The Tennessee Supreme Court announced today (Monday) free legal advice events for all Tennesseans, from Memphis to Tri-Cities, as part of its Access to Justice Initiative, in which all Tennesseans are invited to get free civil legal help online or in person at walk-in clinics near them.
There will also be educational events across the state where people can learn about their legal rights and how to resolve disputes without going to court.
“Ensuring fair access to justice by providing legal advice to those Tennesseans who otherwise cannot afford legal representation in civil matters is the primary focus of this Initiative,” said Tennessee Supreme Court Chief Justice Jeff Bivins. “We want to ensure all Tennesseans have equal access to legal representation. Through the civil legal clinics, the citizens of our state will have a convenient place to go to get answers to their legal questions.”
The Access to Justice #HELP4TNDAY will kick off in mid-March with a press conference in Knoxville, Nashville, Memphis, Jackson and Chattanooga where communities will hear from Tennessee Supreme Court justices as well as those Tennesseans who have been helped through the program. The events will continue through mid-April.
Tennesseans are invited to visit www.help4tn.org to learn more about the day, April 1, 2017, and the date, time and place of an event closest to them. In addition, the Tennessee Supreme Court has released a public service announcement featuring Justice Cornelia Clark, airing on Comcast television and 88 radio stations across the state, as part of the Tennessee Radio Network.
More than 1.2 million Tennesseans are indigent, finding it extremely difficult to get legal help in civil matters when they are faced with struggles. The top legal struggles for individuals and families in Tennessee include healthcare, family law issues, landlord/tenant issues and debt.
Last year alone, licensed attorneys in Tennessee provided what would have amounted to nearly $100 million in pro bono work to those citizens who otherwise could not afford legal representation.
The #HELP4TNDAY awareness campaign is a joint effort by the Tennessee Supreme Court Access to Justice Commission, the Administrative Office of the Courts, Tennessee Alliance for Legal Services, and the Tennessee Bar Association. Other partners include Legal Aid of Middle Tennessee, Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee and the Cumberlands, Memphis Area Legal Services, and West Tennessee Legal Services.
