ULS Blog

I'm looking forward to the day when the good news doesn't have to be accompanied by bad news.  But at least the bad news does have some good news to go along with it.

We were successful in 2 of our 3 proposals for TIG funding (Technology Initiative Grants) from LSC.  This will bring in $30,000 next year.  One project will expand on our domestic pleading prep HotDocs system, which Ken will introduce on December 6th.  The other will help streamline the up front portion of the intake system and make the massive intake manual obsolete. 

We also have word, though not official yet, that we will receive $40,000 from the Utah Bar Foundation, with an additional $30,000 specifically for the Southern Utah Community Legal Center, our St. George office.  The Bar Foundation administers IOLTA funds, Interest on Lawyer's Trust Account dollars.

Offsetting this of course is the news I think all of you have seen: a house/senate conference agreement proposes a 14.85% reduction in LSC funding for 2012.  This appears very likely to pass and means a reduction in our LSC funding of about $325,000.  (Our total LSC funding in 2011 was about 2.2 million, next year it looks to be about 1.875 million.)

We'll keep you posted as things change for better or worse, or become official good or bad news.  Meanwhile enjoy the holiday and stay thankful that there is some good news. 

Some recently received good financial news that wasn't in our original budget:

$10,000 from a Davis County social services block grant to support work with victims of domestic violence and a clinic that will be held at the local shelter.

$5,000 from the Burton Foundation and $7,500 from the Michael Foundation to support the ENROLL project, helping qualifying people apply for public benefits, including Social Security disability benefits.

We negotiated a decrease in the cost of our on-line legal research service Westlaw, a savings of almost $24,000 per year, and we are about to release a meeting schedule for 2012 that calls for quarterly in-person meetings, resulting in some savings in travel costs.

Of course this good news won't offset the $300,000 Department of Justice grant, and we continue to wait for news on our federal LSC dollars, but hey, every little bit helps.

If you have other cost savings ideas, now's the time.  Thanks. 

Federal Court Orders Compliance with Social Security Rulings

SR is a young woman with a severe lower back condition that limits her ability to sit and stand for prolonged periods of time.  ULS advocate Lori Johnson represented her at a Social Security disability hearing and argued that SR’s need to alternate sitting and standing every 15 minutes to gain relief from pain would preclude her from performing any work.  When the ALJ ruled unfavorably, Lori appealed the case to the Appeals Council, arguing that a number of Social Security rulings had been ignored.  Specifically, she pointed out that the ALJ was required to make a function-by-function assessment of SR’s ability to sit and stand and that a finding must be made as to the frequency of the need to alternate sitting and standing.  When the Appeals Council refused to review the ALJ decision, SR’s case was filed in federal district court.  On October 6, 2011, the Magistrate Judge agreed with Lori’s arguments and reversed the decision.  SR will now receive a new hearing where her sitting and standing limitation will be properly considered.

Enroll Client Shares the Wealth

An ENROLL client recently donated one month of his disability benefits to ULS, over $1,700.00, in appreciation of our help.  He said, "I owe this success to the hard work and dedication of Amy Morgan...I appreciate the role your organization plays in the community, and I hope this money will help support the vital work of attorneys like Amy Morgan."

Here is the rest of his story:

This client, a 61-year-old Vietnam vet, suffers from PTSD and depression due to his experiences during the war.  He dropped out of high school just prior to graduation, was drafted soon after and since his return from Vietnam has worked as a electrician for the vast majority of his life.  Two years ago his right ankle was severely injured during a workplace accident which required major surgery. When he returned to his job he found himself in excruciating pain, unable to stand or sit for extended periods of time, unable to support the weight of his own tool belt.  He had looked at the social security website and the paperwork that was involved in applying for disability assistance and was simply overwhelmed.  The depression that the client already had suffered from had become exacerbated by the stress of his financial situation and the unknown future he and his spouse were facing; he did not feel he was equipped to handle a disability application on his own.  Amy Morgan of our ENROLL project completed the application for the client, gathered and reviewed his medical records and forwarded them to Social Security, along with her own report which described how the client’s injury impacted his daily life.  He was awarded several months of back payments and will receive over $1,700.00 on a monthly basis from here on out.