For the Warrior Community
Active duty service members may wish to go first to Armed Forces Legal Assistance's online database to "locate active duty legal activities offering general legal services within the continental United States". Here is a list for the state of Kansas.The Kansas State Bar (KBA) has announced:
"The KBA has reactivated its “Project Call Up” program, which matches Kansas National Guard and military reservists with volunteer lawyers who will draft basic wills and/or durable powers of attorney at no charge. Project Call Up was originally initiated during the “Desert Storm” conflict in 1990-91 and was also operational during the aftermath of the September 11 attacks.
“The members of the Kansas Bar Association are committed to helping and honoring fellow citizens who serve our country and sacrifice for all of us,” said KBA President Michael P. Crow of Leavenworth.
For more information or to be matched with an attorney in their area, Kansas National Guard and military reservists are encouraged to contact the KBA at (785) 234-5696 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday."
General-Purpose Resources
Servicemembers, veterans and their families are of course eligible to use the same resources as anyone else. In particular, Kansas Legal Services host several helpful resources:- The Public Law Library hosted by Kansas Legal Services is a good, general-purpose place to start looking for law help in Kansas
- The Kansas Legal Services Get Help page itself offers several types of help, such as a referral service, hotlines, and civil legal advice and representation for income eligible persons.
Private Practice Attorneys
Typically, a lawyer in private practice will listen to your situation for 15 or 20 minutes, then give you an idea about how to proceed, in general terms, without charging you. If the matter is something the lawyer can help you with, but must charge for, sometimes you can work out a military-family discount, especially if you are easy to work with.The Kansas State Bar has a lawyer search page that lets you search for lawyers and mediators by a variety of criteria, such as local or field of practice, e.g. "Military Law". Search here.
The Findlaw website has a city-by-city list of lawyers in Kansas who are interested in representing active-duty military personnel, military reservists, and veterans. There are several lawyer referral services in Kansas, run by organizations such as the Kansas City Metropolitcan Bar Association, the Witchita Bar Association and Kansas Legal Services. Another choice may be to find an arbitrator or a mediator; Kansas City Metropolitcan Bar Association offers help finding arbitrators & mediators.
For Lawyers
According to the Kansas Bar Association website
"The KBA is seeking members to draft basic wills as well as durable powers of attorney on a pro bono basis for families of reservists who are on alert or called to active duty.KBA does not appear to have a Section dealing with legal assistance to military personnel, but it is likely that there are other Kansas programs, sponsored by local bar associations, law schools, and others. Organizing such a program in your local or subject-matter bar association would be a great opportunity to provide a needed service! Anyone with more information on these or other programs are invited to contact me; the most convenient way is to add in a comment below. The purpose is service!
This important community service program aptly named “Project Call Up” was originally initiated during the Desert Storm conflict and was reactivated in 2001 in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks.
To participate or for more information, please contact Meg Wickham at (785) 234-5696 or via e-mail at mwickham@ksbar.org. You will be glad that you did!"
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