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Please join us for a fun wine, cheese and panel discussion on “How the Economy has Changed the Landscape of the Southern Berkshires” featuring:

• William Smitty Pignatelli, State Representative;
• Eve Schatz, Esq., Founder and Executive Director of the Free Legal Clinic; and
• Steven R. Cunningham, Director of Research and Education at the American Institute for Economic Research.

Where: Takes place at the gorgeous estate of the American Institute for Economic Research, 250 Division Street, Great Barrington, MA

When: Monday, September 12th from 5pm to 7pm.

RSVP: flcberkshire@gmail.com

Mission of the Free Legal Clinic is to promote justice and the public interest through building strong community relationships.

We connect those who can’t afford an attorney and who don’t qualify for existing legal services to pro bono and reduced fee legal services. As a holistic organization, we make legal, social and community referrals. Tax deductible donations can be made to CHP-FLC 4 Pleasant Court, Great Barrington, MA 01230. Community Health Programs, Inc. is our fiscal sponsor.

THIS EVENT IS POSTPONED DUE TO INCLEMENT WEATHER! NEW DATE TBA

Thursday, February 3rd 7-8pm at the Community Health Program Main Offices 444 Stockbridge Road Great Barrington, MA

The FLC is offering this free workshop to educate Berkshire residents who can’t afford an attorney on how to file for their own divorce and what they can do if they are being sued by their credit company for not paying their bills.

Eve Schatz will be presenting about credit card debt resolution and Gail Garrett will lead the discussion about divorce.

FREE ADMISSION

Congratulations to Eve Schatz who was sworn in today, she was duly admitted and is now qualified to practice in the United States District Courts, making her eligible to practice Federal Law.

The Free Legal Clinic is happy to announce that it is able to provide Notary Public Services to clients of the FLC as well as to the general public!

Congratulations to Founder and Director of the FLC, Eve Schatz, who was sworn in as an attorney this June. She is now one of 24 attorneys providing direct legal services to FLC clients in civil matters. She has represented clients who are being sued for non-payment of credit card bills, helped clients appeal auto insurance surcharges after an accident, write wills, power of attorney and medical proxy documents. She continues to direct the FLC.

Recently, a dear friend unexpectedly passed away in a plane crash. Her untimely passing reminds me that although thankfully we live our daily lives with the feeling of safety, none of us can know when the unexpected will shatter what we consider to be our normal lives. It is for this reason, that it is important that you have a will in force. A will helps to insure that your children and/or property are cared for according to your wishes. Call the Free Legal Clinic today to schedule the writing of your will: 413-854-1955.

 

Check out our recent and upcoming events!

November 3, 2010 — Disabilities Resource Fair

Dozens of local organizations gathered to make known their unique resources to the community of disabled persons. Eve and Lindy answered questions about how the Free Legal Clinic and its knowledge of community resources can help support disabled persons and their families to create a trust, delay eviction, get access to educational tutoring, and more. FLC is always willing to connect with local school programs to better serve the community.

November 10, 2010– Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health

Jan O’Brien, (Board Member), and Eve Schatz, Esq. attended a Community Heath Programs, Inc. (CHP) outreach event at Kripalu. The event was open to all employees and workshop attendees at no cost. This is our fourth annual Kripalu outreach event where the Free Legal Clinic provided clients with access to legal advice and social and community referrals to clients in need. If you would like to bring a Free Legal Clinic to your employment campus as a benefit or service to your employees, call FLC at 413-854-1955. Kripalu is always so welcoming to us, and CHP does a fantastic job organizing outreach events.

November 25, 2010– Guthrie Center’s Fourth Annual Thanksgiving Day Dinner

The Free Legal Clinic collaborated with the Guthrie Center for its Fourth Annual Thanksgiving Day Dinner and Free Legal Clinic. Board Member Tanya Hills and Eve Schatz, Esq. served dinner, conducted free intakes and made referrals to local attorneys, social and community organizations. Thank you to George Lay, director of the Guthrie Center, for your gracious welcome and good words about how FLC benefits your constituents.

In The Future- Community Education Programs

FLC is scheduling a series of community education programs that will be offered for free to the public. Our first event, TBA will be a collaboration with CHP, attorney Gail Garrett who will speak about pro se divorce and attorney Eve Schatz who will speak about the court process after one is sued by your credit card company for non-payment of bills. Call us at 413-854-1955 and let us know what area of law you would like to know more about.

FLC is happy to announce the addition of two new interns this winter:

Gabe Rossman believes in social justice and is especially interested in legal work that promotes the public interest. He has taught in a public school in the Dominican Republic, volunteered for Save the Children in Columbia, and is currently co-editor of Noumenon, an intercollegiate “magazine of ideas”. Gabe studies Psychology and International Relations at Wesleyan University.

Andrea Campbell graduated with a B.A. in International Affairs from Northeastern University, spent the summer volunteering in Haiti and is currently living in Southern Connecticut researching career and graduate school opportunities in New York City. Andrea has a longstanding passion for justice and public service, especially for educational equality and human rights.

Attorney Buz Eisenberg sued President Bush for civil and habeas rights violations against Guantanamo detainees and won! He also won the 2009 appeal and Judge Gladys Kessler decided that evidence procurred from torture is not admissible in a Federal court of law! He is a local attorney who has agreed to lecture as a fundraiser for the Free Legal Clinic June 14. Tickets are $10 for adults, $8 for seniors, $5 for students. The event is at 7:30 pm at the Monument Mountain Regional High School.

When I was a law student I heard Buz Eisenberg speak about his commitment to civil and habeas rights for Guantanamo detainees. He took on this cause not considering himself to be an international law attorney and found that his determination drew support from some of the finest international legal minds in the world because they believed in what he wanted to do.

His story about civil and habeas rights is compelling. Buz Eisenberg took on the most powerful man and the most powerful country in the world and won. But that is not the reason I’m bringing him to the Berkshires.

It was a challenge for me to balance law school, commuting, parenting, serving as commissioner, renovating my home and founding the FLC.  Naturally there were times when I felt overwhelmed by the enormity of my path, and I remember feeling burned out when I attended his lecture.

Listening to his story, my deeper self ignited and I remembered why I decided to go to law school and found FLC. Here in the Berkshires, we are a community of independent and outside- the- box thinkers at times frustrated while manifesting our ideas. My hope is that whatever your dream, and no matter your frustration, that Buz Eisenberg’s story will ignite your light, and that your fabulous lighted self will, by example, ignite those with whom you come in contact all for the greater good of the public interest.

FLC good news! Eve Schatz passed the Massachusetts bar exam and will be offering direct legal services after June 23, 2010! We are proud to announce two new programs ! 1). we have a women in transition life coach program begining in the fall of this year, and a community garden to help feed FLC clients. Call if you wish to learn more about our programs or how you can volunteer for FLC at 413-854-1955.

Where: Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) on Route 7, South Main St., Great Barrington, MA 01230

When: 9:30 am – 2:30 pm

More Details: Antiques, collectibles, tag sale items, artists will sell their art, musicians will sell their CDs, organizations will have tables displaying their brochures.

If you would like to rent an exhibitor space or donate items call (413)854-1955 or email flcberkshire@gmail.com. Outdoor booths are $10; Limited indoor booths are $25.

If you would like to make a donation to suport our essential programs, please make a check out to CHP/FLC, and send it to 4 Pleasant Ct., Great Barrington, MA 01230. Your donation is tax-deductable to the fullest extent of the law. CHP is our fiscal sponsor, and a 501(c)3 organization.

The lasagna dinner was a fun party for a hundred people. We thank the Barrington Jazz Trio for adding their special ambiance to the event. The highlight of the evening was when two clients stood and spoke about how the Free Legal Clinic is a valuable resource, filling a need in the community that otherwise wouldn’t be met. For example, one woman with medical and legal problems called numerous organizations that she reported were impolite, unhelpful, and one lost her application four times.  In a final attempt she called the Free Legal Clinic, which she reported was kind to her, and referred her to an attorney and poverty services that could help her survive.

If you would like to make a donation to suport our essential programs, please make a check out to CHP/FLC, and send it to 4 Pleasant Ct., Great Barrinton, MA 01230. Your donation is tax-deductable to the fullest extent of the law. CHP is our fiscal sponsor, and a 501(c)3 organization.