Last year, I spent all day on a Sunday in the outer reaches of Nashville, building a house for Habitat for Humanity. I don’t know much about building a house, roofing a roof, or using a nail gun. In fact, what I know about nail guns, I learned from a Bruce Willis action movie. Needless to say, I was not having a good time that day.
Even though it felt good to be volunteering and doing good in a general sense, it felt weird to be wasting time and destroying construction supplies on a table saw.
So, on that hot Sunday, I decided to not volunteer at any more construction jobs, and, instead, devote my time in a way that emphasizes my most valuable assets–my legal knowledge.
Since then, I’ve routinely volunteered at the Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee and the Upper Cumberlands. I’m lucky to be really busy at work, and so I don’t volunteer as much as I could.
But, Legal Aid makes it easy: They offer free legal aid clinics at various times, days, and locations every month, and the commitment for volunteer lawyers is generally only a few hours at a time.
I know, I know–I’m basically telling you about the easiest, lease time-intensive way to help, but that’s a also good thing. A little bit of help goes so far. They need help staffing these clinics, and, in two hours, a lawyer can help 3-5 people who had been hopelessly lost in the legal system.
So, if you’re reading this blog and I’ve saved you any time researching a legal question, I have one request: Take that time saved and devote a bit of your time to your local legal aid clinic.
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