By Christine L. Mobley
Legal News
The law firm of Engle and Associates PC will host its first annual Pontiac Law Day on Sunday, Sept. 9, from noon to 4 p.m. at Bowen’s Senior Center located at 52 Bagley Street in Pontiac.
The attorneys who make up Engle and Associates: Ralph Engle, Amanda Breasbois, and Marissa Treviño, are putting forth the effort to make this the first of many successful community events.
Pontiac Law Day will offer free legal consultations, a school supply giveaway, food vendors and entertainment for those who attend.
“We decided that in Pontiac in particular there’s a real disconnect between the general population and gaining access to attorneys and the court system and there’s a real misunderstanding of what’s expected of you — a lot of people miss deadlines; a lot of people fail to answer complaints simply because they don’t know the system,” Engle, principal of the firm, said. “We wanted to provide something to bridge that gap in knowledge.”
Wanting to enable anybody looking for assistance to come to this event, the firm wanted to make it kid-friendly. Firm members also felt strongly about addressing the need to provide school supplies to children in need.
“Pontiac has had such a bad time recently — a lot of bad press and a lot of things taken away. It’s really one of the things that I so enjoy about the firm is this philanthropic philosophy of giving back and making sure that everybody has access to the same things — be it school supplies or legal advice or just a fun family afternoon,” Treviño said. “It’s being able to enjoy your own community.”
“We wanted to make sure that people were able to meet with attorneys and start the journey,” Engle said. “Traditionally, people struggle when they are trying to connect with an attorney. We want events like these to give people direct access to an attorney to begin to address the legal issues in their lives.”
So far, the firm has signed up more than a dozen attorneys to participate but has hopes of enlisting even more help.
“We’d like other firms to participate,” Engle said. “If they’ve got an attorney or two that they can spare and just come to give legal advice, anyone that they consult with and can help is their client — we’re not looking for attorneys to mill out clients for us.
“The idea here is to create an opportunity for people to get in touch with attorneys that can help them,” he said.
Other volunteers are welcome too. Anyone wishing to pass out school supplies or bring school supplies the day of the event are welcome. Donations can also be sent to the firm at 30 North Saginaw, Suite 713, Pontiac 48342.
Any school supplies that are left over will be given to Pontiac schools.
Law firms or attorneys wishing to lend their expertise to the event or anyone willing to make a donation may contact Ralph Engle or Amanda Breasbois at (248) 481 -8439.
“Our ultimate goal with Pontiac Law Day is to provide a fun atmosphere in which members of the community can get in touch with area lawyers,” Engle said.
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