On Friday, Dec. 2, at the Southwest Virginia Higher Education Center in Abingdon, Southwest Virginia Legal Aid Society, Inc. held a dinner and reception to celebrate the 50th year anniversary of the nonprofit law firm. The event began with Douglas E. Brinckman, President of the SVLAS Board of Directors, welcoming the audience and Dominion Energy, Savida Health, Carilion Clinic, PennStuart Attorneys at Law, Marion Automotive, and Slemp-Brant and Associates.
Guest speakers included Larry Harley, former SVLAS Executive Director, and Tim Freilich, Executive Director for Legal Services Corporation of Virginia. Harley served as Executive Director for 26 years before retiring in 2019. Harley spoke about the beginnings of the organization and noted that SVLAS had become a model for other rural Legal Aids across the country. SVLAS serves low-income citizens in the 17-county service area of Southwest Virginia handling matters involving family law, housing, domestic violence, elder justice, and consumer law. Freilich lauded SVLAS for the thousands of area residents it has served and noted that SVLAS had won the Hope Award from Emory & Henry College in 2019, the AARP 2020 Community Partner Award, and the Commonwealth Council on Aging 2022 Honorable Mention Best Practices Award for the SVLAS-led “Silence Isn’t Golden Campaign”.
The awards ceremony recognized area attorneys who volunteer for the SVLAS Private Attorney Involvement Program (PAI). Those recognized with Service Awards this year were Brandon Snodgrass (Abingdon), Paul Morrison, II (Marion) and Karen Loftin (Galax). Attorney Jordan C. Pennington of Bristol received The Proctor Award. This award is named for the late attorney and SVLAS volunteer, Barry Proctor. In presenting the award, Joseph R. Carico, SVLAS Executive Director, said that “Barry Proctor served as a legal aid staff attorney and had participated in our PAI program since its inception well over 20 years ago. Through his service, he volunteered countless hours of legal services to serve the poor and disadvantaged in this region. His service is truly a model for which we strive to meet each day.”
The Proctor Award is presented each year to an attorney for their notable contributions to the legal profession, service to their community, and for their promotion of Access to Justice for low-income Southwest Virginians through their work with Southwest Virginia Legal Aid. Pennington closed numerous cases for local residents over the last year. He thanked the group for the award and noted that he had seen how utilizing his law degree could help change people’s lives for the better.
The event also paid tribute to the longest-serving SVLAS employees Mary Parsons and Teresa Dickens, both of whom have served over forty (40) years.
If you need legal assistance, call Legal Aid to apply for services at 1-888-201-2772. The call is free, and intake staff are available to take your call Monday through Thursday from 8:30 a.m. to 12 p.m.; 1 p.m. – 4 p.m. and Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. You can also apply online 24 hours a day at www.svlas.org.
To learn more, visit Legal Aid’s website at www.svlas.org. You can also request a brochure by e-mailing [email protected].
