By Kalvin Valdillez, Tulalip News
The Tulalip Office of Civil Legal Aid (TOCLA) provides assistance in civil legal issues to low-income tribal members who have to appear in front of the Tulalip Tribal Court. Attorneys are available to help tribal members navigate through the court system. TOCLA Attorney Jim Kerney breaks down the different levels of services the program offers.
“TOCLA offers three levels of services which are full representation, basic representation, and brief services,” Jim explained, “On the brief services level we offer guidance only. That guidance pertains to how the legal system and court process works. We discuss the legal issue and what type of documents they need, but we offer no legal advice.”
Jim explained that when TOCLA offers brief services, the attorney has the ability to speak to both parties and extend the same service to each side. However, Jim stressed that no legal advice is offered to the clients receiving brief services. “Once both parties are spoken to that’s the extent of services that can be offered, unless both parties can benefit from, or need, mediation. Then we can arrange mediation sessions between both parties.”
“The next level would be basic representation. On this level we speak to only one of the parties. The reason for this is because at this stage an attorney/client relationship is established and confidentiality comes into play. We also talk about strategy and what type of evidence is needed,” Jim stated. “We will assist with completing and reviewing documents and with further guidance through the court process.”
“And then we have full representation, that covers everything. These are cases that need more involvement,” said Jim. After explaining the three different levels of services, Attorney Kerney then spoke of the three programs within the TOCLA program.
Jim states, “TOCLA consists of three programs, the first is Civil Legal Aid. The client is referred to the TOCLA Staff Attorney, which is me, and I provide general civil assistance like Family Law Issues, Consumer Law, and Public Benefits, which is like Social Security Income appeals. The next is the Tribal Parent Advocacy Program, or TPAP. We have one and a half Parent Advocate Attorneys, Amy [Lettig] and Maya [Titova], and they represent parents of tribal children who are involved in dependency cases. They work closely with beda?chelh. The reason for the half time parent advocate is because in cases where both parents need representation, having two advocates available doesn’t cause conflict between the parties. The third program is VLAP, we’re fans of acronyms here at TOCLA. VLAP stands for the Victim of Legal Advocacy Project. Sylvia [Hanna] is the Victim Advocate Attorney and Stephanie Ancheta, our paralegal, works primarily with this program. What they do is work exclusively with the Legacy of Healing program. All of the referrals come from the Legacy of Healing and they work with victims of domestic violence and sexual assault. VLAP is grant-funded and income is not a restriction. Their work generally starts with protection orders and they have the ability to represent tribal members not only in the Tulalip Tribal Court but also in state courts. And that’s TOCLA in a nutshell. We are here to represent low-income tribal members in need of assistance with any civil legal issues.”
For further information and legal assistance, Jim has made himself available for drop-in hours twice a week. On Mondays he can be found at the Tulalip Administration Building in conference room 262 between the hours of 10:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. and on Wednesdays he is available between 12:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m. at the Tulalip Tribal Court, office 118. He can also be reached at (360) 716-4512.
Contact Kalvin Valdillez, kvaldillez@tulaliptribes-nsn.gov