The Tennessee Bar Association Young Lawyers Division, the Knoxville Bar Association, and the Federal Bar Associations in the Eastern District of Tennessee, in partnership with Legal Aid of East Tennessee (LAET), the Tennessee Alliance for Legal Services, and the Tennessee Supreme Court’s Access to Justice Commission will host a virtual Debt Relief Legal Advice Clinic for pre-screened individuals on Saturday, March 13, beginning at 9:00 a.m. by Zoom. The advice clinic will be available to qualified individuals who live in counties in the Eastern District that are within the territory of LAET. Attorneys will volunteer to conduct initial meetings with the clients to discuss their situations and options.
Qualification for the free services will be income-based, with pre-screening by LAET in the various court divisions of the Eastern District of Tennessee. The clinic clients may also be eligible for free bankruptcy services.
Individuals who seek assistance may sign up by contacting the LAET listed below:
(865) 637-0484
if you live in Blount, Knox, Loudon, or Sevier County
(423) 928-8311
if you live in Carter, Cocke, Grainger, Greene, Hamblen, Hancock, Hawkins, Jefferson, Johnson, Sullivan, Unicoi, or Washington County
(423) 402-4766
if you live in Bledsoe, Bradley, Hamilton, Marion, McMinn, Meigs, Monroe, Polk, Rhea, or Sequatchie County
The deadline to call for qualification screening based on income is March 4. To qualify for the clinic, an individual in a household of 4, for example, could make no more than $5,458.33 monthly, depending on expenses. After a person is pre-screened and found to qualify for the clinic, the next step is completing a short questionnaire outlining the facts relevant to the question or problem. Each qualified participant who completes the questionnaire will be given the Zoom contact information and matched with a volunteer attorney. The clinic will begin with an introduction by Judge Bauknight to explain the purpose of the clinic and the basics of chapter 7 bankruptcy, including the pros and cons of filing for bankruptcy relief. After Judge Bauknight’s short presentation, the clinic clients and volunteer attorneys will be paired in confidential Zoom breakout rooms for individual consultations.