The Pro Bono Effect: Mother Endures Through Two-Fold Battle
“I was going through hell,” says Maya,她和儿子的父亲在一段混乱的关系中生活了六年. 这是一个家庭暴力的循环，直到2008年才被打破.
2008年元旦前后，两人在华盛顿市中心的一条街上.C. 他们开始争吵，玛雅当时的男友当着目击者的面把她推倒在地. She knew she had to leave. 分居后，玛雅开始了法律诉讼，以获得他们年幼儿子的监护权.
“He threatened that he was going to take my son away from me,” she recalls, 考虑到他是D的重要人物，这是很有可能的.C.’s law enforcement community. “I realized that I cannot do this by myself. I need somebody.”
But like many Washington metropolitan area residents, 她经济拮据，雇不起靠谱的滚球平台. The Family Court Self-Help Center at the D.C. Superior Court referred Maya to the D.C. Bar Pro Bono Program’s Advocacy & Justice Clinic.
Poverty: A Growing Problem
In 1993 the Advocacy & 正义诊所——当时被称为靠谱的滚球平台事务所诊所——开业时正值该市对无偿法律服务的需求不断增长. At the time, 大多数较大的华盛顿靠谱的滚球平台事务所都不参与个人无偿贫困法律案件. Aiming to meet the needs of the community, the D.C. Bar公益项目制定了一个广泛的计划来吸引这些公司，并向他们展示这一点, with support, 他们的靠谱的滚球平台可以成为穷人的有力拥护者.
Since its inception 17 years ago, the Advocacy & Justice Clinic has grown tremendously, partnering with nearly 40 firms and federal government agencies. Over the past few years, the Advocacy & Justice Clinic’s mission has become even more significant as D.C. 当地居民在前所未有的失业率和贫困中挣扎. The D.C. Department of Employment Services reports that in September 2010, the city’s overall jobless rate was 9.8 percent, slightly higher than the national average of 9.6 percent. 在阿纳科斯蒂亚河以东的社区，失业率接近令人震惊的30%. The poverty levels are even more staggering—one in five D.C. 根据美国国务院公布的数据，这里的居民生活在贫困线以下.C. Fiscal Policy Institute in April 2010.
需要法律服务的贫困居民数量激增, 在上一个财政年度(2009年7月至2010年6月)，诊所为30%以上的客户提供代理服务。, underscoring the need for more pro bono attorneys.
A Long Road
在诊所每年举办的21次会议中，有一次，海蒂. Sorensen, of counsel at Foley & Lardner LLP, was reading through files prescreened by the D.C. Bar Pro Bono Program. 索伦森说:“我看了玛雅的档案，然后说，‘这就是我想接的案子. Within a week of Maya’s initial contact with the clinic, she had a meeting scheduled with Sorensen at Foley’s offices.
“Foley & 拉德纳在家庭法方面的专业知识达到了令人难以置信的水平,” says Mark Herzog, associate director of the D.C. Bar Pro Bono Program. “When the firm joined the Advocacy & Justice Clinic in 1996, 它几乎没有为有争议的监护权问题的公益客户辩护的经验. But the need was great and continues to be. The firm’s approach to these cases, led by partner Melinda F. Levitt, is that, yes, 他们可能会很混乱——家庭往往如此——但这就是为什么有靠谱的滚球平台参与是如此重要.”
在第一次会面之后，索伦森认为她知道这个案子的发展方向. “当时，我认为这个问题相对容易解决. 我们的父母都参与了孩子的生活，”她回忆道. “Even with the domestic violence, 我们应该能想出一些对这个家庭有用的办法.” She was wrong.
一个月后，索伦森和玛雅与玛雅的前男友及其靠谱的滚球平台会面，讨论和解事宜. 他们达成了一个协议，百分之六十的时间玛雅会有他们的儿子. Five minutes after her ex-boyfriend walked out the door, Maya received a call from him on her cell phone. “I’m not going to agree to that, you know,” he told her.
索伦森说:“我们必须开始为证据听证会做准备. 接下来的一年半充满了地位听证会和和解讨论. Around the summer of 2009, the two parties were able to reach a shared custody arrangement, but the roadblocks continued. 她的前男友不愿按照要求提供财务文件来决定孩子的抚养费. 他还隐瞒了自己出租房产的收入，以避免支付更高的抚养费.
Maya and Sorensen forged a strong bond during the long process. While working on the custody case, 玛雅必须在她前男友的解雇听证会上就他在执法部门的工作所面临的家庭暴力作证. 索伦森坐在后排，他在场只是为了提供精神上的支持. “她支持我，即使她不需要在那里，因为那是另一个案例，”玛雅说. “She was there for me.”
Following his termination, Maya’s ex-boyfriend continued to be difficult, 当他找到另一份工作时不愿意合作更新子女抚养费. 他经常很晚才去学校接儿子，也是一个缺勤的父亲. “I tried to do the best for my son. We decided to share custody, but it didn’t work out,” Maya says. “My son was going through a lot of stuff emotionally.” Her son was experiencing significant adjustment issues.
最后一根稻草是，2009年感恩节前一天，玛雅的前男友拒绝去学校接他们的儿子. “When the school called, he told them, ‘Oh, no, it’s not my day,’ when in fact he always had Wednesdays,” Sorensen recalls. “When that happened, we were able to go to court. . . . 我们已经向法官解释了我们同意的共同监护安排中出现的所有问题.”
法官给了玛雅暂时的完全监护权直到六个月后的听证会. 索伦森和玛雅在福利靠谱的滚球平台杰基·阿科斯塔和乔伊斯·E. 格雷斯科继续调查，打电话，在玛雅家见面.
大约两年前，这个看起来相当简单的案子后来被证明是漫长而艰难的, 索伦森花在离婚上的时间比拥有巨额财产的典型离婚者要多. But the hours put in were worth it: in June 2010, 法官判给玛雅对她儿子的全部法律和人身监护权.
“They did a great job. I feel like I won. I got back my peace of mind,” Maya says. “有一个孩子很高兴和他的妈妈生活在一起，也有一个妈妈很高兴和她的孩子生活在一起.”
*Name changed
By Thai Phi Le
From Washington Lawyer, January 2011
Reach D.C. Bar staff writer Thai Phi Le at [email protected].
