HISTORY OF COMMUNITY LEGAL CENTER

Incorporated in May 1994 as AWA Family Mediation Center, the CLC’s original mission was to provide free mediation services to people of limited means. The idea was to assist Memphis Area Legal Services by mediating family law, cases the Community Legal Center obtained the initial funding through an IOLTA grant from the Tennessee Bar Foundation, along with a generous AWA donation. Tax exempt status was obtained, mediators were recruited and received intensive training, and rent- free premises were arranged for mediation sessions. Then, despite intensive efforts, the organization was not able to persuade substantial numbers of clients to participate in mediation.

However, while few people sought mediation, the CLC received many requests for other types of legal services. In July 1995, the Board of Directors adopted a plan of action to establish a legal services program and clinic to provide lawyer representation, as well as mediation, for the “working” poor, the same population whose medical needs were being provided for by the Church Health Center.

The last half of 1995 was devoted to preparing for and organizing this program, in which those applying for assistance were pre-screened by telephone, referred to MALS or other existing agencies when appropriate or referred to the CLC for further screening and preliminary interview. A lawyer was arranged for eligible clients who needed representation. Through this careful screening, clients have been referred to other existing social agencies, to the maximum extent possible.

This prescreening, clinic and referral process “opened for business” in January 1996 and has been in constant operation ever since with the twice-monthly clinics at St. John’s United Methodist Church, across from the Church Health Center. The Tennessee Supreme Court Justices came to Memphis for a reception celebrating the official opening of the Community Legal Center and have returned on a number of occasions to honor our volunteers.

The CLC has received substantial financial support over the years from IOLTA funding, the Plough Foundation, the Women’s Foundation for a Greater Memphis, and the Assisi Foundation. Private foundation and City grants have been substantial, representing a large percentage of our revenue. The City of Memphis has provided several substantial grants, as has the Memphis Bar Foundation. The Administrative Office of the Courts provided funding for a pro se program that is discussed below.

The CLC has always operated in rent-free space with largely donated equipment and furnishings, not to mention thousands of volunteer hours. The CLC owes much to St. John’s United Methodist Church (clinic site and original office), MIFA (our present headquarters), Prescott Baptist Church, Church of the Holy Communion, Olivet Baptist Church, United Way Venture Fund, Junior League of Memphis, JoMiJo Foundation, and the Durham Foundation.

Initially, the CLC’s staff consisted of a part-time executive director and one part-time intake assistant to screen phone calls. The CLC now is fortunate to have a full-time executive director, Meg Jones, and three part-time staff attorneys, Hayden Lait, Irene Hallett, and Jack Richbourg. Students from the University of Memphis’ Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law are loyal in providing help with screening and interviews at the clinic, always under the supervision of a licensed attorney. Rhodes College students have also provided valuable volunteer assistance.

In collaboration with MALS and the University of Memphis’ Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law, the CLC implemented a “pro se” clinic, with a part-time attorney, Irene Hallett, who helps people handle their own routine legal matters. One objective of the staff-lawyer and pro se program is to further ease the case load needing to be referred to unpaid private lawyers. Minimizing that burden has always been an objective of the CLC. In addition, the CLC now provides information seminars for the clientele of other agencies on such subjects as Landlord and Tenant Law, Elder Law, Consumer Law, and Immigration issues.

The following statistics will give you an idea of the number of people and families who have received help (and hope) from the CLC.

Sixteen Year Statistics

Total calls received - more than 34,000 calls
Total given assistance - more than 19,000 people
Referred to other agencies - more than 900 people
Total interviewed at CLC clinics - more than 6,300 people

The number of calls the CLC receives is increasing rapidly with each day. In the last 2 years, the CLC has experienced a 192% increase in calls received and over 200% increase in people being assisted.

In 2006 the CLC collaborated with the Memphis Immigration Bar and the University of Memphis' Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law to start the Immigrant Justice Program (IJP).  This program provides pro bono legal services to low-income respondents of the immigration court in Memphis, TN.  The IJP assists the groundswell of immigrants seeking relief through political asylum, U-Visas for victims of domestic violence and human trafficking, and the steadily increasing number of broken families and US citizen children of immigrant parents brought on by the implementation of the criminal alien program of the Immigration and Nationality Act.

The IJP also provides opportunities for law students to gain experience in the immigration court. Students can not only volunteer to take phone calls from immigration clients, but they can also serve as the legal representative in court, provided they work under the supervision of an attorney.