Category: Latest News

Call Center Hours During COVID

by Arden Barlow

Our callcenter, ERLI, has new hours!  We will keep you posted if anything changes but the updated hours for Eastern Region Legal Intake are as follows:

 

Monday, Wednesday, Friday: 9AM-12PM
Tuesday & Thursday: 12:30PM-3:30PM

 

Thank you and stay healthy!

Your Rights in Small Claims Court During the Pandemic

by Arden Barlow
Because of the coronavirus COVID-19, the Trial Court, which includes Small Claims Court, has made some new rules:
 
  • POSTPONED COURT DATES: All pending Small Claims cases are postponed until no earlier than Monday, May 4, 2020. 
 
That means if your Small Claims case is currently scheduled for any date before May 4, 2020, you do NOT have to go to court. If a debt collector wants a telephone (rather than in-person) hearing before May 4, 2020, they must file a motion showing why they want an earlier date. You should receive notice of any new court date by mail. If you don’t receive notice of a new date, you can look up your case file online at www.masscourts.org or call the court where your case is scheduled.  
 
  • DO NOT SIGN AN AGREEMENT TO PAY WITHOUT LEGAL ADVICE.
 
The attorney for the company suing you might reach out to you urging you to sign an agreement to pay outside of court. We strongly urge you to get advice before signing any agreement, even one that does not require you to make payments now. You may have defenses in these cases and the company suing you cannot force you to make payments without a court order. 
 
Please do not sign an agreement without consulting an attorney. 


Thank you and stay safe! 

VLP Clinics Update

by Arden Barlow

Please note: in compliance with recommendations from the CDC, our clinics are now scheduled to reopen as of May 4th (5/4/2020). Stay safe and thank you for your patience!

VLP Office Closure

by Miranda Black
After careful consideration, we at VLP have decided to close our physical office and call center locations from Monday, March 16- Friday, March 27. At that time, we will reassess opening our offices. 
 
We will continue to operate remotely during these next two weeks. We are set up to continue running our call center remotely, as well as work with our clients, pro bono attorneys, and community partners. You can still reach out to us with all of your needs as you normally would. The only change is that you will need to leave a message in all cases, even for the call center. All staff will have access to emails and voicemails so that we can respond to anyone who reaches out. So if you call and reach a voicemail, don’t worry! We will still respond to everyone. Just please be sure to leave your name and number so we know how to contact you.
 
If you direct a client to call us, please let them know that they will need to leave a voicemail. Our staff will return their call as soon as possible. We have re-recorded our call center voicemail to reflect this change. We are also in the process of creating an online intake, and we will update you all as soon as it has launched.
 
If you had any client meetings scheduled at our office that have not been canceled by our receptionist yet, please contact our receptionist at receptionist@vlpnet.org or 617-423-0648.
 
If you have questions about volunteering during this time, please reach out to me at mblack@vlpnet.org.
 
Thank you for your understanding as we all learn to manage in these unprecedented times.

VLP Clinic Closures

by Miranda Black
We here at VLP have been monitoring the coronavirus outbreak closely, always with you in mind. Our primary concern is, and always will be, keeping our staff and volunteers safe while still being present for our clients, who, in many cases, ardently need our help.
 
With all of this in mind, we have decided to close VLP’s legal clinics beginning next Monday, March 16th. The clinics will be closed for the rest of March, and we will reassess the situation closer to April. At that time, we will provide an update to all of you.
 
This was not an easy decision to make. We know our volunteers look forward to their pro bono work, and our clients deserve access to justice. It does break our hearts to not be at the clinics, but we must think about everyone’s health and safety.
 
For volunteers, if you still wish to help clients in other ways, please reach out me at mblack@vlpnet.org.
 
For clients, please call our call center at 617-603-1700 for legal help. The call center is open Monday-Friday from 9am-12pm.
 
We appreciate all of you. Thank you for your understanding. Stay safe and healthy.

Welcome, Interns!

by Arden Barlow
VLP is proud to host our new Legal Interns! 

For their Alternative Spring Break, these students are spending their time helping underrepresented citizens of the Greater Boston Area.

Thanks to Boston College Law School and New England Law for sharing your talented students with us!

New Events!

by Arden Barlow

Lots of programming coming up for February!

Whether you’re new, seasoned, or anywhere in between; there is something for you at VLP!

Check out our full events calendar HERE

VLP’s Year in Review

by Arden Barlow

With so much to be thankful for and excited about, it can be tricky to remember the individual moments from 2019. So here’s our attempt at capturing everything that made this year special!