Attorney provides help to those in need
Attorney Mary Bates helps more than 90 homeless people each year through The Legal Clinic, a free legal service she founded at Washington City Mission. At left, Bates rides her Harley-Davidson motorcycle to the clinic.
Attorney Mary Bates rides her Harley-Davidson to the free legal aid clinic for the homeless she founded at Washington City Mission. She and her husband are also members of a motorcycle ministry at their church.
Attorney Mary Bates recalled the time a woman battling alcoholism amassed $3,000 in unpaid parking tickets. She walked into The Legal Clinic, a free legal service Bates operates for the Washington City Mission’s residents, seeking help.
But days after she began treatment for alcohol addiction at the mission, a constable arrived to take her to jail over the unpaid tickets.
Bates intervened on the woman’s behalf, coming to an agreement with the district judge handling her case that the woman would pay her fine after she completed treatment.
“I explained that she was doing well, and that it was a win/win situation: The taxpayers won’t have to pay for her to be in jail, she could continue her recovery and with the legal clinic’s help, she completed the program, got a job and paid for her tickets,” said Bates.
When Bates became involved with the mission 10 years ago, she saw that a majority of the men and women who found shelter at the mission had active court cases including driving-under-the-influence charges, unpaid fines, child custody, landlord/tenant complaints, debt collection and outstanding warrants.
It is one of the biggest barriers that prevents the homeless from living independently, said Bates, who started TLC to address the problem.
Today, she and a group of volunteers, including attorneys David Rundquist and Bill Speakman, work several hours a week to resolve legal issues for the homeless.
The clinic is open every Tuesday afternoon, but Bates and her volunteers often make themselves available whenever clients need them.
Bates recently drove to Erie, New Kensington and Greensburg to represent mission residents whose court cases were outside of Washington County.
“The Legal Clinic is great because so many people need to feel empowered and take care of these things that they’re running from, but they don’t know how,” said Bates. “When the clinic started, it just helped a person here or there. In the past two years or so, it’s just exploded.”
The clinic serves more than 90 homeless people each year.
Bates is a popular figure among residents at the mission, especially during the summer months when she rides her Harley-Davidson motorcycle to the clinic. She said her bike has helped her to build trust with many residents.
“They don’t think of me as an attorney in a suit, they see me as the cool attorney on the Harley,” she laughed. “They get very disappointed when I tell them I don’t have a tattoo.”
She and her husband, Daniel, are members of the South Hills Assembly of God motorcycle ministry, and on Saturdays the group rides to the mission to serve breakfast.
For her outstanding pro bono support and service, Bates received the Louis J. Goffman Award from the Pennsylvania Bar Foundation in May.
Bates is a chair of the Washington County Bar Association Pro Bono and Lawyer Referral Service Committee.
She organized a panel of pro bono lawyers for the mission’s homeless veterans and hosted a Pro Bono Law Day at the mission. She also presented a continuing legal education program for lawyers that emphasized the call for pro bono service in the Pennsylvania Rules of Professional Conduct, and she recently spearheaded the inaugural Washington County Bar Association Pro Bono Attorney of the Year Award.
She organized a “Thanks A Latte” breakfast event to recognize attorneys who perform pro bono work.
Bates also is a chapter leader of the Christian Legal Society of Southwestern Pennsylvania. She has served as treasurer and vice chair of the City Mission’s board of directors.
Dean Gartland, director of the City Mission, believes The Legal Clinic is an asset to the services the mission offers its clients, providing a place for them to talk in confidence with attorneys who offer good advice.
Bates said helping the homeless calls for a community-wide effort.
“We have the support of our volunteers, and the judges and magistrates in Washington County are wonderful. That’s how it has to work,” said Bates, noting President Judge Debbie O’Dell Seneca’s veterans court, which assists veterans charged with nonviolent crimes. “It has to be everybody understanding the plight of the homeless. We need everyone in the community working together. I’d love to encourage everyone, no matter what their gift is, if you have that passion and compassion, come out to the City Mission and help.”