Events
Throughout the year, Neighborhood Legal Services hosts a variety of meetings and community events. Check back often to stay up-to-date.
Wednesday, October 16, 2024 | 9:00 AM to 2:00 PM
(Registration from 8:30 AM to 9:00 AM)
Arbitrating and Mediating Landlord Tenant Disputes
(In Person CLE Seminar)
UPMC Offices, Downtown Pittsburgh
Help tenants facing eviction! Join Allegheny County Housing Court staff, Neighborhood Legal Services, and the Pittsburgh Pro Bono Partnership to learn how you can assist in Landlord-Tenant cases at the Court of Common Pleas.
Join us for this 4.5 credit CLE that will provide updates in Landlord-Tenant Law, prepare attorneys to provide mediation and arbitration services, and discuss representing qualifying clients who are going into mediation at the Court of Common Pleas.
A big thank you to UPMC for sponsoring this seminar!
Schedule
8:30 am - 9:00 am Registration
Breakfast provided
9:00 am to 9:10 am - Welcome and Housing Court Introductions
Dianne Wainwright, Esq. – Deputy Court Administrator, Civil Division
9:10 am - 11:45 am - Basic Landlord/Tenant and Subsidized Housing Issues
Barbara Kern, Esq. - Neighborhood Legal Services
Sarah Morrison, Esq. - Dornish Law Offices P.C.
Daniel Vitek, Esq. - Community Justice Project
11:45 am to 12:15 pm - Break
Lunch Provided
12:15 pm to 2:00 pm - Mediations, Landlord/Tenant Disputes
Dianne Wainwright, Esq. – Deputy Court Administrator, Civil Division
Antoinette Oliver, Esq. – Pittsburgh Pro Bono Partnership
Jessica Lynch, Esq. – Mediation Council of Western Pennsylvania
To register click here!
Friday, October 25, 2024 | Noon
What’s Stopping You? Overcoming Obstacles to Pro Bono
(Virtual Seminar)
This CLE is scheduled for Friday, Oct. 25 at noon on Zoom. This program will spotlight pro bono work and opportunities, aligning with the National Celebration of Pro Bono Week. Panelists will address several key topics, including overcoming common barriers to pro bono involvement, exploring “bite-sized” (short-term) pro bono opportunities in Allegheny County and discussing potential long-term service projects.
Additionally, this program will examine the “justice gap” and highlight resources from legal aid organizations, including training, mentoring and CLE credits, to support pro bono efforts. Click here to register.
Wednesday, October 30, 2024 | 11:55 AM to 1:00 PM
Pittsburgh Pro Bono Partnership Annual Meeting
(Virtual Seminar)
This year's Annual Pittsburgh Pro Bono Partnership meeting will be held virtually.
The Changing Landscape of Pro Bono Volunteering
Guest Speaker: Martin J Cowling, Change Management Expert
The COVID pandemic ushered in a shift in how legal services are provided, and its impact on volunteerism is being felt in Allegheny County and throughout the United States. Previous models for pro bono recruitment, training, and programming may no longer be effective in the new landscape of legal services. Martin J. Cowling, an internationally recognized change management expert, will discuss this challenge and help us identify ways that we can adapt to the significant generational, technological and societal changes affecting the engaging of today's volunteers and non volunteers. For more information about Mr. Cowling's work click here.
To register click here.
Friday, November 8, 2024 | 9:00 AM to 1:30 PM
Helping Domestic Violence Victims Obtain Protection from Abuse Orders
(In Person CLE Seminar)
Join Neighborhood Legal Services, Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas, and the Women’s Center & Shelter of Greater Pittsburgh for this informative event hosted by Dickie, McCamey, & Chilcote, PC.
This CLE will train attorneys to assist domestic violence victims in obtaining protection from abuse orders in Allegheny County.
Join us in person on Friday, November 8, 2024 from 9:00 am to 1:30 pm (registration begins at 8:30 am) for this 4 credit PFA CLE seminar at Dickie, McCamey, & Chilcote, PC. PPG Place 2, Suite 400, Pittsburgh, PA 15222. Breakfast will be provided for participants of this CLE courtesy of the event hosts.
Click here to register!
Wednesday, November 20, 2024 | 12:00 PM to 2:00 PM
(Registration begins at 11:30 AM)
The Unemployment Referee Hearing
(Hybrid CLE Seminar)
Join Neighborhood Legal Services at this hybrid CLE seminar to learn about representing individuals at Unemployment Compensation (“UC”) hearings. The program faculty will present a brief mock hearing, review a sample case file, and address the best practices to represent the client at either a telephone or in-person hearing before a UC Referee. This continuing legal education program will explain eligibility criteria for UC benefits, the most common legal issues on appeal from a determination by the UC Service Center, and generally what to expect at the Referee hearing (including typical evidentiary issues and objections). The program will also explore the areas of professional responsibility and ethics involved in the representation of a pro bono client referred by Neighborhood Legal Services.
The in-person seminar will be held at the PA CareerLink Downtown Pittsburgh office, located at 914 Penn Ave, Pittsburgh, PA, 15222. The conference room is located on the 6th floor, and is accessible. A Zoom link will be sent before the seminar to all registrants that wish to attend virtually.
Join us in-person or virtually on Wednesday, November 20, 2024 from 12:00 pm to 2:00 pm for this informative seminar worth 1 substantive credit and 1 ethics credit. Registration begins at 11:30 am. Participants are welcome to bring their own lunch, drinks will be provided.
To register click here!
Thursday, December 5, 2024 | 12:00 PM to 2:00 PM
Criminal Record Clearing
(Virtual CLE Seminar)
Join the ranks of attorney volunteers who help our neighbors remove barriers to employment, housing, education and professional licensure, thereby expanding their opportunities for stable lives. This continuing legal education program will explain eligibility criteria for clearing Pennsylvania criminal records through expungement, limited access (sealing), and pardons. Focusing on expungement and limited access, particularly in light of the amendments to the Clean Slate Act that went into effect on February 12, 2024 (“Clean Slate 3.0”), the presenters will discuss expanded availability of automatic and petition-based record-sealing for offenses not previously eligible, including some felonies. Additionally, the program will address practical and procedural issues relating to expungement and limited access, including how to prepare and file petitions pro bono through Neighborhood Legal Services and the Pittsburgh Pro Bono Partnership.
Join us virtually on Thursday, December 5, 2024 from 12:00 pm to 2:00 pm for this CLE seminar worth 1.5 substantive credits and .5 ethics credits. To register click here!