Every other Wednesday after working a full day as a Senior Manager on TD's Fair Banking Compliance Team, Kathryn Nickerson spends her evening offering free legal guidance involving family law matters to Maine residents who would otherwise be unable to afford it.
She has been providing this counsel as a volunteer attorney for the last 14 years with the Maine Volunteer Lawyers Project (VLP) in Portland. Nickerson personifies the qualities celebrated during Global Volunteer Month in April, which recognizes volunteers for their civic engagement, strengthening communities, connecting individuals and enhancing wellbeing.
The Maine VLP offers free legal information, advice and representation to state residents who are low income and have civil legal matters and family issues. Speaking with clients on the Family Law Helpline, Nickerson helps people prepare to represent themselves in court, a common practice in Maine. This assistance includes determining a legal strategy and explaining the legal process, helping clients complete forms, and preparing for court appearances by writing opening and closing statements, cross examination questions, and then practicing in prep sessions.
The Maine VLP follows up with clients after their court appearance to see how everything went. Most clients report their court appearance went well, and they wouldn’t have felt as confident and prepared going into the court appearance without assistance from volunteers like Nickerson.
“I get a lot of satisfaction when a client feels prepared and confident with how to address the judge and where to direct their attention,” Nickerson shares. “These are important moments for them, and it feels good knowing that clients feel prepared.”
Volunteering helped guide a career choice
“The Maine VLP is a small nonprofit organization with an outsized impact, thanks to our dedicated volunteers, including attorney and community volunteers,” said Kathryn Reid, the Maine VLP Pro Bono Engagement Director and Interim Executive Director. “Volunteerism is central to our mission to connect dedicated volunteer attorneys with individuals needing legal assistance with civil matters and to promote equal access to justice statewide.”
While attending law school, Nickerson thought she might be interested in pursuing a career in family law, so she participated in an externship with the Lewiston Maine District Court.
“The externship gave me the opportunity to be in the courtroom and see all the phases of family law matters,” Nickerson said.
The experience helped Nickerson understand the full scope of practicing family law and subsequently, she decided to pursue a career in banking compliance.
“From law school and the externship, I had acquired all this useful family law knowledge, which I wanted to continue to use in some capacity,” Nickerson said. So, she began volunteering in 2011 after graduating from the University of Maine School of Law, while waiting for her bar exam results.
The Maine VLP depends on volunteers to offer legal assistance, ranging from providing legal information and advice to full representation in court. Last year, the organization’s volunteer attorneys provided more than 2,000 hours of pro bono legal help to individuals in all 16 Maine counties.
“Accordingly, if it weren’t for our community of volunteers, the Maine VLP would not be able to provide legal services the way we do today, and there would be far fewer people receiving free legal assistance with often challenging and complicated issues such as family law matters,” Reid said.
A deep appreciation for help
The TD Volunteer Grant Program allows employees, like Nickerson, who volunteer more than 40 hours annually with any number of eligible organizations, to earn a donation for a nonprofit of their choice. As part of TD's commitment to recognizing colleagues for volunteering and to deepen its support of the communities it serves, the value of the TD Volunteer Grant was recently increased to $750. But even before the increase, TD colleagues were making an impact. Across the enterprise last year, TD colleagues were awarded $408,500 in grants to hundreds of charitable organizations through their volunteer efforts.
“We depend on the generosity and financial support of companies like TD who value access to justice," said Reid. “We deeply appreciate TD’s Volunteer Grant program and support for volunteerism by employees.”