The "law of the letter": You don't need to be a lawyer to help someone sort out a problem
January 3rd, 2021 by admin
Years ago, I was asked to host a pro bono radio show on the law on Sunday afternoons. Although 3 p.m. was not an ideal time, I agreed to do so.
But the show caught on, and in time it was moved to a higher listening weekday slot. New advertisers followed.
I got a call from an older gentleman who was seriously shaken because of a bill and threatening letter he had received. He rambled on for a while, and with an upcoming ad waiting, I volunteered to meet with him and to write a letter as a courtesy if he would provide off the air his contact information.
As a courtesy I met with the older gentleman and wrote a letter to the service provider to straighten out the facts, and it worked.
I brought no unusual skill, or even special knowledge of the law, to the task. Just my time, and my sorting-out-the-facts experience anyone reading this possesses.
My initial too-narrow view of my time changed over the next seven days. I received in rapid order a heartfelt voicemail message from the older gentleman, another voicemail from his only child in Richmond expressing deep thanks for helping his growing-more-disoriented widowed dad find peace of mind, and a following letter from the older gentleman himself in his shaky handwriting expressing his “profound gratitude” for what I had done for him.
I held on to his emotional letter for many years. When I braved to clean out my desk’s center drawer, I would read it again. It served to remind me of the charge, even on my active, swirling days, to find and give out the special currency of kindness I carried with me. And to appreciate again the power of what I had for so long mistakenly viewed as an ordinary thing.
Many problems people have are often less about the letter of the law than about the law of the letter: simply taking the time to offer your experience as a calibrator of facts and options when you allow another’s real life seemingly ordinary but solvable dilemma to catch your eye. Because their issues are certainly not ordinary to them.
In many situations a contact from you of another party, sorting out the facts and offering a fair solution as a friend, can go a long way to finding peace of mind for both sides. And you do not have to be a lawyer to do that.
If a lawyer’s perspective would help on the routine issue, ask your lawyer to help, and maybe ask your lawyer to write a courtesy letter or make a quick phone call. N.C. Bar officials encourage lawyers to spend 50 hours of pro-bono service annually. Your lawyer takes this responsibility willingly and seriously, I assure you.
If you do not know a lawyer, refer them to the NCBA Lawyer Referral program (800-662-7660), where your friend can get a lawyer for a 30-minute conference for no more than $50. And often the lawyer will not ask for any payment.
The law of the letter is that you do not need to be a lawyer to help citizens with every matter that merely touches on the law. You cannot give legal advice, of course, but many people simply need a sorter of facts like you, and you can make a real difference.
Make this small task your first good New Year’s resolution for 2021. Blessed are the peace makers, I think it goes. Which includes you when you bring others peace of mind. Sometimes on a small, seemingly ordinary matter that is not such an ordinary matter, after all. As I learned so many years ago.
Remember: An informed choice is a smart choice.
This article was originally written by Mike Wells and published by the Winston-Salem Journal. To read the full article, visit the Winston-Salem Journal online here.
Posted in: WS Journal Articles