Veronica Smith-Casem
Veronica Smith-Casem is the Community Legal Services volunteer of the month for March. Smith-Casem volunteers with the Housing Justice Project (“HJP”). HJP is located at the Seattle King County Courthouse and the Kent Regional Justice Center and assists low-income tenants facing eviction. Smith-Casem receives this honor for her dedication, commitment and service to HJP and low-income clients.
Smith-Casem started working with HJP in 2001 as an extern while she was a student at the Seattle University School of Law. As a Rule 9 extern, Smith-Casem performed legal research on public housing issues, negotiated with landlords and conducted her first show cause hearing.
She says she still remembers the first client interview she observed at HJP. It stays in her mind because the client had lost her hearing and faced eviction. It struck her that this was the “real world” and that people faced difficult situations everyday.
Smith-Casem was admitted to the WSBA in 2002 and immediately started volunteering with HJP as an attorney. Smith-Casem’s most recent case involved writing an answer for a client who had to pay $55 a day in late fees. Her assistance led to dismissal of the case and preservation of the tenant’s housing.
In another case, Smith-Casem advised a client about her rights and how to present her argument in court. The client won her case and was ecstatic that she did it on her own. She was extremely grateful to Smith-Casem, and thought she would have been evicted if not for Smith-Casem’s expertise.
Smith-Casem is excited about the new evening clinic that HJP is starting beginning February 27 for tenants who cannot seek services during the day time. The project, “HJP P.M.,” will give counsel and advice to low-income tenants facing eviction. The hours are Mondays from 4 to 6 p.m. at the King County Law Library. Volunteer attorneys are still needed.
Smith-Casem is committed to HJP because it helps many clients who are not otherwise able to seek legal services, prevents homelessness and offers tenants information about other resources such as rental assistance, affordable housing and other legal rights.
“Many tenants who come to see us are not able to access services beforehand,” says Smith-Casem. “Although it makes it harder for us to assist them, we fulfill a real need.
“I chose housing issues because I believe strongly in the importance that every human being should have a roof over his or her head. I feel like I'm able to promote that goal by volunteering with HJP. It does really make me glad that we are often able to negotiate for people. I feel good when I've left knowing that, although the client had no legal defense for non-payment of rent, we were able to make things a little easier on them by possibly working out a payment plan to keep them there or at least getting them more time to move. When we're able to do that, I feel we've done something really helpful.”
CLS is grateful for the contributions of Veronica Smith-Casem. She truly makes a difference in the lives of low-income tenants in King County. n
