Dan had hoped he and his wife would have an amicable divorce without lawyers involved, so when he was unexpectedly served court papers, he was jarred. He wasn’t sure that he could fight back on his own, but as a nonprofit professional, he couldn’t afford a private attorney. Luckily he knew about Charleston Legal Access and was able to connect with them. Hear Dan’s full legal journey:
I work for an organization called My Sister’s House. We are the domestic violence agency for the tricounty area. Many of our clients need connected with Charleston Legal Access so we have a really good working relationship with them. So I had a professional relationship with CLA before I needed them personally.
My wife and I separated in April of 2022. My hope had always been that we would come to an agreement and go our separate ways. Unfortunately, I got served with papers that said otherwise. The demands in those court papers blew my mind. It made a lot of assertions that were provably incorrect. It wanted me to pay her lawyer fees and she had gone to a really expensive law firm, wanted me to pay for that and for me to pay for all of our debt. It was just terrible. I was reading through it and had this overwhelming feeling of, what am I going to do?
I can’t fight this one on my own.
I went ahead and agreed to use CLA. Felt really comfortable with that decision, really feeling like they understood my situation. It wasn’t a cookie cutter thing, it was one-on-one. I gave her just a trove of documents and financials from years because a lot of the things that were being said was that I wasn’t pulling my weight of the financial load. She (Lisa) wrote up a rough draft of what our response was going to be to that Court filing and I had this moment of, this surprise moment, when I read that draft for the very first time.
“I became so emotional, and it surprised me. I didn’t expect that at all. It took me a minute to realize why. It was because this was the very first time that anyone had ever advocated for me.”
For years, I was the bad guy, the problem. Now here was someone saying, hold on a second, you’re not always at fault here. Let’s advocate for you. Just using facts and the reality of the situation to advocate on my behalf, it was so empowering. Here is not only somebody who gets me and wants to work with me, here is someone who will actually fight for me. I didn’t realize the depths of which I had not experienced that.
Within a day of my now ex’s attorneys receiving that response, they dropped the demand for me to pay for her lawyers, they agreed to our request to quickly move into remediation instead of waiting four months, and there were two or three other things that aren’t coming to mind right now.
“What Lisa was able to do was to advocate for me, to not only help for me to feel empowered in this fight, but to help work towards actual justice. ”
We went through the mediation process, which was a totally hellacious day. I could not have done it without Lisa. She was there with me every step of the way. She explained the process in such detail that I actually felt like I understood what was happening. She advocated for me in such a way that I can not explain to you how amazing that felt. At the end of it, we got exactly what we wanted, to the exact percentage we thought the breakdown needed to be. I didn’t have to pay her attorney fees, which were exorbitant because she had gone to a big name law firm. It was exactly what I had hoped.
I work in the nonprofit world, it’s not like I can afford a big attorney. Her demand that I pay for her attorneys was completely out of the question, I knew that I would have to get representation to fight back. My hope was that we would just come to an agreement and go our separate ways. Suddenly I was dragged into the court system and the forces read against me just seemed overwhelming. What am I going to do? Who am I going to get on my side? So the feeling of empowerment that comes when somebody says, I’ll be your advocate was just tremendous.
“It turned out that not only did I have representation, I had effective representation at a rate I could afford. I wasn’t buried in more debt.”
The Lisa that I met that day was a caring, passionate advocate. She said, I want to understand the situation and I want to go to war for you. I didn’t feel like you are client number 1,312. It was like, you’re Dan and you are facing this unique situation, this is going to be a unique journey and I want to walk it with you. I really felt like she knew me, not as the Dan she knew professionally, but as a guy who really needed help going through something really difficult in his personal life. She embraced that role and hit the gas, and I was along for the ride. It was an amazing journey.
I want more people to experience what I experienced here. I think of the sheer number of people in our area that need domestic violence services. Of course there is a capacity level there for any agency. But I think of the amazing experience I had at CLA and I want everyone to have that experience. I gotta tell you, I don’t know where I would be today if it wasn’t for them. I want more people to know what that feels like to have an advocate that knows them, cares for them, and wants to fight for them.
About Charleston Legal Access
Charleston Legal Access is SC's first and only sliding-scale, nonprofit law firm. We provide affordable legal services at a price that those of moderate means can afford. Hourly rates are determined on an individual basis by a client's income and family size. Our initial screening and phone consultations with an attorney are completely free. In-person, 1-2 hour case consultations and limited assistance sessions are available for a flat fee of $50-$100. For more information please visit www.charlestonlegalaccess.org.
With client fees only making up 15% of our operational budget and a rise in demand for services, we are seeking like-minded partners to support our cause. Help us expand access to justice and legal representation by making a tax-deductible donation below.