Poetic Justice

Volume 20 Issue 1 Spring 2023

Stories of Philanthropy and Hope from e Legal Aid Society of Cleveland

Legal Aid provides tax relief to family,

with unique help from Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library

Rich and Crystal are

loving parents and

passionate artists. They

were pillars of their

community in Indiana,

where they lived their

dream of operating

a theater company.

Unfortunately, like many

other arts programs,

theirs was hit hard by the

COVID-19 pandemic.

Their situation was further

complicated when

Crystal lost her income

aer giving birth to their

second child, as her

employer did not oﬀer

paid parental leave.

During this uncertain

time, Rich and Crystal

decided to relocate

to Ohio to be close

to Crystal’s family. As

they packed up to move, their children brought some of their most

beloved possessions with them: a vibrant library of books tailored

to each of their interests and ages, provided by Dolly Parton’s

Imagination Library monthly by mail.

When Rich and Crystal, long-time Dolly fans, learned that the beloved

celebrity had created a program to help kids discover a love for

reading, they knew they had to take part. First launched in 1995,

today 1 in 10 children under the age of ﬁve in the USA receives

Imagination Library books. Rich and Crystal never realized how

important it would be that their children would be counted among

that number.

When they moved to Ohio, Rich became the primary wage earner

as Crystal shied away from full-time work. Rich began claiming his

children as dependents on his tax form. To his shock, the Internal

Revenue Service (IRS) rejected his tax ﬁling and demanded proof of

his custody. To make matters worse, rather than disbursing the refund

to which Rich was entitled, the IRS claimed Rich owed taxes. Aer

failed attempts to seek clariﬁcation or a way forward, Rich noticed

something in the materials the IRS had sent him: a referral card for

Legal Aid’s Low Income Taxpayer Clinic. Through this clinic, Legal Aid

assists low-income taxpayers in resolving their disputes with the IRS

about federal income tax matters.

Together with Legal Aid’s help, Rich and Crystal came up with an

ingenious solution – Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library had been

sending their children books their entire lives, both while they lived

in Indiana and aer their move to Ohio. They gathered the books and

mailers addressed to the family, and provided them as evidence to the

IRS, helping to prove Rich’s long-standing custody of the children.

Rich spoke warmly about his experience

with Legal Aid, and of his attorney, Michelle

Frazier, “She just kind of befriended me and

made me feel a little more at ease. How many

other people go through this? How many

people throw up their hands and say, ‘I don’t

know what to do?”

Thanks to Dolly’s belief that “you can never get enough books into the

hands of enough children,” Rich and his Legal Aid attorney were able

to employ an especially imaginative solution to a diﬃcult tax problem.

Legal Aid Attorney Michelle Frazier

Legal Aid clients Rich and Crystal with their children at a local library

Join us - #ExtendJustice

use enclosed envelope or give at lasclev.org

Legal Aid’s Board of Directors, in partnership with staﬀ and informed by community input, spent much of 2022 developing a new Strategic

Plan. This plan, approved by the Board on September 7, 2022, went into eﬀect on January 1, 2023 and will carry the organization forward

through 2026.

The plan builds on the work accomplished during the last decade, and challenges Legal Aid to be more responsive to individual and systemic

issues and foster new and deeper partnerships. And, the planning process led us to an updated mission statement:

Legal Aid’s mission is to secure justice, equity,

and access to opportunity for and with people who have low incomes

through passionate legal representation

and advocacy for systemic change.

Poetic Justice

Page 2

Legal Aid’s New Strategic Plan

The plan outlines Legal Aid’s vision – communities in which all people experience dignity and justice, free from poverty and oppression.

It elevates core values that shape our culture, support our decision-making, and guide our behavior:

Legal Aid will continue to understand the needs of our clients and client communities, and reﬁne and focus our services to meet those needs

within these four areas:

• Improve safety and health: Secure safety for survivors of domestic violence and other crimes, increase access to health care, improve

health and safety of homes, and mitigate the social determinants of health.

• Promote economic security and education: Increase access to quality education, increase income and assets, reduce debt, and reduce

disparities in income and wealth.

• Secure stable and decent housing: Increase availability and accessibility of aﬀordable housing, improve housing stability, and improve

housing conditions.

• Improve accountability and accessibility of the justice system and government entities: Increase meaningful access to courts and

government agencies, decrease ﬁnancial barriers to the courts, and increase access to justice for self-represented litigants.

The new strategic plan highlights how Legal Aid will (1) make systems better for our clients, (2) build our skills and capacity to better fulﬁll our

mission, and (3) leverage the resources around us to amplify our impact through these six new organizational goals:

1. Establish the infrastructure for systems change work to achieve long-term equity and justice.

2. Become more human-centered, trauma-informed, and responsive to our clients and client communities.

3. Establish an anti-racist practice.

4. Align our culture and infrastructure with our core values, impact areas, and strategic goals.

5. Establish reciprocal relationships and partnerships with our clients and client communities to increase impact.

6. Deepen reciprocal relationships and partnerships with organizations to increase impact.

To learn more about Legal Aid’s Strategic Plan, visit lasclev.org/StrategicPlan

We pursue racial

justice and equity.

We treat everyone

with respect, inclusion,

and dignity.

We do

high-quality work.

We prioritize our clients

and communities.

We work in

solidarity.

Poetic Justice

Page 3

When Cleveland native Hilda

Hernandez felt called to serve her

community, she knew that joining

Legal Aid would empower her to

make a diﬀerence.

Hilda ﬁrst joined Legal Aid in 2014

in the Intake and Volunteer Lawyers

Program, helping to gather key

information to determine if people

had a legal case and were eligible

to receive help from Legal Aid. Being an intake

specialist helped Hilda learn about the variety

of cases Legal Aid handles, and gain experience

communicating with potential clients. Since 2020,

she has worked as a paralegal in Legal Aid’s Health

and Opportunity Practice Group.

Hilda shared, “I have been fortunate enough to meet

clients from many diﬀerent ethnic backgrounds, and

to learn about their language, culture, and traditions.

This has helped me to understand our clients’

views, and to develop more empathy regarding the

traumatic events that led to their desire to immigrate

to the U.S.” Hilda’s recent work is focused on

immigration cases and Legal Aid’s Medical-Legal

Partnership Program.

Katie Feldman, Managing Attorney of Legal Aid’s

Health and Opportunity group, notes “Hilda is an

integral part of our immigration practice: not only

is she passionate about Legal Aid’s mission and

leaving no stone unturned to assist clients, but she

also ﬁnds ways to connect her extensive community

involvement to her legal work.”

As she celebrates her 9-year anniversary with Legal

Aid, Hilda notes “Anyone considering supporting

Legal Aid should do so because we have a truly

special group of employees that are skilled, kind,

and in constant search of new ways to work jointly to

reach a common goal: to provide high quality legal

assistance to low-income and vulnerable clients, and

to make systemic changes for the greater good.”

Staff Profile:

Hilda Hernandez

Legal Aid helps newcomers

with civil legal issues

Legal issues hold people, families, and entire communities back

from opportunity. Immigrant families are especially vulnerable

and are at more risk of being denied access to shelter, safety,

and economic stability. Recent crises in Afghanistan and Ukraine

brought more immigrants to our area, and many of these

newcomers have civil legal needs that they cannot aﬀord to

resolve by paying a private attorney.

Legal Aid helps newcomers in two ways – both with legal work

related to immigration, and through other civil legal cases to help

ensure shelter, safety and economic security for newcomers.

Thanks to philanthropic support from the Cuyahoga County

Immigration Legal Services Fund, and the Ohio Access

to Justice Foundation, Legal Aid’s immigration practice has

grown in recent years. Legal Aid serves immigrants who are low

income who are refugees, domestic violence survivors, victims of

traﬃcking and other serious crimes, detainees, lawful permanent

residents, and other immigrants with status. Immigration cases

Legal Aid handles include: U Visas for victims of serious crimes; T

Visas for victims of human traﬃcking; special Immigrant Juvenile

Status and other relief for unaccompanied minors; Violence

Against Women Act petitions for survivors of domestic violence;

family petitions; deportation; naturalization and citizenship.

With other support from Cuyahoga County, as the community

works to be a more welcoming place for newcomers, Legal Aid

is growing its practice to help immigrants in other areas such as

housing; domestic relations; consumer rights; public beneﬁts;

obtaining special education services; and other civil legal

problems. Additionally, Legal Aid has a special focus on advocacy

for those with limited English proﬁciency.

In these eﬀorts, Legal Aid works closely with community partners,

including our medical-legal partnership sites (MetroHealth,

Cleveland Clinic, St. Vincent Charity Medical Center, and

University Hospitals), the local church community, Catholic

Charities, and other immigrant and refugee-serving organizations.

Legal Aid is dedicated to continuing our work to help immigrants

gain more stable immigration status in the United States, reach

more immigrants with important legal information, and represent

more immigrants in civil legal cases about issues that impact their

basic needs.

Poetic Justice

Page 4

Board of Directors

ADMINISTRATION

Colleen M. Cotter, Esq.

Executive Director

Susan Chiancone

Interim Director of Finance

Tenille N. Kaus, Esq.

Director of Diversity, Equity,

Inclusion & Advancement

Tom Mlakar, Esq.

Deputy Director for Advocacy

Roz Quarto, Esq.

Director of Strategic

Initiatives

Melanie A. Shakarian, Esq.

Director of Development &

Communications

Jennifer Teeter

Executive Assistant &

Organizational Development

Coordinator

NEWSLETTER

STAFF

Editor

Melanie A. Shakarian, Esq.

Staff

Camille Dickson

Rui Harris

Laura Klingler

Leah Markovich

Erik Meinhardt

Tonya Sams

Sarah Shaw

Luke Trinka

In-House Volunteer

Irene Meyerhoefer

Administration &

Newsletter Staff

Harlin Adelman, Esq.

University Hospitals

Jason Bristol, Esq.

Cohen Rosenthal &

Kramer LLP

Carolyn Butler

Community Representative

Quo Vadis Cobb, Esq.

Jacobs Engineering

Stephen M. Fazio, Esq.

Squire Patton Boggs

Nathan Genovese, Esq.

Community Representative

Gwen Graffenreed

Community Representative

Erica Hughes

Community Representative

Jonathan Leiken, Esq.

Diebold Nixdorf

Hugh McKay, Esq.

Porter Wright Morris &

Arthur LLP

Joseph Rodgers, Esq.

Eaton Corporation

Jan Roller, Esq.

Perez-Morris

Sonya Shakir

Community Representative

Robin Turner

Community Representative

Ted Tywang, Esq.

Haslam Sports Group

(Cleveland Browns)

Michael N. Ungar, Esq.

Ulmer & Berne LLP

Daniel C. Urban, Esq.

Wickens Herzer Panza

Neil Vakharia, Esq.

McKinsey & Company

Doug Wang

Retired, Northern

Trust Bank

Rhonda Wilson

Community Representative

Legal Aid Welcomes New Board Officers

Elected in December, Legal Aid is pleased to announce the following new executive committee

leadership on its Board of Directors for 2023:

President - Jonathan Leiken, Esq., Diebold Nixdorf

Vice Presidents - Quo Vadis I. Cobb, Esq., Jacobs Engineering; Joe Rodgers,

Esq., Eaton Corporation; and Sonya Shakir, Community Representative

Secretary/Treasurer - Doug Wang, Retired, Northern Trust Bank

Previous Board President, Stephen M. Fazio, Esq. is now president emeritus. Legal Aid extends

heartfelt appreciation to Rita Maimbourg, Esq., who concluded her term aer 6 years of service.

Attorney appointed to the board of e McGregor Foundation

Deborah Dallmann, Senior Attorney with Legal Aid’s Health and Opportunity

Practice Group, has been appointed to the board of The McGregor

Foundation. Dallmann joined Legal Aid in 2008 and specializes in public

beneﬁt cases. The McGregor Foundation, a private grantmaking foundation,

supports seniors and those who serve them throughout Cuyahoga County.

Right to Counsel Creates Signicant Benet for Community

In late January, Legal Aid and the United Way of Greater Cleveland delivered an independent

evaluation to City of Cleveland leaders highlighting the success of Cleveland’s Right to Counsel in

eviction cases.

Since the implementation of Right to Counsel in 2020, Legal Aid has been successful in avoiding

disruptive displacement for 90% of Right to Counsel clients facing eviction. Learn more about the

impact of Right to Counsel at FreeEvictionHelpResults.org.

Legal Aid Defends Student Debt Cancellation Before the U.S. Supreme Court

In early January, an historic coalition of cities, states, experts, and advocates

ﬁled more than a dozen amicus curiae briefs with the U.S. Supreme Court

in support of the Biden Administration’s student debt relief program. The

Legal Aid Society of Cleveland ﬁled the brief on behalf of more than 70 legal

services and borrower advocacy organizations. Legal Aid was among more

than twelve amicus briefs in support of the cancellation policy, arguing that

student debt relief is lawful and urgently needed to address the eﬀects of the

COVID-19 pandemic. The City of Cleveland - City Hall also was one of the

signatories on the city amicus ﬁled. Read the brief: lasclev.org/01112023.

In late February, Legal Aid attorneys Eric Zell and Josh Rovenger and paralegal Kristen Nawrocki

(pictured above) traveled to Washington, D.C. to listen to the oral arguments.

Jonathan Leiken, Esq.

Deborah Dallmann, Esq.

Legal Aid in the Community

1. Attorneys from Jones Day and Diebold at the ﬁrst Legal Aid clinic of 2023. This January brief advice clinic was at the Carnegie West Branch, and marks the start of the 11th year

of Legal Aid’s formal partnership with Cleveland Public Library. 2. Brittany Howard, Esq. (Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service) 3. Teresa Mathern, Legal Aid Intake

Specialist 4. Anastasia Elder, Esq. (Case Western Reserve University) and Shashelia Degraﬃnried, Esq. (Spitz Law Firm) 5. Emily Murphy, Legal Aid Paralegal; Russell

Hauser, Legal Aid Attorney; Honor Wolfe, Legal Aid in-house volunteer 6. Scott Heasley, Esq. (Myers Roman Friedberg & Lewis) 7. Judge Terri Stupica (Chardon Municipal

Court), Barbara Moser, Esq., Dennis Coyne, Esq., Michael Hurst, Esq. (Geauga County Court of Common Pleas), Carol Szczepanik, Esq. and Judge Mary Jane Trapp

(Court of Appeals, Ohio 11th District) at a Legal Aid clinic in Geauga County. 8. Dena Kobasic, Esq.

Volunteer Lawyers Program grows to

promote safe and healthy housing

Thanks to a grant from the Legal Services Corporation (LSC) Pro Bono Innovation Fund, The Legal

Aid Society of Cleveland is recruiting and training more volunteers to address the housing safety needs

of tenants with low-incomes. In addition to eviction defense, this project will focus on building volunteer

capacity to assist with issues that relate to unsafe living situations: poor housing conditions, rent deposits,

lockouts and utility shutoﬀs. To learn more and get involved, visit lasclev.org/SafeHousing or contact

Bobbi Saltzman, Staﬀ Attorney, at bsaltzman@lasclev.org.

2 3

Ben Dormus, Bobbi Saltzman, and Lauren Gilbride of VLP

1223 West Sixth Street

Cleveland, Ohio 44113

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Cleveland, Ohio

Permit No. 104

RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED

The Cleveland International Film Festival (CIFF) 47 will

take place at Playhouse Square in downtown Cleveland

March 22 - April 1, 2023 and online as CIFF47 Streams

April 2-9, 2023.

Legal Aid is proud to be a community partner for the

ﬁlm "Rise and Rebuild: A Tale of Three Cities," which

portrays individuals in three cities who confront the

destruction of Black wealth in their communities and

devise strategies for building a more prosperous future

for all. Legal Aid applauds CIFF for elevating ﬁlms that

highlight issues of justice and equity.

Learn more about CIFF47 and Legal Aid's