Providing Pro Bono Services to Financial Abuse Victims

On October 13, 2011, at 2 p.m. (eastern time), in commemoration of National Protect Your Identity Week, the Office for Victims of Crime (OVC) will present a Web Forum discussion with Russell Butler, J.D., and Paula Pierce, J.D., on providing pro bono services to financial abuse victims. Mr. Butler is an attorney and the Executive Director of the Maryland Crime Victims’ Resource Center, Inc. He has been an adjunct professor at the University of Baltimore Law School since 2005, where he teaches students about the rights of crime victims. A member of the Victim Advisory Group of the United States Sentencing Commission today, Mr. Butler also served as cochair of the Victim Committee of the American Bar Association’s Criminal Justice Section from 2006 to 2010. Ms. Pierce is the Managing Attorney for the Victims Initiative for Counseling, Advocacy, and Restoration of the Southwest (VICARS), a program of the Texas Legal Services Center, where she serves victims of identity theft and financial fraud. Prior to joining VICARS in 2007, Ms. Pierce served on the Legal Services to the Poor in Civil Matters Committee of the State Bar of Texas, and as an attorney for the Texas Legal Services Center, where she provided legal assistance to elder, disabled, and economically disadvantaged individuals and handled crime victim compensation claims.

Visit the OVC Web Forum now to submit questions for Mr. Butler and Ms. Pierce and return on October 13 at 2 p.m. (eastern time) for the live discussion. Learn how to participate beforehand so you are ready for the discussion.

 OVC's Web Forum allows participants to tap into a national network of people with various backgrounds who all face similar challenges and experiences. It is the perfect place for crime victim service providers and allied professionals to gain peer insight and support related to best practices in victim services. Please be reminded that the Web Forum is a public domain and personal or case information should not be shared.