Wake County Public Libraries and the county's Legal Support Center are offering a new program providing free family law legal support for residents. It's called “Lawyers in Your Library'' and it’s an expansion of the Legal Support Center’s “Attorney of the Day” program, which was created last year.
In 2023, that program helped nearly 150 families, and it was held at the courthouse in downtown Raleigh. Anh Lyjordan, the Director of the Legal Support Center, said they wanted to expand it outside of the courthouse to make it more accessible for people.
“It's hard for people to make it into the courthouse in the hours that we’re open that are normal working hours for people," Lyjordan said. “They have to get childcare, they have to get to downtown Raleigh, (and) they have to take time off of work.”
The “Lawyer in Your Library” program has lawyers that assist with several things people need for court.
“They'll get assistance for up to half an hour and a lot of times people will do things like go through a checklist with them of things they need to do to prepare for court,” Lyjordan said. “They might review documents for them, or they might draft documents for them.”
The first session will be offered on Saturday at East Regional Library in Knightdale. Sessions will be available in the upcoming months at regional libraries in Garner and Raleigh.