In the spirit of giving this holiday season, the Lee County Legal Aid Society will offer free legal assistance to Lee County seniors 60 and over on Saturday, Dec. 19. Members of the Lee County Bar Association will volunteer their time for “Just for Seniors” from 9 a.m. – noon and again from 1 p.m. – 5 p.m. to answer legal questions specific to older adults.
In order to maintain safety protocols due to COVID-19, this event will take place via Zoom video conferencing and by telephone. Seniors wishing to speak with an attorney will need to schedule an appointment online at https://www.leecountylegalaid.org/just-for-seniors/. Each appointment will be 20 minutes in length. If more in-depth service is needed, customers will be referred to attorneys that can offer assistance at up to 50% off of their regular rates.
The Lee County Legal Aid Society provides free legal aid to low-income residents and has worked primarily with younger families and individuals. Recently, executive director Andrew Banyai realized a need to provide assistance to the elderly population in our community. Through a grant from the Cape Coral Community Foundation, funds were secured to offer “Just for Seniors” events multiple times over the course of the next year.
Banyai said, “This has been a tough year for so many, especially the seniors in our community. We have always answered the call when it comes to legal assistance and now is no exception. We hope the free advice we give can help eliminate some of the financial hardship our seniors may be facing this time of year.”
Banyai expects 20-30 attorneys to take part in the event. Many of these attorneys will volunteer as part of the Florida Bar’s Pro Bono Service Initiative, a program intended to encourage lawyers to volunteer free legal services to the underserved in their communities.
This event is being sponsored by the Lee County Legal Aid Society and Cape Coral Community Foundation. Additional support is being provided by United Way of Lee, Hendry, Glades & Okeechobee; Lee County BOCC; The Florida Bar Foundation; Lee County Bar Association and CONRIC pr + marketing.
For more information about this event and the Lee County Legal Aid Society please email Nanci DuBois at nanci@LeeCountyLegalAid.org.
