The Charlotte Triage pro bono partnership marked its fifth anniversary on Sept. 20, 2023, with a networking reception and CLE training sessions for legal professionals from across the region. Charlotte Triage is a collaboration led by McGuireWoods, Wells Fargo, Bank of America, Duke Energy, Husqvarna, and Moore & Van Allen to expand pro bono services for low-income Charlotte residents.
Charlotte Triage supports Legal Aid of North Carolina-Charlotte and the Charlotte Center for Legal Advocacy by enabling the legal aid organizations to outsource work to private practice lawyers and in-house counsel. The pro bono matters are related to human trafficking, criminal record expunctions, healthcare enrollment, housing eviction defense and special immigrant juvenile cases.
This year, through partnerships with the Council for Children’s Rights and Safe Alliance, the program expanded to include two additional areas: representing vulnerable children with special education needs and assisting survivors of domestic violence. CLE sessions at the Sept. 20 event provided training opportunities in all seven service areas.
“Charlotte Triage is a shining example of the impact law firms, corporate legal departments and legal aid organizations have when they join forces to address needs in their communities,” said counsel Angie Zimmern, McGuireWoods’ pro bono director and a member of the Charlotte Triage task force. “We look forward to continuing this important work and expanding our reach.”
For the first time, Charlotte Triage presented awards, honoring Elizabeth Murphy of Alston & Bird with the Champion of the Year award and Kerry-ann Archer of Wells Fargo with the Volunteer of the Year award.
McGuireWoods, Alston & Bird, Bradley, King & Spalding, K&L Gates, Moore & Van Allen, Parker Poe and Robinson Bradshaw provided sponsorship support for the CLE sessions and reception.
Since its inception in 2018, Charlotte Triage has been recognized for exemplary pro bono service. The Pro Bono Institute honored Charlotte Triage with the 2020 Corporate Pro Bono Partner Award, which recognizes innovative pro bono partnerships between law firms, in-house legal departments and public interest organizations. In addition, the North Carolina State Bar honored Charlotte Triage with its Outstanding Pro Bono Collaborative Service award in 2020.