgment. Her car was set to be sold to pay off the judgment within a couple of weeks. With the help of one of our volunteer attorneys, John Hamilton, III, Esq., he stopped the sale of the automobile and was able to cancel the levy. The client now has her much-needed car back for transportation. I am delighted to write of this today and I will continue to let you all know of future stories such as this one.

Elizabeth Porcelli, FRP
Clinic Coordinator/Paralegal

Regional Training

In November both Elizabeth and I had the opportunity to attend a seminar organized by the legal aid providers in Tampa Bay, which consist of Community Law Program, Bay Area Legal Services, Gulfcoast Legal Services, and Legal Aid of Manasota were present. The seminar was designed to better prepare those who have initial client contact over the telephone by providing customer service techniques that are used in every industry. The seminar was presented by Deborah Westlake, from Business Matters Consulting, who has provided similar training for fortune 500 companies nationally.

Given that the majority of the initial contact with clients is over the telephone, it is vital that we have superior phone skills to facilitate the intake process. We certainly learned a lot of useful information during the training that will hopefully make our clients’ stressful time more easy on them. This is one way that legal service providers are better prepared to fulfill its mission.

Sincerely,

Kyle Fleming