Cheryl Driscoll, NHLA staff attorney, administers the Manchester Child Health Law Project


Providers of civil legal services for low-income clients in New Hampshire are trying new approaches to adapt to current challenges and changing circumstances.

In Manchester, a NH Legal Assistance attorney is now holding office hours at a community health facility in Manchester, and collaborating with the medical and social services staff to provide for earlier identification of potential civil legal problems.

The NHBA Pro Bono Referral Program, in response to the passage of a new bankruptcy law that drastically changes the process for consumer bankruptcies, has quickly organized a series of clinics to enable eligible low-income clients to meet with attorneys and file for bankruptcy protection before the new provisions take effect in October.  (See sidebar for a listing of volunteer attorneys.)

NHLA has partnered with Child Health Services (CHS) in Manchester, a private nonprofit community health clinic to establish the Manchester Child Health Law Project, which is being administered by Cheryl Driscoll, an NHLA staff attorney.

Modeled on the Family Advocacy Project based in the pediatric department of the Boston Medical Center, the Manchester project is the first of its type to be established outside an academic medical center setting. CHS has long emphasized a multidisciplinary approach to health care for children from disadvantaged families, utilizing social services and mental health professionals to try to improve the environment and social conditions for its patients as well as tend to their immediate physical health needs.

Driscoll, who spends one whole day and parts of two other days in an office at the clinic on North Elm Street, is meeting regularly with social workers at CHS to help identify potential cases for representation (or advice) by NHLA attorneys, herself included.  She also provides advocacy training for the social workers and clients so they can learn how to complain effectively, either in writing or on the phone and how to document problems for potential legal action.  She will also help to raise awareness of various avenues of appeal for benefits programs.

In seeking grant funding for the project, CHS and NHLA identified lack of housing or substandard housing, lack of access to income and nutrition benefits, and special education needs as among the most pressing areas of child health and wellness where legal assistance in civil matters could have an impact. Domestic violence also is likely to be an issue for some families, Driscoll said.     

In addition to directly representing clients encountered at the clinic, Driscoll will refer some clients to other NHLA attorneys and the Pro Bono program as the program evolves.

The Pro Bono staff has organized a series of bankruptcy clinics to fast track the cases so that filings can be made before the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005 takes effect in October. The new law will make it more difficult in several ways for attorneys to represent individuals seeking Chapter 7 protection and the Pro Bono Program has sought to have as many cases of eligible clients filed before the new law’s effective date as possible.

“While we are confident Pro Bono will have some attorneys onboard in the future,” Martin said,  “our capacity is going to shrink given the enormity of the changes and new requirements.  For the fall, we will have to see how things unfold.”

The bankruptcy clinic approach developed by Pro Bono streamlines the arrangement of the initial meeting of client and attorney – at times, the most time-consuming part of the process in Pro Bono—in several ways:

• Clients determined to be eligible for Pro Bono assistance are required to fill out a detailed application/questionnaire that requires the client to pull together all of the necessary financial and personal information needed for the bankruptcy petition;

• Clients are given an appointment on a scheduled evening “clinic” when several Pro Bono attorneys will be available to meet for 45-minute individual interviews. The clinic approach spares the Pro Bono attorney the paperwork and hassle of setting up individual appointments for each client and ensures that on the scheduled date, several clients will be present and prepared for their appointments 

•  With the clients’ information submitted beforehand and reviewed by a Pro Bono staff person to ensure its adequacy, there will be less likelihood of a delay in starting the case due to missing critical information.

•  A second meeting with the attorney is required for the client to review and sign the completed petition; and a third meeting with a bankruptcy trustee is held to complete the bankruptcy process.

Clinics were held at the Manchester office of NH Legal Assistance on July 6, 27 and August 3, with additional sessions planned on August 17 and possibly for September. 

“This is Pro Bono’s second experience with a clinical approach to delivering services (Military Pro Bono was the first) and it is working well for both our volunteer attorneys and clients,” commented Martin. “I must give credit to Attorney Jennifer Rood who suggested this approach for Chapter 7 bankruptcies in light of the impending changes. Given the success of our current clinics, we will definitely pursue clinics for other subject areas in the near future.”

Much of the implementation of the Pro Bono Bankruptcy clinics, including the review of client applications, was handled by attorney Heather Logan, a new admittee who has worked at the Bar Association for the past year on a variety of projects, including the Low Income Taxpayer Assistance project. The bankruptcy project, however, is her last for Pro Bono; Logan has accepted a position with the Internal Revenue Service and is scheduled for training in mid-August.

“We will sorely miss Heather’s energy, creativity and sense of justice,” said Martin.  “She took the clinic concept for bankruptcies and ran with it.  Systems now in place will make it easier to pursue clinics going forward.”

Cheryl Driscoll, NHLA staff attorney, administers the Manchester Child Health Law Project.