Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1956-06-24
BY RALPH McCABE

BY RALPH McCABE
The biggest law firm in town"
is the poorest when it comes to fees
lin fact it collects no fees at all.
It's the District of Columbia
Legal Aid Bureau. There anyone
who meets one slight qualification
can go for his portion of justice.
The qualification: The client must
be unable to pay for the services
of an attorney.
Last year 5.987 cases were
handled. OF these the largest num-
Der involved family problems such
as divorce, desertion and adoptions.
Property problems were involved
in 902 cases and wages, debts, pen
SionS and the like accounted for
1880. There were 799 in the mis-
ceilaneouS" class.
To handle this load, the bureau
has a director, a small Office staff,
a marriage counsellor and 26
lawyers who take their turns on a
weekly schedule to keep things
going.
When the bureau was established
in 1882 the services of FIVE volunteer
lawyers were available. Miss Bea-
trice. Clephane was the first direc-
tor and served until her death in
1915. Allan Fisher, long staff
attorney, has been director since.
While certain patterns develop,
since only the poor are entitled to
the free legal advice, the bureaus
cases cover most Of the common
fields of law And it takes all in
its stride.
Case Of the Elderly Veteran
There was the case Of an elderly
man wearing a Spanish War Vet
GRAMS pin. He told story of having
been in e Veterans hospital. leav-
ing. and depositing his savings in
bank. He said he lost his bank book
and couldn't remember where he
had deposited his $4,000. A weeks
investigation revealed no such de-
poSit made in any bank he probably
could have visited. And finally it
was brought out that he was vet
eran Of World War ], mentally con-
fused. and had never been known
to have very much money. He had
been In a hospital, though.
This was an example Of one OF
the bureaus prime activities: Since
so many prospective clients need
more than mere legal advice, every
effort is made to channel their
problems through other agencies
which can be Of help. In the case
Of the veteran, the Spanish War
Veterans were most helpful. even
though it was quickly shown the
man was not member.
A Hoppy Ending
There was the problem of a young
woman, about to become a mother,
who had been deserted when her
husband lost his job. He left her
without resources and she felt that
if she could get divorce she might
be able to get financial help.
The complications of divorce law
were explained and immediate help
obtained through social agency.
Two days later the husband was To-
Gated in a small Western town
where he had gone looking for work.
Travel funds were scraped together
after long distance negotiations that
brought about reconciliation and
the wife went to join her husband.
Her letter of gratitude is still on file.
One mother came to Washing
ton leaving six small children in
the care of a landlady in South
Dakota. She found herself unable
to pay the whole board bill at one
time and the landlady refused to
let the children leave. Legal adj
vice and negotiations with the
county attorney in the West
Strengthened things out and in a
few days the volunteer attorney,
shivering in the cold, waited out a
warm 4 am. family reunion at the
train gate of Union Station.
Legal Aid practice has many
complications, but sometimes it
comes easy. One day an attorney
had arranged conferences with two
fathers who were in arrears in the
support of their children. One. who
had been before the court many
times and had long experience in
such matters, saw the attorney
first The other in such trouble
for the first time, waited outside.
The lawyer was stern and the first
delinquent father excitable. loud
and vituperative. But he paid up.
AS he left, the second father en-
tered the Office. His face pale. he
greeted the attorney with: How
much?"
Many times a failure to under
stand their rights and RESPONSE
bilities involves clients in legal
tangles. One young Greek immi-
grant stood before the Naturaliza-
ton Court and carefully weighed
his words as he swore to renounce
absolutely and entirely all ale