Women-Friendly Legal Help Not Easy to Find
by Annie Ascher, Legal Intern

More than 20 women a week contact NOW's National Action Center seeking legal advice and referrals on issues ranging from domestic violence and family law to sexual harassment and job discrimination. Many more call their local chapters in need of assistance. In an effort to address the many requests from women unable to locate a knowledgeable and feminist attorney, the NOW Foundation has proposed the creation of a national women's legal referral service.

Over the past year, the NOW Foundation has been conducting a survey to assess the need for such a service. The referral service would allow women to receive legal advice from attorneys recommended by local activists and agencies as sympathetic to women's issues. The attorneys would charge their regular fees, but the NOW Foundation would encourage them to consider reduced fees and occasional pro bono cases.

Toby Abrams, President of Nashville NOW said, "Do this ASAP!! Our chapter phone is inundated with calls from women needing this service. Most of these women live in rural communities with a strong good-old-boy network and feel that everyone, including their attorneys and judges, is paid off."

The calls that come in to the NOW Action Center in Washington, D.C., are currently referred to other organizations that may be equipped to help. If this service is instituted, women will actually be able to call from any state and receive a referral to women-friendly counsel directly from the Action Center.

To evaluate the potential for this project, the NOW Foundation has sent out over 1,000 letters to organizations throughout the United States, and the results have been overwhelmingly positive. Currently we are receiving names of potential lawyers for the service.

"In order to establish a women's legal referral service and make it work, we will need the cooperation of a broad range of women's organizations, activists and attorneys," said NOW Foundation Executive Vice President Kim Gandy. "Many women across the country have nowhere to turn-we want to make sure that they are not facing the justice system alone."

If you have any information regarding attorneys or if you have questions about this service, please contact Kim Gandy by e-mail at vpexec@now.org or by calling 202-628-8669, ext.126