Telephone Legal Advice Hotline

In 1998, LSNF began formulating the Telephone Legal Advice Hotline. Within one year, LSNF began to serve the Tallahassee and Quincy office service areas (Calhoun, Franklin, Gadsden, Jackson, Jefferson, Liberty, Leon, Monticello, and Wakulla counties).  More recently, LSNF expanded the hotline to include assistance to clients in our Panama City office (for residents of Bay, Gulf, Holmes, Washington). This program offers immediate advice and counsel to LSNF in a variety of areas of the law which include primarily landlord/tenant, consumer, and family law matters. Following the telephone conference, clients may be sent letters confirming the advice given, along with written materials pertaining to their particular legal problem.

Through the Telephone Legal Advice Hotline, all clients throughout the designated service areas are screened for eligibility, a conflict check is conducted, and the intake is completed over the telephone. If found eligible and depending on the type of problem, the client is told to be at a phone where a volunteer attorney can provide legal advice to them between 2 and 5 p.m. Monday through Thursday (excluding holidays).

The telephone hotline has become popular for both clients and volunteer lawyers. In fact, five local legal entities recruit volunteers from within their organization to handle the advice calls four weeks out of each month. First on board the hotline bandwagon was the Florida Attorney General's Office, through M. Catherine Lannon. Then, the team of Patrick Hurley and Lewis Shelley from Tallahassee city attorney's office made arrangements for its legal staff to participate. Also, the Tallahassee Women Lawyers adopted the project as part of its pro bono activities.  The fourth week was adopted in June, 2000 by a lawyer's section from the Department of Transportation, lead by Bruce Conroy.  Then a group of attorneys from The Department of Community Affair's Office of the General Counsel signed on to help.  Most recently, attorneys from The Department of Environment Protection agreed to replace the vacancy left by the Tallahassee Women Lawyers.

LSNF appreciates the following volunteer lawyers for working to make the Telephone Legal Advice Hotline a success: Harvey Abrams, Leslie Anderson Adams, Celeste Adorno, Mitchell Albaugh, Bernie Appleman, Ken Ayers, Lee Baldwin, Martha Barrera, June McKinney Bartelle, Andrea Bateman, Catherine Bedell, Jann Hart Bellamy, Calvin Bender, Wings Benton, Daniel Biggins, Karen Bishop, Susan Bodell, John Bottcher, Al Bragg, Karen Brodeen, Michelle Buckalew, Katie Buchanan, Bob Burdick, Amanda Bush, Barbara Busharis, Rosanna Catalano, Neil Chamelin, Judson Chapman, Carol Cherry, Mary Ellen Clark, Bruce Conroy, Kristen Coons, Rick Courtemanche, Christine Cosby, Ann Cowles, Sonia Crockett, Brian Crumbaker, Gabrielle D'Alemberte, Stephanie Daniel, Kendra Davis, Alexis Decaprio, Tim Dennis, Hetal Desai, Josephine Deyo, Reggie Dixon, Joseph Donnelly, Mike Donovan, Richard Doran, Bobby Downie, Barbara Edwards, Freda Ellis, Jim English, Donna Erlich, Erik Fenniman, Meredith Fields, Janet Findling, Barbara Jo Finer, James Floyd, Francine Ffolkes, Ashley Foster, Sally Gertz, Kathi Giddings, Erica Glover, Carol Gregg, Carol Grondzik, Allen Grossman, Diane Guillemette, Ed Guiterrez, Lee Ann Gustafson, Mike Haire, Wil Haselden, Billy Hendrix, Danny Hernandez, Barbara Hines, Melissa Hornsby, Louis Hubener, Patrick Hurley, Linda (Hudson) Hurst, Cassandra Jackson, Ladasiah Jackson, Janice Jennings, Jodi Jennings, Wendy Jensen, Calvin Johnson, Denise Johnson, Kristy Johnson, Greg Jones, Jeffrey Jones, David Jordan, Peter Kelegian, John Kenny, Pam Leslie, Caryl Kilinski, Olivia Klein, M. Catherine Lannon, David Littlejohn, Debora Loucks, Richard Lotspeich, Pam Lutton-Shields, Ted Mack, Kelly Martinson, Scott Matthews, Cathy Maus, Robert Martin, Kelly Martinson, Jackson Maynard, Marilyn McFadden, Clay McGonagill, Brian McGrail, Donna McNulty, Joseph Mellichamp, Olen Meredith, Mary Miller, Matt Minno, Murray Moore, Larry Morgan, Jarrell Murchison, Randy Murrell, Li Nelson, Lynette Norr, Jessica Olmedillo, Chastity O'Steen, Warren Pearson, Dorys Penton, "Pete" Peterson, Maureen Proctor, Kisha Pruitt, Priscilla Quinones, James Richmond, Laura Rush, Jon Sanford, Theresa Sawyer, Nona Schaffner, Deborah Schiro, Susan Schwartz, Steve Sellers, Cherry Shaw, Lewis Shelley, Richard Shine, Richard Shoop, Holly Simcox, Carol Simpson, Twyla Sketchley, Chesterfield Smith, Jan Smith, Mike Spellman, Gwen Spencer, Brian Stabley, Charles Stampelos, Chad Stevens, Joan Stewart, Ruth Stone, Ed Tellechea, Lois Tepper, Mike Thomas, Christine Thorson, Joy Tootle, Marianne Trussell, Sandra UpChurch, Alexandria Walters, Jason White, Emory Williams, Mary Kay Wimsett, Dawn Whitehurst, Ann Wild, Cathi Wilkinson, Bib Willis, Ellen Winslow, and Jennifer Wolfe, Roger Wood, Patricia Worrell, and Sheauching Yu.