Shore Legal Access recently unveiled its new Easton location and name with a grand reopening reception and a Talbot County Chamber of Commerce ribbon-cutting ceremony. More than 40 people attended the event, which included light refreshments, cake, and door prizes donated by several local businesses.
The Sept. 28 event was hosted by Shore Legal Access board members and staff and took place at SLA’s offices on Idlewild Avenue in Easton. Invited guests included members of the Talbot County Chamber of Commerce, business, community, and government leaders, and Shore Legal Access volunteer attorneys, board members, and alumni.
The nonprofit’s Easton office moved to its larger location this past December to accommodate expanded free legal services for housing and family law. The name was changed from Mid-Shore Pro Bono to Shore Legal Access this past May to be inclusive of the communities served in Caroline, Dorchester, Kent, Queen Anne’s, Somerset, Talbot, Wicomico, and Worcester Counties, and clearly convey the services provided.
“We are so grateful for the outpouring of support from our community for our work, expanded services, and now our name change, and new office location,” said Shore Legal Access Executive Director Meredith Lathbury Girard, Esq. “We changed the name to Shore Legal Access to be inclusive of where we work and clearly communicate what services we provide.
“Our new logo incorporates a wave, symbolizing our strength and our Eastern Shore communities surrounded by water, as well as an equal sign, symbolizing our unwavering commitment to equality and justice,” Girard added.
“The Board has been working on the rebrand for a year and we are excited to share it with our respective communities, partners, business leaders, and attorneys seeking to support the mission,” said Timothy Abeska Esq, Board president. “The beauty of an organization like Shore Legal Access, to a retired attorney, like me, who practiced law in another state his entire career, is the opportunity it gives me to represent people here in Maryland as a volunteer. I see firsthand how access to justice changes people’s lives.”
Shore Legal Access was founded as Mid-Shore Pro Bono in 2005 by a small group of dedicated and compassionate local judges and attorneys who recognized the overwhelming need for basic civil legal services in the five Mid-Shore counties. It became the first regional pro bono organization in Maryland to connect private attorneys with people unable to afford representation for their civil legal issues.
Since then, Shore Legal Access has been dedicated to making representation affordable and accessible to Eastern Shore residents facing civil legal challenges in the areas of family law, life planning, consumer debt relief, housing, and criminal record expungement (including cannabis-related records). Shore Legal Access’s staff and volunteer attorneys work with individuals and families to resolve legal issues while helping those new to the law understand their rights and responsibilities. Each year, Shore Legal Access connects more than 3,000 clients with legal help they might otherwise not have received, ensuring that justice truly is for all.
Clients of Shore Legal Access gain an attorney in their corner, connections to community services, and a new perspective on the law. Each year, Shore Legal Access connects more than 3,000 clients with legal help they might otherwise not have received.
Shore Legal Access seeks to continue to grow its reach to ensure that justice truly is for all, with volunteer opportunities and offices in Easton in Salisbury, Maryland. A grand reopening and ribbon-cutting reception is planned at the Salisbury location on Wednesday, October 18, with more at www.shorelegal.org.
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