Devon Stark manages KCBA’s first and oldest pro bono program, the Neighborhood Legal Clinics (NLC). Devon is a true Seattleite, having grown up in West Seattle, spent 12 years playing violin, and later attended the University of Washington where she majored in International Studies with minors in French and Global Health. While an undergraduate, Devon considered pursuing a career working for a public health nonprofit. She was also interested in exploring law and maybe law school. This led her to Google search “volunteer legal internships near me” where she found an opportunity to be a volunteer clinic assistant through the Neighborhood Legal Clinics. Devon was a dedicated volunteer all through college. As a clinic assistant she helped open and close the clinic, checked clients in, helped with resources and made sure the clinic ran smoothly. From this experience, she saw firsthand how pro bono attorneys were able to make legal services accessible to people with limited income.
After graduating from UW, Devon decided she wanted to work for a few years before committing to law school. In 2019, a position opened with NLC as the Volunteer Services Coordinator. She thought it a natural next step in her career and already knew the value of the program to the community. Wisely, KCBA hired Devon. When the pandemic hit, Devon’s interest in law school took a back seat, and in 2021, Devon was promoted as NLC’s Program Manager.
During her time with NLC, Devon has seen the program grow and change. She enjoys finding solutions to problems, speaking with clients, and seeing the direct impacts the clinics make. One of her main goals for the program is to increase accessibility, including reaching clients who are not aware of NLC’s services and removing barriers for people who need legal help. Towards this goal, NLC will be re-opening more in-person clinics. During the pandemic, clinics moved completely to remote services with volunteers providing phone consultations. July will have seen the re-opening of the Downtown clinic at the King County Superior Court Law Library and next is a projected re-opening of the Kent general and family law clinics. Devon endeavors to continue connecting with community organizations and growing our partner clinics.
As for volunteers, the clinics are always in need of more family law and immigration attorneys, and attorneys who speak languages other than English. NLC is also currently recruiting people who are interested in being clinic assistants as more clinics re-open in-person.
For more information about the clinics and how you can help, contact Devon at devons@kcba.org.
