Cancer patients at UNC and Duke have
one less thing to worry about, thanks to the recently launched Cancer Pro Bono Legal Project. This
cutting-edge collaboration among the law schools and cancer centers at the two
universities and the North Carolina Bar Association offers free legal services
to local cancer patients. The project has won funding from the Kenan Biddle Foundation as well
as the North Carolina Bar Foundation.
Carolina Law students will assist
pro bono attorneys in providing legal assistance at UNC’s Lineberger
Comprehensive Cancer Center on the second
and fourth Friday of each month while Duke Law students will offer
monthly sessions at the Duke Cancer Institute on the first and third Fridays. Under
the supervision of licensed attorneys — all of whom are working pro bono — the
students work with patients on advanced directives, financial powers
of attorney, health care powers of attorney, and living wills. In addition to providing direct services,
students and pro bono attorneys will also offer cancer patients monthly “Know
Your Rights” seminars on a variety of legal topics including employment rights,
disability insurance and insurance rights.
Sylvia
Novinsky, assistant dean for public service programs at UNC School of Law, says
that the project furthers the law school’s mission to educate
and serve. “Our students will learn some very valuable skills, such as client
interviewing and document drafting,” she says. “At the same time, it’s a tangible
way for students to give back to the residents of our state.”
She says that she hopes that the
venture will ease the minds of patients. “This project allows cancer patients
to get their affairs in order without worrying about the cost, which is a real
issue for many cancer patients,” says Novinsky. “We are so grateful to be able
to serve in this way.”
Last May, while attending the ABA
Equal Justice conference, Novinsky heard about a pro
bono legal program at George Washington University Law School, which helps cancer
patients without access to legal services. After learning that program founder
Chrissy Cianflone was moving to the Duke Cancer Institute, Novinsky approached
her about a UNC-Duke partnership to create a similar program. “We have been
lucky to work with great partners, including Chrissy,” says Novinsky. “Having
the cancer hospitals support this, as well as pro bono attorneys in the health
law and estate law sections of the North Carolina Bar Association, has made
this project possible. And UNC has also been
fortunate to partner with Blue Cross Blue Shield’s legal department on this pro
bono project.”
Novinsky says that the reaction
among Carolina Law students has been heartening. “We have 60 UNC students
signed up, each of whom has completed two three-hour trainings,” she says. “So many of the students have been touched by cancer, whether
they have had it themselves or have seen a family member suffer. This program
offers a way for them to use their skills to help people at what is probably
their most vulnerable time.”
“We’re in the fortunate place of
having more volunteers than we need for the clinics so we are able to look at
how else we can provide services,” says Novinsky. “We also have really committed
partners who all say, ‘How can we do this better?’ I’m really looking forward
to helping people in this way.”
-March 7, 2013