Like many people, Nadia Bashir felt a sense of helplessness when the pandemic took hold and wreaked havoc on countless people’s health, wellbeing, and finances. Instead of giving into that despair, Nadia pushed on and resolved to focus her pro bono work on combatting the devastating impacts of COVID-19. Though lawyers are not medical professionals, Nadia recognized that attorneys also had an incredibly important role to play during the greatest health crisis in a century—from keeping families in their homes, to helping a parent get an unemployment check, to simply giving lower-income Ohioans an advocate in our complex legal system.
As an Ohio native and an Ohio University Bobcat, Nadia has a great love for Southeastern Ohio and the people who live there. Recognizing that the region is the poorest in the state, she appreciates the critical need for civil legal aid for Southeastern Ohio residents and encourages pro bono attorneys—even those from different areas of the state—to get involved there.
When asked why she volunteers, Nadia says, “It really is as simple as hoping to help people.” In the course of her work, she says she has often witnessed a person with the same facts and case pattern as her clients. The difference in outcomes between the people who have legal representation and the ones who don’t has been painful for her to see and highlights how important effective counsel is in ensuring fair outcomes for clients in difficult situations.
When asked what advice she has for potential volunteers who have limited free time or are hesitant to get involved, Nadia invokes the famous words of John Donne: “’No man is an island, Entire of itself…send not to know for whom the bell tolls, It tolls for thee.’ The proverbial bell is tolling. Now is your time. Volunteer.” Nadia adds that, as rewarding as it is when a client says she has made a difference for them, she gets even more out of her pro bono work than her clients do.
Both personally and professionally, Nadia believes deeply in the values of diversity, equity, and inclusion, which she says is the difference between truly seeing and valuing everyone in your community, and not. “We cannot shortchange the outcomes of people’s lives for less than they deserve,” she says. “We belong to each other. It is our responsibility to help one another when and how we can.”
After earning her undergraduate degree at Ohio University, Nadia went to law school in Kentucky. In her free time, she enjoys photography and baseball when she’s not volunteering.
We are grateful for Nadia’s outstanding volunteer work!
Upcoming CLEs and Trainings
Should My Client File Bankruptcy?: A Bankruptcy Primer for ALL Ohio Legal Aid Case Handlers
Tuesday, December 7, 10 am-12 pm
Zoom
All legal aid case handlers are invited to join statewide legal aid bankruptcy practitioners to learn about when bankruptcy might or might not help your clients—even if they called in with an entirely different legal issue. Learn about our different courts and practice priorities with a riveting panel discussion. The meeting will be held via Zoom and an application has been made to the Supreme Court of Ohio for 2 hours of CLE credit. Get registered today.
Ethics & Professionalism Virtual Seminar
Thursday, December 9, 11am-2pm
Virtual
Bricker & Eckler invites you to attend their annual Ethics & Professionalism Virtual Seminar. This year’s event will feature presentations on recent disciplinary decisions, attorney engagement, how supporting pro bono activities can help you retain your talent and increase your bottom line, and the importance of protecting lawyers’ mental and emotional health as we rebound from the pandemic. This free event will be held virtually, and an application has been submitted to the Supreme Court for 2.5 total hours of CLE credit. Additional information and registration are available here.
Volunteers Needed
Opportunity Port
Remote
We are pleased to launch our partnership with Opportunity Port. Opportunity Port is a new platform that will help us connect applicants for criminal record sealing in Franklin County Municipal Court with volunteers who can screen them for eligibility and prepare their record sealing applications through the platform. This online portal will also enable clients and volunteer attorneys to schedule appointments. Training will be provided for anyone who joins. To apply, contact Dianna Parker.
Remote Clean Slate
Remote
If you are interested in helping rural clients with remote record sealing and/or those seeking help with Certificates of Qualification for Employment (CQEs), please use this form.
Volunteer Resource Center (VRC) Consumer Cases
Remote available
The VRC is a case referral program that utilizes two sets of volunteers: attorneys who accept litigation-oriented case referrals and in-house volunteers who sign up for weekly 3-hour shifts to handle client intake, case evaluation, and referral of cases to the pro bono attorney panel. LASC needs volunteers to help with our VRC Consumer Project, which entails representing consumers sued by debt buyers. This opportunity is ideal for new attorneys and litigators and includes online training, recorded CLE, and attorney toolkit. Most representation can be handled remotely. If you’re interested, fill out our Attorney Pro Bono Interest Form, and we will follow up directly with you.
Family Law Attorneys needed for Virtual Brief Advice Clinics
Remote
LASC and SEOLS have experienced an increase in family law questions for our virtual advice clinics. Phone consultations take between 15-30 minutes on average, and attorneys can volunteer as little or as much as they wish. To sign up for a virtual clinic shift, please use this form.
Probate and Estate Planning Cases
Remote or in-person
Attorneys and paralegals are needed to help low-income seniors with their basic estate planning documents, including simple wills, health care powers of attorney, living wills, organ donor registry, declaration of funeral arrangements, and financial powers of attorney. Work can be done remotely or in-person. We are also seeking lawyers who can help individuals with simple probate work. Current volunteers can simply email probono@oslsa.org. New volunteers: please use this form.
GIVING TUESDAY
Ohio State Legal Services is participating in Giving Tuesday. Please consider supporting our work with a donation TODAY. The challenges of the pandemic, structural racism, and policies that keep people poor are not going away. More than ever, civil legal help is needed to address the systemic issues that contribute to the cycle of poverty and injustice.
