Contact Legal Aid of Southeastern Pennsylvania’s Cassidy Heiserman, Esq., at [email protected] or 610-230-6074, or the county’s Probono Coordinator.

Pro bono attorneys needed for eviction hearings
Eviction filings are on the rise in Delaware County! Even though the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) eviction moratorium is extended through June 30, 2021, LASP’s Regional Housing Unit needs help from pro bono volunteers to represent clients in eviction court. Many clients are currently arriving at court WITHOUT the CDC Declaration. Evictions lead to homelessness and negative heath outcomes, family disruption and more. The need for pro bono assistance is expected to be even greater when the moratorium expires.

To learn more or to volunteer, please contact Cassidy Heiserman, Esq., at [email protected] or 610-230-6074.

Check out the work on pardons here at www.PardonMePA.org

The Delaware County Bar Association hosted an April 14 CLE, "Landlord-tenant Law During a Pandemic," with welcoming remarks by William L. Baldwin, DCBA Executive Director and President of the LASP Board of Directors; and Donna M. Cantor, LASP Board of Directors. Presenters were Magisterial District Judge Deborah Krull, Magisterial District Judge Michael A. Burns, Lee A. Stivale, Thomas Kerstan (shown above at the CLE), and Jeremy Newberg, CEO at Capital Access, Inc., which is administering Delaware County's rent and utility assistance program.

Please check out pro bono opportunities at clinics held in Delaware County by Episcopal Legal Aid at https://www.episcopallegalaid.org

Schoenfeld Receives Milkes Award, March 25, 2022

Lyn B. Schoenfeld of Schoenfeld Surkin Chupein & DeMis PC, Media, a past president of the Delaware County Bar Association (DCBA), was presented with the Samuel W. Milkes Award by PBA President Kathleen D. Wilkinson at the DCBA Annual Dinner on March 25, 2022.

Veterans Day Celebration, Nov. 11, 2020
The PBA Pro Bono Office had scheduled a Legal Needs Clinic for Veterans for Nov. 11, 2020, at the Media Veterans Day Parade, the largest and oldest Veterans Day parade in Pennsylvania. Those plans are now on hold until 2021, but we are proud to partner with the parade organizers to help make the virtual experience a fitting reminder of the service of our veterans. The 2020 Veterans Day Celebration honors all of those, dead or alive, who have served the country, in war or peace, although it's largely intended to thank living veterans for their sacrifices.

The absence of a parade will make things look a little different in 2020, but we are excited that the 2020 Veterans Day celebration will have many of the unique experiences that make Media the place to be each Nov. 11. There will be patriotic songs, a harmonica rendition by a nonagenarian vet (that is, a person in their 90s), student essays and great guest speakers this year, including Senators Pat Toomey and Bob Casey and Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon.

The Veterans Legacy Project will broadcast the program live via YouTube on Nov. 11. The official ceremony will start at 11:11 a.m. We encourage you to join us starting at 10:45 a.m., when we will show a highlight video of past parades.

Get more information.

Dreyer of Delaware County Receives PBA Pro Bono Award, Jan. 11, 2019
Thomas A. Dreyer of Delaware County received a PBA Pro Bono Award for his consistent efforts in the pro bono program handling divorce matters, Jan. 11, 2019, at the Delaware County Bar Association President's Dinner.
Pictured below, from left: Legal Aid of Southeastern PA Pro Bono Coordinator Thomas Kerstan, PBA Pro Bono Coordinator David Keller Trevaskis, LASP Executive Director Shawn Boehringer, Thomas Dreyer, PBA President Charles Eppolito

PBA Past President López Delivers Pro Bono Celebration Address, Oct. 25, 2018
On Oct. 25, 2018, the Delaware County Bar Association celebrated Pro Bono Week with a presentation from Sharon López, PBA immediate past president and the first statewide bar leader to begin her career as a legal service professional. López shared her vision of SARA as a guiding directive for pro bono and legal aid lawyers—SARA: Safety, Autonomy, Restoration and Agency.

Ellixson of Delaware County Receives PBA Pro Bono Award, Dec. 5, 2017
PBA President Sharon R. López presented the first Pro Bono Award of 2018 on Dec. 5 to Delaware County Bar Association member Thomas K. Ellixson. Nominated by Legal Aid of Southeastern PA, Ellixson was honored for accepting the most pro bono custody cases in the previous 15 months.

From left: López, Legal Aid of Southeastern PA Executive Director Elizabeth Wood Fritsch, Legal Aid of Southeastern PA Pro Bono Coordinator Tom Kerstan and Ellixson

Friel of Delaware County Receives 2017 Pro Bono Award, Jan 20, 2017
PBA President Sara Austin joined Delaware County lawyers in celebrating the pro bono service of Karen Friel on Jan. 20, 2017. Austin honored Friel, a solo practitioner with a concentration in family law, general estate work, and criminal law, for accepting countless pro bono cases, primarily in the area of custody, and for generously volunteering her time and talent to help those in need. Friel also regularly accepts appointments from the court to handle criminal defense and Children and Youth cases. Prior to starting her own practice, Friel worked as a public defender from 1984-88, and she was an associate at the law firm of Banks, Banks and Langsam from 1982-84. Shown below, from left: Tom Kerstan, pro bono coordinator, Legal Aid of Southeast Pennsylvania; Karen Friel, 2017 PBA Pro Bono Award winner; Sara A. Austin, PBA president; David Trevaskis, PBA pro bono coordinator; and Elizabeth Fritsch, executive director, Legal Aid of Southeastern Pennsylvania

New Expungement Statute and Recent Amendment to Permit Sealing of Criminal Records, Oct. 25, 2016
3:30 p.m.; Delaware County Bar Association Auditorium, 335 West Front Street, Media. Contact: Nancy Ravert Ward, [email protected], 610-566-6625, ext. 222. Reception for pro bono volunteers to follow.

Legal Aid and Pro Bono in Delaware County, 2016

Discussing Pro Bono on 'Joy in Our Town Philadelphia,' Dec. 4, 2015
William Baldwin, executive director of the Delaware County Bar Association, and Jackie Csop, DCBA pro bono coordinator, discussed pro bono service with host Kelly Waldeyer on the Philadelphia WGTW-TV 48 program "Joy in Our Town Philadelphia." Watch the program on YouTube at www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Mj0LpwvX_0&feature=youtu.be.

Wills for Heroes Clinic, Nov. 21, 2015
The Pennsylvania Bar Association Young Lawyers Division and the Wills for Heroes Foundation, with sponsorship by Ballard Spahr LLP, are hosting upcoming events across Pennsylvania. At these events, free wills and powers of attorney are prepared for police officers, firefighters and other first responders who risk their lives every day to make sure our communities are safe. Programs are staffed by lawyer volunteers and are conveniently offered to first responders at meeting halls and police and fire stations. On Saturday, Nov. 21, volunteer lawyers will be conducting a Wills for Heroes Program for all active and retired Pennsylvania first responders, all sworn personnel and their spouses/significant others as well as Pennsylvania military veterans (please note that proof of affiliation or DD214 will be requested at the event). The event will be held at the City of Chester Fire Department, Station #82, 320 E. 14th Street, Chester, beginning at 11:00 a.m. If you have questions about the program, contact Sandy Romaszewski at [email protected] or Carolyn Capobianco at [email protected].