SM&P Hosts Cobb Justice Foundation Luncheon

SM&P sponsored the annual Cobb Justice Foundation (CJF) luncheon for the advisory board meeting at the Cobb Bar conference room in the Superior Courthouse. Attendees included the chief judges of the Cobb Superior, State, Probate, Magistrate, and Juvenile Courts, the president of the Cobb Bar Family Law Section, the managing attorney for Cobb Legal Aid, the pro bono director of the Cobb Justice Foundation, and the pro bono paralegal for the Cobb Justice Foundation.

This year’s meeting afforded an opportunity for the participants to learn what the Cobb Justice Foundation provided for low-income Cobb Legal Aid clients in 2021 and what their needs and plans are for 2022 and 2023.

The Cobb Justice Foundation began as a partnership between Cobb Legal Aid and the Cobb Bar Association as a way to provide pro bono representation to Cobb Legal Aid clients and financial support to Cobb Legal Aid. The CJF is a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation that is part of Legal Aid of Cobb County. Legal Aid offers pro bono legal assistance in a wide variety of civil matters to residents living at or below the federal poverty level. Because the need for free legal services far exceeds the resources available to Legal Aid and its attorneys, CJF fills the gap.

“We support the CJF because we are reminded every day of how important it is to be represented when a family law crisis presents itself,” said SM&P’s founding and managing partner Mary Montgomery. “We know that not everyone can afford the legal help that they need and deserve. That’s where CJF’s work is critical in our community. Through them, we can be assured that a lack of funds won’t prevent people from receiving justice. And, in America, that’s how it should be.”

The Foundation recruits private attorneys living and/or practicing in Cobb County to donate legal assistance to those who apply for it with Legal Aid of Cobb County. These volunteers are critical to the program’s success and allow Legal Aid to provide services to more people, completely free of charge. The CJF accepts donations of time and money, both of which will result in Foundation membership.