Kitch attorneys reinforced their dedication to community involvement and assisting those in need this summer by volunteering their legal services and advice through a variety of opportunities and clinics throughout Michigan.

Kitch is committed to assisting those in need of volunteer legal services in the communities we serve. We are glad to share with you some of our more recent efforts to give a helping hand up.

Project H.E.L.P.

The Kitch firm continues to be well represented providing legal services within the Project HELP initiative at the Pope Francis Center. They assisted numerous people who were homeless, near-homeless, and having no or little income with a variety of legal questions and circumstances. Some of the matters that were addressed included unpaid traffic tickets; bench warrants; referrals to attorneys for alleged bodily injury claims and Social Security appeals; child support payments; who to contact and how to complete police reports; HUD complaint for no heat; providing instructions on obtaining birth certificates; housing assistance; and assisting in obtaining unpaid wages from a bankrupt employer just to mention a few.

Volunteer Kitch attorneys included Michael Geraghty, John Sier, Carina Kraatz, Lindsay Bliven, Matt Faiver, Lindsay Rose, Margaret Philpot, Chloe Streetman, Kenneth Overwater and Farah Israel. The Kitch firm is scheduled to volunteer at Project HELP coming up throughout November 2018 as well, our firm volunteers will be joined by first year law students from the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law.

Expungements

Several attorneys at Kitch have also volunteered their time this summer in furtherance of the Expungement initiative facilitated by Lakeshore Legal Aid. This initiative includes attendance at various expungement clinics and volunteering to assist in reviewing potential clients’ criminal history and evaluating whether they are eligible to have a conviction expunged (removed from their record). Once eligibility is determined, attorneys have the opportunity to volunteer to represent clients at expungement hearings. These legal services are invaluable in helping clients to secure gainful employment and move forward with their lives. The Kitch attorneys that donated their time to new Expungement cases assigned over the summer included John Sier, Joslyn Iafrate, Amy Carriveau, Genevieve Delonis, Lindsay Bliven, Laura Witty, Beth Wittmann, Dean Etsios and Laura Sherbrook. The volunteer attorneys continue to achieve successful results, thus changing many lives in significant ways.

Capuchin Legal Aid Clinic

Kitch attorneys will be volunteering at the Capuchin Soup Kitchen Legal Clinic this Fall. This clinic provides an opportunity for attorneys to use their knowledge and skill to provide advice to individuals experiencing a variety of problems, ranging from public benefits issues to outstanding tickets and warrants. Watch for upcoming issues of our “Kitch in the Community” newsletter for more information.

Detroit Legal Services Clinic

The volunteers at the June 26th Detroit Legal Services Clinic included Kitch attorney, Lindsay Rose who assisted individuals on family law related matters. The Detroit Legal Services Clinic occurs once a month and is held in the Penobscot Building. While not all issues addressed at this clinic are related to family law, this is one of the primary subject matters.

Kitch in the Community - September 2018