Recap of April Speaker Presentation
Bill Broker Savannah Regional Office of Georgia Legal Services
In an extraordinary presentation to the Skidaway Hamiltons on April 15, Bill Broker described the work of the Savannah Regional office of Georgia Legal Services and personal takeaways from his many years as the managing attorney in that office.
Georgia Legal Services is a private, non-profit organization, not a state agency. It receives a good portion of its funding from the Legal Services Corporation, established by Congress during the Nixon presidency. The local office also receives funding from the Georgia Bar Association, local churches, trusts and fellowships, and the United Way. Many local attorneys have done pro bono work for GLS and become sources of funding. The Trump Administration has recommended that GLS be closed in its latest budget, but there is a large, bi-partisan group of legislators who strongly back GLS.
Locally, there are eight attorneys, two paralegals, and six support staff. Clients who receive the free services from GLS must have incomes at or below 200% of the federal poverty level. Unlike in criminal proceedings, there is no constitutional right to have representation in civil cases. There are 100,000 people who are eligible for free civil legal services in the eleven-county area that the Savannah office serves.
Mr. Broker explained about the type of work that his office does and recounted numerous stories that personalized these examples. Local GLS work includes: temporary protective orders for victims of domestic violence, expungement- record restriction (funded specifically by the United Way), serving those who have been victims of financial exploitation (particularly seniors), landlord/tenant issue resolution, health care access, and homeowner protection. Mr. Broker himself does a lot of work in the homeowner protection area, often helping people get titles straightened out so they are eligible for loans or grants that enable them to fix up their homes.
Mr. Broker repeatedly illustrated the special needs of the population that he serves. Poor people’s needs are much more immediate. There is no fall-back position. They have all kinds of special difficulties, not the least of which is getting transportation to his office or to courts. Underfunded courts frequently fail to let people know about their legal options.
Mr. Broker spoke of his career as being an extraordinary privilege. He takes particular satisfaction in finding solutions to legal problems that no one is addressing and developing institutional responses to problems. He has played a significant role in the formation and establishment of the Mediation Center, The Savannah-Chatham Fair Housing Council, and Step-Up Savannah.
