Montana Lawyer August/September 2024

PRO BONO CHRONICLES Pro Bono Advocacy Beyond Family Law: Opportunities to Make a Difference ALISSA CHAMBERS

If you're interested in pro bono work but hesitant about handling family law cases, now is the time to step in and make a difference. Historically, the need for pro bono services has centered on family law. However, a 2023 assessment reveals that housing and homelessness have become the most pressing issues among Montana Legal Services Association (MLSA) clients, community partners, and the legal com munity. 1 Eighteen percent of Montanans, or 182,000 people, qualify for civil legal aid at 125% of the federal poverty level. In 2023, MLSA had only one attorney for every 8,000 income-eligible Montanans. In 2022, Montana lawyers donated over 141,000 hours of pro bono time, valued at over $20 million, to address the growing gap between legal needs and available resources. Leadership in pro bono work and a culture of generosity are deeply valued in our legal community, with daily examples of lawyers making a positive impact. This past year, I couldn't save a friend's (client’s) home through legal means. Facing the harsh realities of life for our low-income neighbors left me overwhelmed and depressed. But then, I received an unexpected gift—my friend asked for help moving. Later, she told me that watching me struggle to turn a U-HAUL on her narrow street gave her the laughter she needed to get through that day. That experience pulled me out of my head and into the reality of simply responding to what life puts in front of us. When all seems lost, just showing up can be enough. We can't solve all of society's problems, but our education and profession place

us in a position of privilege. No other profession can give voice in court to the silent suffering of our neighbors. We have the freedom and the power to make a difference. My ask is simple: open your heart and mind to how you can best serve your community. Only you know what lights you up, makes you angry, breaks your heart, and moves you to action. Any act of generosity, no matter how small, makes a difference. Your courage, skills, and willingness to engage are needed now. As a wise person said, "you cannot sink half a boat"—we're all in this together. Housing Instability The cost of living in Montana con tinues to climb, with high housing prices, steep mortgage rates, property tax increases, and rising insurance premi ums impacting all Montanans. Inflation outpaced wage growth in 2022, resulting in real average wage declines of 1.6%. Cost-burdened Montana homeowners, including older Montanans living on fixed incomes, are particularly vulnerable to housing insecurity, often just "one misstep or emergency away" from losing their homes. COVID-19 exacerbated systemic risk factors for households in need. The stakes for homeowners who fell behind financially during the pandemic are staggeringly high. The majority of foreclosures in Montana occur outside of court by way of a trustee sale, After certain notice periods, as autho rized by the Small Tract Financing Act. In my former life as a private practice corporate lawyer, I represented creditors and lenders. By and large, Montana-based lenders and borrowers were aligned in reaching mutually agreeable resolutions before resorting to foreclosure. The foreclosure matters I am seeing today are different in that I am not dealing with Montana based lenders or Montana based opposing counsel or trustees. The inability to access a single point of contact, let alone the same consistent contact, has been my largest frustra tion in these foreclosure matters. As

Alissa Chambers joined the Montana Justice Foundation as the new Executive Director in September 2022. Before joining the Montana Justice Foundation, Alissa was a partner at Crowley Fleck, where she was a commercial attorney focusing on merger and acquisition transactions and private securities. Alissa also worked with Crowley’s in-house pro bono attorneys to expand Crowley’s pro bono efforts across the firm, provid ing support, encouragement, and mentorship to pro bono attorneys. Alissa has been passion ate about pro bono work and access to justice issues since she became a lawyer in 2011. She is thrilled to join this organization and work to bring equal access to justice for all Montanans. Alissa can be reached at achambers@ mtjustice.org.

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