The Jacksonville Chapter of the Christian Legal Society sponsors a Pro Bono Project. Please contact the Pro Bono Project Director for details on how you can participate.

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Tell Me About The Pro Bono Project

Thank you for inquiring about our Christian Legal Society Pro Bono Project, which we operate for a local gospel mission. The City Rescue Mission (CRM) operates a homeless shelter downtown. CRM also operates a Lifebuilders recovery program at its McDuff Avenue campus. Our Pro Bono team works in conjunction with this aspect, assisting the residents with their legal baggage as a component of their lifebuilding process. We work under the umbrella of Jacksonville Area Legal Aid (JALA), giving us access to resources and expertise when needed. But, our desire is to actually handle cases. To do this, we assist only as much as needed, meaning that our preferred approach is to equip the residents with direction, information and guidance so that they can resolve the problems themselves, where feasible.

We have generally found that the legal issues involved are fairly minor and "surface", meaning that our individualized focused practice backgrounds are not the obstacle feared. One does not have to be a general practitioner to be useful in this ministry, as only 1-2 of the 14 of us are. The rest have narrow practice areas, most of which have no applicability to what we encounter at CRM. Still, we are often able to contact colleagues, do preliminary research, make a few calls, and generally be able to help the vast majority of residents.

Our schedule is to go to the CRM campus approximately every ten weeks. Furthermore, our team is divided into two groups, one that handles the Tuesday night visits and one that handles the Thursday night visits, depending on the individual's personal scheduling preferences. Thus, each team member is only called to go out every 20 weeks, as our 10-week visits alternate between Tuesday nights and Thursday nights. The sessions begin at 6pm and often end prior to the projected end time of 8pm. Many of the interviews end with advice given and no follow-up. Some end up being referred to JALA (such as some domestic issues, etc.). A typical night might generate 1-2 cases for each attending attorney to handle.

As you might expect, the ministry is a blessing to all involved. The resident not only gets valuable legal assistance, but gains a sense of worth by having attorneys come to them with a sincere desire to help. The attorneys have the opportunity to demonstrate God's love and concern for our fellow brethren, and to steward the talents and blessings that we have been given in this profession. Most importantly, however, is the fact that God is served and pleased. In Matthew 25:31-40 (excerpted), Jesus stated:

When the Son of Man comes in his glory … he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. . . Then, he will say to those on his right, "Come, you who are blessed by my Father, take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me." . . . Then the righteous will answer him, "Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick?" . . . The King will reply, "I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these my brothers, you did for me."

Please pray over what role, if any, God would desire for you to have in this ministry. Feel free to email me with any questions you may have. Thank you for your inquiry.

In Him,

Blane

CLS Pro Bono Project Director

The Law Office of Blane G. McCarthy
1400 Prudential Drive, Suite Two
Jacksonville, FL 32207

(904) 391-0091
Fax (904) 391-6888

Email bgmccarthy@sprintmail.com