ACT 2 volunteer Kate Fenner has lived in the Cleveland area her entire life. She worked at KeyBank practicing employee benefits and employment law for 28 years before retiring in 2013.
For the past three years, Ms. Fenner has been a pro bono attorney with Legal Aid, volunteering both at clinics and in-house. Ms. Fenner participated in Brief Advice Clinics in Cuyahoga County and Community Outreach Clinics in Lorain County. She enjoys working with the clients and providing them with “common-sense” legal solutions to their problems; she says, “People are so genuinely grateful. You just want to help them.” She is exposed to areas of the law that she otherwise would not be.
Ms. Fenner says, “It forces you out of your niche; It’s fun!” Since August 2016, Ms. Fenner focused on in-house pro bono work at Legal Aid’s Cleveland office helping with Legal Aid’s estate planning practice. She is at Legal Aid’s downtown office one day each week and prepares wills and advanced directives for low-income people. Without Kate’s hard work, these preventative and proactive legal services would not be available. “It keeps me engaged and active. I walk away and feel I’ve done a good deed!”
Legal Aid’s ACT 2 program is part of the Volunteer Lawyers Program. ACT 2 engages late-career and retired attorneys in pro bono work for vulnerable Legal Aid clients who, without the help of a volunteer, would not have access to counsel.
Learn more and sign-up today at www.lasclev.org/ACT2