The Mountain Area Volunteer Lawyers Program

Volunteer Attorneys Are Improving Lives. They are preventing homelessness, stopping domestic violence and securing income, health care and other essential resources for low-income people. 

Pisgah Legal Services is only able to improve the lives of more than 10,800 low-income people annually because of the generous pro bono contributions of volunteer lawyers through the Mountain Area Volunteer Lawyers (MAVL) Program. 

MAVL is a pro bono referral program made up of more than 300 active private attorneys who volunteer their services to help meet the need for civil law representation of low-income residents of Buncombe, Henderson, Madison, Polk, Rutherford, and Transylvania Counties.

MAVL was formed in 1983 under the sponsorship of the North Carolina Bar Association and in cooperation with Pisgah Legal Services (PLS).The program  is governed by an Advisory Board consisting of private attorneys from each county and client eligible representatives. Pisgah Legal Services screens and refers clients to MAVL attorneys.

Since its inception, MAVL attorneys have handled more than 10,000 pro bono cases, contributing more than 30,000 volunteer hours.  In 2010, volunteer MAVL attorneys donated more than 3,528 professional hours to help PLS clients meet their basic needs, a service modestly valued at $529,200.

For more information or to join MAVL, contact Ky Delaney, at kathleen@pisgahlegal.org or 210-3779 or click here.