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Shore Legal Access, Inc.

Connecting Counsel & Communities

aka MSPB   |   EASTON, MD   |  www.shorelegal.org

Mission

Shore Legal Access connects low income individuals and families who need civil legal services with volunteer attorneys and community resources. We serve Maryland's Eastern Shore. Shore Legal Access' Vision Statement: All people are empowered to resolve civil legal issues.

Notes from the nonprofit

For over 15 years, MSPB has successfully connected low income Eastern Shore community members to the resources they need when they are in the midst of a civil or legal crisis. MSPB serves more than 3,000 clients across the Eastern Shore annually. Our solid reputation and track record of success and the growing need for our services are helping us rapidly expand across the Eastern Shore. MSPB provides advocacy and legal resources for those with nowhere else to turn. MSPB provides these services with a staff of thirteen including an executive director, legal director, administrative director, staff attorneys, paralegals, and program staff dedicated specifically to family law, consumer debt and housing, and life planning as well as cannabis expungements.

Ruling year info

2007

Executive Director

Meredith Girard

Main address

499 Idlewild Ave Suite 102

EASTON, MD 21601 USA

Show more contact info

Formerly known as

Midshore Pro Bono, Inc.

EIN

16-1779280

NTEE code info

Legal Services (I80)

Legal Services (I80)

Family Services (P40)

IRS filing requirement

This organization is required to file an IRS Form 990 or 990-EZ.

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Communication

Blog

Programs and results

What we aim to solve

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

In 2005, five Mid-Shore counties, together with state pro bono legal services groups, identified a need on the Eastern Shore for an agency that could connect volunteer attorneys with low-income individuals in need of civil legal representation. Mid-Shore Pro Bono (MSPB) was established out of that need. Remarkably, Mid-Shore Pro Bono became the first regional pro bono referral agency in the state of Maryland and remains the only pro bono legal services provider on the Eastern Shore. Rapid growth and expansion of Mid-Shore Pro Bono demonstrates the urgent need for these services. MSPB has grown from a small referral agency, able to meet this need for a smaller segment of the community, into a significant community resource, able to handle multiple critical legal needs for the Eastern Shore’s at-risk residents. Now Shore Legal Access, satellite offices allow us to take our services closer to those residents in more distant areas of our widespread rural Eastern Shore region.

Our programs

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?

Life Planning Program

SLA recognizes that a growing proportion of the Eastern Shore residents are seniors. We have launched this program to better serve our aging population by providing them with important end of life documents and general legal advice in a safe, secure setting.

Services: Wills/POA/AMD
Small Estate Administration
Guardianship

Population(s) Served
Adults
Economically disadvantaged people

With a broad scope of programming, this project provides legal advice on a variety of financial problems faced by low income individuals including Foreclosure, Consumer Debt, Expungement, Bankruptcy, and various other Real Property issues. By helping resolve these matters clients are better able to remain employed, remain in their homes and provide for their families.

Services:
Foreclosure, Housing, Bankruptcy, Consumer Debt, Employment, Expungement

Population(s) Served
Economically disadvantaged people
Unemployed people

The Debtor Assistance Project
The Debtor Assistance Project (“DAP”) is a clinic, originally located at the U.S. Courthouses in Maryland, which provides debtors with an opportunity to meet with a bankruptcy attorney for a cost-free half-hour consultation. The DAP is designed to help individuals without an attorney to answer legal questions about bankruptcy. SLA holds a DAP clinic once a month in 2 counties. This project started in January 2010 in Talbot County and has expanded to other Eastern Shore counties including Kent and Wicomico.

Population(s) Served

Provides free legal assistance for divorce, custody, child support and other family law related matters. Outreach is mainly done at the Courthouses and other social service agencies. Special services include the Purple Notebook Project, Child Advocacy Project and the Judicare Project. Court Liaisons are primary conduit for these cases.

Population(s) Served
Parents
Economically disadvantaged people

In November 2022, Maryland citizens voted to legalize the recreational use of cannabis by adults. Shore Legal Access aides those with cannabis convictions to have those charges expunged.

Population(s) Served
Adults
Adults
Economically disadvantaged people

Where we work

Awards

William L Marbury Outstanding Advocate 2018

Maryland Legal Services Corporation

Affiliations & memberships

Maryland Legal Services Corporation- William L Marbury Outstanding Advocate Award 2017

Mid-Shore Community Foundation- J. MCKENNY WILLIS, JR. AWARD Established in honor of Mr. J. McKenny 2020

Our results

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.

Number of clients assisted with legal needs

This metric is no longer tracked.
Totals By Year
Type of Metric

Output - describing our activities and reach

Direction of Success

Increasing

Context Notes

Number of people who reach out to our organization for assistance with legal issues.

Goals & Strategy

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.

Charting impact

Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.

Provide access to direct legal services to the area's poorest residents
Engage the Private Bar in Pro Bono Service
Outreach and Education regarding Civil Legal Services
Expand access to remote communities
Provide preventative legal remedies to avoid egregious law suits
partner with area agencies

Continue to be a community based legal services provider and bring our services out to the people. We do this by outreach, education and networking with other agencies that share a client pool.

We have been doing this for over 14 years and we are the only Legal Services Provider on the Eastern Shore of Maryland providing so many diverse programs and engaging private attorneys in Pro Bono Service

We continue to increase the number of clients we serve each year and develop new programs to meet that need.

We have yet to engage our local community in giving!

How we listen

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

Seeking feedback from people served makes programs more responsive and effective. Here’s how this organization is listening.

done We shared information about our current feedback practices.
  • How is your organization using feedback from the people you serve?

    To identify and remedy poor client service experiences, To identify bright spots and enhance positive service experiences, To make fundamental changes to our programs and/or operations, To identify where we are less inclusive or equitable across demographic groups, To strengthen relationships with the people we serve, To understand people's needs and how we can help them achieve their goals

  • Which of the following feedback practices does your organization routinely carry out?

    We take steps to get feedback from marginalized or under-represented people, We aim to collect feedback from as many people we serve as possible, We act on the feedback we receive

  • What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?

    It is difficult to get the people we serve to respond to requests for feedback

Financials

Shore Legal Access, Inc.
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Operations

The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.

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Connect with nonprofit leaders

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Build relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.

  • Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
  • Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
  • Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations

Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.

Shore Legal Access, Inc.

Board of directors
as of 09/11/2024
SOURCE: Self-reported by organization
Board chair

Esq. Timothy Abeska

Retired Attorney

Term: 2023 - 2026

Tawes Harper

Tim Abeska

Clinton Pettus

Jim McComb

Becky Burner

Hillary Lindeman

Holland Brownley

Doncella Wilson

Tanisha Armstrong

Arlette Bright

Rosemary Granillo

Mike Starling

Anthony Rodriguez

Ruth Thomas

Judith Showalter

Board leadership practices

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.

  • Board performance
    Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? Not applicable

Organizational demographics

SOURCE: Self-reported; last updated 6/29/2023

Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? Candid partnered with CHANGE Philanthropy on this demographic section.

Leadership

The organization's leader identifies as:

Race & ethnicity
White/Caucasian/European
Gender identity
Female
Sexual orientation
Heterosexual or Straight
Disability status
Person without a disability

Race & ethnicity

Gender identity

Transgender Identity

Sexual orientation

No data

Disability

We do not display disability information for organizations with fewer than 15 staff.