Grants help groups provide legal help to Clark County residents

Caitlin Hudgins

Friday, July 16, 2004 | 4:10 a.m.

WEEKEND EDITION

July 17 - 18, 2004

Susan Vogel, the administrator of the Senior Citizens Law Project, describes her organization as "a law firm on wheels."

The program, established in 1976, holds seminars that teach people over age 60 how to avoid scams and make wise consumer choices.

"Unfortunately, seniors are easy prey and easy targets," Vogel said. "They tend to be very trusting, they believe what salesmen tell them and they usually don't get legal advice prior to signing a contract."

The organization's monthly seminars aim to prevent seniors from becoming victims, Vogel said. Held in senior housing areas, group care homes and senior centers, the seminars are taught by lawyers who cover subjects such as investments, purchases and health care.

The Senior Citizens Law Project was one of five programs to share nearly $45,000 of grant money from the State Bar of Nevada's Lawyer Referral and Information Service Department. Four other Nevada organizations were awarded their shares of the grant for their abilities to provide quality legal education and services to Las Vegas Valley residents.

Funded by court filing fees, the program allows the two parties involved in a crime to discuss the situation and come up with a solution under the supervision of a trained mediator.

A Clark County judge oversees the proceedings, and local attorneys make sure the young "lawyers," who get six weeks of training and must pass an exam before they can become counselors, handle their cases correctly.

The peer juries hand down punishments such as community service, jury duty, writing apology letters or counseling.

Eight teams compete for the mock trial state championship each year. Reno High School won the competition in 1999 and 2002 and Green Valley High School won in 2000, 2001, 2003 and 2004.

Legal Services also sponsors "Ask a Lawyer," a weekly question-and-answer session at the family courthouse, and "externships," which offer Supreme Court certification to law students who want to help the program give out legal advice.

All of these organizations were funded by grants from the State Bar of Nevada's Lawyer Referral and Information Service Department, which provides the public with free referrals to local attorneys, who then pay the bar a percentage of earnings generated from referred clients. Those funds were used for the first time this year to award the grants.

"It's just another way that we can give back to the community in which we live and continue to support the law-related educational projects that are out there," Nevada State Bar President Ann Price McCarthy said.