Free legal clinic in Chimacum

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Those who have questions about immigration rights or any other legal advice can consult with volunteer lawyers for free at the next Jefferson County legal clinic.

Shauna Rogers McClain serves as executive director of Clallam-Jefferson Pro Bono Lawyers, which have provided this free legal clinic since 2014 and are partnering with members of the Northwest Immigrant Rights Project to bring the event back from noon to 2 p.m. Dec. 1 at the Tri-Area Community Center in Chimacum.

Rogers McClain said the free legal clinics had gone from being quarterly events to occurring 18 times in 2018 alone. She said this was far from the only change to impact the clinics since they began during the last two years of President Obama’s last term, since they have run through the first two years of President Trump’s term to date.

“There’s definitely been an increase in questions about immigrants’ rights, which is why we brought the Northwest Immigrant Rights Project on board,” Rogers McClain said.

The Clallam-Jefferson Pro Bono Lawyers already had acknowledged this shift in 2017, with a public panel titled “Protecting Legal Rights: Immigration Law in an Age of Uncertainty.”

Port Townsend City Council member Ariel Speser, who was the board president of Clallam-Jefferson Pro Bono Lawyers at the time, described it as “an area where the law is changing and evolving,” and as such, “We want to make sure we’re staying well informed and up to date.”

This focus has continued through 2018, although Rogers McClain added, “This event is not limited to that. We’ve been tracking all kinds of legal issues that are of concern to this community.”

Rogers McClain said the clinic’s roughly half-dozen lawyers are ready to respond to questions related to “the housing crisis, which is especially bad in Jefferson County,” including evictions, tenant-and-landlord disputes, collections and bankruptcies.

Rogers McClain expected somewhere close to two-dozen attendees, although she expects demand could be more or less, given that the clinic is competing with holiday events and is a walk-in event that doesn’t require any prior reservations for local folks to engage in one-on-one consultations with volunteer lawyers.

“We will offer Spanish translation and interpretation services, and at least one of the attorneys available for consultations will be from the Northwest Immigrant Rights Project,” Rogers McClain said.

Rogers McClain added the event is intended to help those who are otherwise unable to financially access an attorney, but it’s open to all who attend.

Attorney volunteers will be available not only to answer legal questions but also to direct people to local services that might be able to assist them, as well as explain the legal process to them, in areas including family law, public assistance, estate, employment and creditor issues.

“We realize there are people who might be scared to seek out help, especially with immigration concerns,” Rogers McClain said. “We want them to know there’s help out there, and they can trust us to maintain their confidentiality.”

For more information, contact Rogers McClain at 360-504-2422.