By Tom Kreamer
Volunteering with Legal Aid of Western Missouri has been a very positive experience for me, a retired attorney. My primary focus during private practice was commercial real estate with an emphasis on real estate financing representing lenders. Thus, being assigned to the Foreclosure Prevention team at Legal Aid has been a great fit for me and has provided me with the opportunity to view real estate lending issues and problems from the borrower’s perspective rather than from the lender’s.
I have found the people with whom I work at Legal Aid to be very knowledgeable, creative and dedicated in their approach to assisting clients who are experiencing a potential loss of their homes through foreclosure. They are also very supportive of me and have been willing to give me as much responsibility on a given case as I am willing or able to accept. Volunteering with Legal Aid has been a great way for me to stay involved with the practice of law during retirement while, at the same time, providing me with the opportunity to help people who are experiencing life-changing problems. However, I can honestly say that my experience volunteering at Legal Aid has given me much more than I have been able to give to it.
Tom retired from Bryan Cave LLP in 2016 and began volunteering with Legal Aid later that same year.
Are you a retired or semi-retired attorney?
Second Season at Law Project is Legal Aid’s emeritus pro bono panel of attorneys. From advice clinics to direct representation of eligible individuals or groups, this specially designed program allows retired and semi-retired attorneys to choose when, where and in what capacity they will provide pro bono assistance.
To learn more about the program contact Latricia Scott Adams, Volunteer Attorney Project Director, at lscott@lawmo.org
