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Charles
Flett
February
2006
By
Michele Mirto
Charles
Flett has been selected as the
Outstanding Pro Bono Attorney of the
Month for February by the Volunteer
Lawyers Program (VLP). The VLP
is co-
sponsored by Southern Arizona Legal Aid
and the Pima County
Bar Association.
Charlie
has been volunteering with the VLP for almost a
year. In that short time,
he has become an
invaluable resource for the program. Charlie conducts
the
VLP's Guardianship of a Minor Clinic that's held at the Kinship
& Adoption
Resource & Education ( K.A.R.E.) Center. Charlie presents
the two hour clinic
every Wednesday morning. At the Clinic, Charlie
meets with prospective
guardians and provides them with legal
assistance to request a guardianship in
probate court. Charlie
answers questions concerning the guardianship process
and helps the
prospective guardians complete the requisite legal paperwork.
In
addition, he has recently become involved with the VLP's Advice Only
Clinic. In
the Advice Only Clinics, Charlie meets with pre-scheduled
clients to determine
the legal merits of their case, provide advice,
and determine the next course of
action.
Charlie
practiced general neighborhood law in Colorado for 30 some years
before
joining the U.S. Peace Corps in 1987 for two years his wife,
Florence. When
Charlie and his wife returned to the States they
were no longer fans of the cold
weather and decided to make the move
to Arizona. Once in Tucson, Charlie
practiced mainly probate and
estate law until he retired. “I am motivated to
participate in the
VLP because the type of law I have practiced all my life has
made it
abundantly clear to me that a pretty large segment of the population
cannot afford the services of a lawyer. Because of that they lose
out on many of
the benefits of our society that are available. In
order for our wonderful system to
work, everyone must be able to
participate,” Charlie commented when asked
about his VLP service.
“Quite often, just a little advice to a person who thinks
they
cannot afford an attorney will change their life.”
When he’s
not volunteering with the VLP, Charlie likes to hike on the trails
around Tucson, garden, read and work in his wood shop.
Of the
1100 attorneys who volunteer their time with the VLP, only 12
receive the
VLP’s Outstanding Pro Bono Attorney award each year.
For more information
about the VLP please call 623-9465, extension
4171.
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Past Pima
County Monthly Award Winners
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