The Bankruptcy Section of the Knoxville Bar Association, chaired by Tom Dickenson and Greg Logue, is partnering with Legal Aid of East Tennessee, with the support and involvement of United States Bankruptcy Judge Suzanne H. Bauknight, to create a Pro Bono Debt Relief Clinic to provide pro bono legal services to income eligible consumer debtors.  The joint effort will host quarterly clinics, with the possibility of increasing the frequency depending on need and availability of volunteers.

LAET staff will screen potential clients and give instructions to complete a questionnaire and bring it along with tax returns and pay stubs to the clinic. Clinics will be held on Saturday mornings, with the first quarterly clinic to be held on July 29, 2017, from 9:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. at Powell United Methodist Church, 323 West Emory Road, Powell. Please click here to volunteer online for the Pro Bono Debt Relief Clinic. Judge Bauknight will present a short overview of the bankruptcy system after which volunteer attorneys will be paired with clients to discuss whether bankruptcy is an option or desirable to provide debt relief.  If a client qualifies for and desires to file a bankruptcy petition, during the clinic, the volunteer attorney and client will schedule a follow up appointment to move forward with a case.

Volunteers will receive training from LAET’s former pro bono director, Terry Woods, and bankruptcy attorney Lynn Tarpy (who has been LAET’s referral attorney). One hour of general CLE credit will be available at nominal cost. The first volunteer training will be held on Thursday, July 20, 2017, at 4:00 p.m. at the offices of Tarpy, Cox, Fleishman & Leveille, PLLC, 1111 Northshore Drive, Suite N-290, Knoxville. If you would like to attend the July 20th training, please contact Tom Dickenson, Co-Chair of the KBA's Bankruptcy Section.

Please consider this opportunity to serve a significant need in our community and help fulfill the Tennessee Supreme Court’s Access to Justice initiative, which sets a goal of 50 pro bono hours annually.  Attorneys who meet this goal will be named “Attorneys for Justice” by the Tennessee Supreme Court (see www.tsc.state.tn.us/ProBonoRecognition). Plans are also in the works for an annual event hosted by the Bankruptcy Court, KBA, and LAET to recognize volunteers and celebrate is anticipated to be a great success.

For more information or to volunteer (and register for volunteer training), contact Tom Dickenson or Greg Logue.