PLAN Training Webinars

Pennsylvania Legal Aid Network, Inc. hosted a CLE training entitled, Best Practices for Working with LGBTQ+ Clients and Legal Professionals, on Tuesday, June 21, 2022.

This session covered PA Rule of Professional Conduct 8.4(g), which prohibits attorneys from manifesting bias or prejudice or engaging in discrimination or harassment in the practice of law on the basis of gender identity and sexual orientation and best practices in working with LGBTQ+ clients and legal professionals.

Pennsylvania Legal Aid Network, Inc. hosted a webinar, entitled Spring Training for Utility Law Advocates, on March 28, 2022. Spring is almost here and will bring with it the end of the winter moratorium for utility terminations, as well as the end of LIHEAP season. In this webinar the Pennsylvania Utility Law Project (PULP) demonstrated n how to prepare for a possible influx in utility termination cases and other utility issues beginning this Spring. New and seasoned advocates and attorneys were provided with strategies to resolve the most common utility issues, including how to prevent termination of service, resolve utility debt, and access utility assistance programs.

Presenters: Janine Dunlap Kiah, SeniorLAW Center; Heather Kelly, SeniorLAW Center; and Kristen Wilson, SeniorLAW Center

2021 PLAN Virtual Conference

This engaging and action-packed session is not your typical seminar. Through the use of music, role-play and audience participation, this session endeavors to identify, explore and demonstrate how to utilize trauma-informed techniques to better serve clients. Also, we will explore how to recognize signs of secondary or vicarious trauma in your colleagues and within yourself while offering tips to prevent and to address it.

Presenter: Jennifer Modell, Neighborhood Legal Services

The pandemic has created an upheaval in education and has particularly adversely impacted children with special needs. Even if you do not practice in this area, it is important to understand the rights your clients have when advocating on behalf of their children or grandchildren. Parental rights regarding evaluations, the differences between 504 plans and IEPS, and the intersection between special education law and the school to prison pipeline will all be discussed.

Presenters: Su Ming Yeh, Pennsylvania Institutional Law Project; Alexandra Morgan-Kurtz, Pennsylvania Institutional Law Project; and Sierra Shamer, Lewisburg Prison Project/PILP

Legal advocates discussed the legal rights incarcerated people have to medical care, including medication for opioid use disorder, also called medication-assisted treatment or MAT. The panel will provided helpful tips on communicating with people who are incarcerated or detained in prison, jail, or an immigration detention center, including the use of legal mail, and with their family members.

Presenters: Elizabeth Marx, Pennsylvania Utility Law Project and Lydia Gottesfeld, Community Legal Services of Philadelphia

Pennsylvania received a large amount of supplemental funds for energy assistance to the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) through the American Rescue Plan. As a result, the Department of Human Services plans to make a number of changes to LIHEAP to spend more money during the 2021-2022 LIHEAP season. Attorneys from the Pennsylvania Utility Law Project and Community Legal Services discuss the expected changes for the upcoming LIHEAP season, how clients can take advantage of the new funds, and also flag common barriers to accessing LIHEAP.

Presenters: Claire Grandison, Community Legal Services of Philadelphia and Katharine Vengraitis, Community Legal Services of Philadelphia

The recent federal stimulus payments from the CARES Act and American Rescue Plan provided important income to our clients, but the Social Security Administration (SSA) issues erroneous overpayment notices based on the stimulus payments. Stimulus payments are not counted as income for means-tested programs like SSI, and they are exempt from resources for 12 months. When SSA makes errors in counting stimulus payments, our clients face the prospect of losing their life-sustaining benefits or repaying thousands of dollars if SSA does not correct its error.

Presenters: Ria Pereira, PA Utility Law Project and Liz Marx, PA Utility Law Project

Pennsylvania Utility Law Project presented a brief, 30-minute webinar about the 2020-2021 Supplemental LIHEAP grants, which will be released in early September, and gave a preview of the upcoming 2021-2022 LIHEAP program year. 

Presenters: Kristen Dama, Community Legal Services of Philadelphia and Sara Lynch, Community Legal Services of Philadelphia

SSI/SSDI Skill Building Webinar

Pennsylvania Legal Aid Network hosted a webinar entitled Adult Eligibility for SSI 101 on June 24, 2021.

This program covered the basics of eligibility for SSI for adults with disabilities, including the five step sequential analysis. The presentation is geared at new attorneys to the practice and other practitioners seeking a refresher.

Presenters: Sarah Martin-Torres, PA Immigration Resource Center (PIRC) and Whitney Phelps, PA Immigration Resource Center (PIRC)

This training provided an overview of key concepts in immigration law and provides information on immigration relief options for survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, human trafficking and related crimes. Participants will be able to recognize immigration legal options appropriate for survivors and their families, and will be able to identify practices their agency can implement to keep immigrant survivors safe.

Presenter: Erika Martel, Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency

This presentation is a general overview of the Pennsylvania Victim’s Compensation Assistance Program, a Program designed to assist victims of crime with expenses directly related to the crime incident.  The presentation includes details on program eligibility, requirements of the victim, benefits that can be considered, and the monetary amounts allowed by law per benefit type. 

Presenters: Maggie Potter, CLS; Caroline Rivera, PLA; Saadiqa Kumanyika, CLS; Irene Lindsay Brantley, Women In Transition

This workshop explored the impact of trauma and grief on brain functioning and decision-making to enable participants to better engage clients who are in crisis. It includes tips on how to recognize signs of trauma and grief and how to conduct screenings and trauma informed interviews with clients.

Presenters: Sarah Robinson, Philadelphia Legal Assistance and Amber McGee, Philadelphia Legal Assistance

2021 PLAN VOCA Grantee Training

This 90 minute session, led by two experienced family law attorneys, outlined the foundational elements of core family law practice areas, including child custody, support, and protection from abuse. The speakers reviewed relevant statutes, case law, and pending legislation while providing practice tips tailored for the virtual courtroom. In addition, this session covered special relief options and programs for survivors of domestic violence and discussed the implications of pandemic-related relief payments, child tax credits, and other remedies in the American Rescue Plan Act.

Presenters: Amber McGee, Philadelphia Legal Assistance and Sarah Robinson, Philadelphia Legal Assistance

The increased need for civil legal aid during the pandemic forced courts and attorneys alike to drastically pivot their approaches to the provision of justice and services. Drawing on their experiences as civil litigators in both the Western and Eastern parts of the Commonwealth, Amber and Sarah will lead a discussion on the myriad of ways in which the pandemic has impacted civil litigation. Through the lens of family law and landlord/tenant law, this session will touch on challenges to the attorney-client relationship, changes in hearing preparation and pre-trial work, and the advantages and disadvantages of remote hearings.

Presenter: Danni L. Petyo, PA Coalition Against Domestic Violence

This training session reviews the basics of the Protection from Abuse Act and the recent amendments made under Act 79. After this session participants will be able to understand the updated firearms relinquishment provisions in the PFAA. The session will also review the updates to the PFAA process and procedure and to the Firearms Act due to Act 79, and what these amendments mean for survivors of domestic violence both under state and federal law.

The webinar is presented through a survivor-centered and trauma-informed lawyering lens, so participants can think about devising creative solutions under the new PFAA language to assist the survivors they work with.

Presenter: Amy Hirsch, Community Legal Services of Philadelphia

Cash Assistance, SNAP/Food Stamps, and Medicaid Benefits are an important resource for survivors of domestic violence or sexual assault. This session provides information on accessing benefits during the pandemic, provisions to protect and assist survivors of DV or sexual assault, and how to appeal denials of benefits. The new expanded monthly federal Child Tax Credit was also discussed.

Presenters: Leah Finlayson, SeniorLAW Center and Brandan Corbalis, SeniorLAW Center

This webinar provides tips for recognizing and responding to financial exploitation, including through civil and orphans’ court litigation.  The presenters focused on how to file orphans’ court litigation to address misuse of a power of attorney. The presenters also addressed the additional challenges elderly victims are facing during the pandemic.

Presenters: Matthew Rich, MidPenn Legal Services and Mary Beth Clark, North Penn Legal Services

This session focused on housing issues commonly encountered by victims of domestic violence and sexual assault.  Topics discussed include the current status and application of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) in subsidized tenancies and strategies for how to confront issues which arise in market rate/private housing tenancies, where VAWA does not apply. Also, this session includes a review of a "good case" to highlight how creative advocacy can be utilized to protect and benefit victims dealing with housing-related problems.

Presenters: Elizabeth Marx, PA Utility Law Project and Ria Pereira, PA Utility Law Project 

Access to affordable heat, electricity, and telephone service is absolutely critical for survivors of domestic violence to establish a safe and healthy home. Survivors commonly face burdensome challenges to connecting and maintaining utility service – often as a direct result of economic abuse.  

In this session, the Pennsylvania Utility Law Project covered the essentials of utility billing, collections, and terminations, will address unique utility protections for survivors of domestic violence, along with sharing best practice strategies to assist survivors in transition to connect and maintain affordable utility services. 

Presenters: Richard Weishaupt, Community Legal Services and Sara Lynch, Community Legal Services.

Pennsylvania Legal Aid Network hosted a webinar entitled Long Term COVID Cases on May 27, 2021.

This training covered the nature of long term COVID cases and SSA’s current approach.  This included a discussion on what others are seeing and how they are approaching these cases.

Presenters: Rebecca Dempsey, MidPenn Legal Services and Paige Martineau, North Penn Legal Services

This webinar reviews how virtual hearings are being conducted by the Social Security Administration, focusing on diability hearings.

This is part of a monthly webinar series focused on skill building in SSI/SSDI cases.

Presenters: Joline Price, Community Legal Services; Ria Pereira, PA Utility Law Project; and Elizabeth Marx, PA Utility Law Project

Utility shut-offs were permitted to begin on April 1, 2021. This program provided information about new and existing utility assistance programs for Pennsylvania consumers struggling to maintain utility service and afford their bills. This session also reviewed key strategies to prevent utility termination and help consumers to better afford their monthly utility bills.

Moderator: Kristen Dama, Community Legal Services. Presenters: Evangeline Wright, MidPenn Legal Services; Linda Cosme, Community Legal Services; Nick Feden, Community Legal Services

This webinar features a one-hour CLE session on Appeals Practice presented by attorneys Linda Cosme and Nick Feden from Community Legal Services, preceded with a discusion of Economic Impact Payments and the 2021 Child Tax Credit by Evangeline Wright of MidPenn Legal Services. The program was moderated by Kristen Dama of Community Legal Services.

This is part of a monthly webinar series focused on skill building in SSI/SSDI cases.

Presenters: Sara Lynch, Community Legal Services and Linda Cosme, Social Security Administration (Retired) 

Part of the 2021 PLAN SSI/SSDI DAP Training Series

February 25, 2021

Presenters: Nina Menniti, Justice at Work; Liz Chacko, Justice at Work; and Marielle Macher, Community Justice Project

Pennsylvania Legal Aid Network, Inc. and the PLAN Employment Law Group Held the 2021 PLAN Employment/Unemployment Law Group training as a virtual event on Friday, March 5, 2021. 

Session 6 - Pandemic-Related Employment Law Tools

For our clients who are working or trying to keep their jobs, occupational health and safety takes on a new urgency.  This session focused on the OSH tools you can use, while also touch on leave rights and the potential expansion of paid leave by Congress.

Presenters: Brendan Lynch, Community Legal Services

Pennsylvania Legal Aid Network, Inc. and the PLAN Employment Law Group Held the 2021 PLAN Employment/Unemployment Law Group training as a virtual event on Friday, March 5, 2021. 

Session 5 - Occupational License Reform Implementation

This session provided an update on how the Department of State and the licensing boards are implementing Act 53 and how the law affects your clients.

Presenters: Sharon Dietrich, Community Legal Services and Jamie Gullen, Community Legal Services

Pennsylvania Legal Aid Network, Inc. and the PLAN Employment Law Group Held the 2021 PLAN Employment/Unemployment Law Group training as a virtual event on Friday, March 5, 2021. 

Session 4 - Clean Slate II (and III?)

This session included discussion of implementation of Act 83, which eliminated the requirement that fines and costs be paid before cases can be sealed, but does still require restitution to be paid.  Learn ways to avoid having restitution debt sink your client.  We will also look at prospects for felony sealing.

Presenter: Julia Simon-Mishel, Philadelphia Legal Assistance

Pennsylvania Legal Aid Network, Inc. and the PLAN Employment Law Group Held the 2021 PLAN Employment/Unemployment Law Group training as a virtual event on Friday, March 5, 2021. 

Session 3 - Contesting Overpayments and Benefits Modernization

Presenters:Aaron Sommer, Philadelphia Legal Assistance and Rachel Miller, Philadelphia Legal Assistance

Pennsylvania Legal Aid Network, Inc. and the PLAN Employment Law Group Held the 2021 PLAN Employment/Unemployment Law Group training as a virtual event on Friday, March 5, 2021. 

Session 2- Best practices for UC telephone hearings

Presenter: Julia Simon-Mishel, Philadelphia Legal Assistance

Pennsylvania Legal Aid Network, Inc. and the PLAN Employment Law Group Held the 2021 PLAN Employment/Unemployment Law Group training as a virtual event on Friday, March 5, 2021.

Session 1 - Unemployment Compensation/Pandemic Employment Assistance Update

Pennsylvania Legal Aid Network, Inc. (PLAN) and the Pennsylvania Bar Association (PBA), in conjunction with the Conference of County Bar Leaders, held a virtual panel discussion on Richard Rothstein’s book The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America on March 4, 2021 

PLAN and the PBA are grateful for the generous support of the Pennsylvania State University law schools – Penn State Law and Dickinson Law – who sponsored the event.

The Color of Law documents how American cities became so racially divided as federal, state, and local governments systematically imposed residential segregation. Our panel is comprised of an esteemed group of experts, who will provide historical context for these systems of oppression and discuss the racialization of housing policies and the role attorneys can play in redressing these systemic injustices.

The panel discussion was moderated by Donald F. Smith, Jr., Esq., longtime legal aid advocate and former Executive Director of the Berks County Bar Association.

Members of the panel included:

Eleanor Brown, J.D., M.Phil.
Professor of Law and International Affairs
Penn State Law

Jill C. Engle, Esq.
Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, Professor of Clinical Law
Penn State Law

Rasheedah Phillips, Esq.
Managing Attorney for Housing Policy
Community Legal Services of Philadelphia

Megan Riesmeyer, Esq.
Professor of Clinical Law and Director of the Community Law Clinic
Penn State Dickinson Law

Presenters: Susan Michalik, MidPenn Legal Services and Valerie Case, MidPenn Legal Services

February 23, 2021

Presenters: Jen Burdick, Community Legal Services; Becky Dempsey, MidPenn Legal Services; Susan Michalik, MidPenn Legal Services; Jane Allen, North Penn Legal Services; and Paige Martineau, North Penn Legal Services

NOTE: This webinar featured two breakout sessions which were not recorded and are not included in this episode.

February 18, 2021

Presenter:  Jane Allen, North Penn Legal Services

February 16, 2021

Presenter: Jennifer Burdick, Community Legal Services of Philadelphia

Presenter: Paige Martineau, North Penn Legal Services

Presenter: Rebecca Dempsey

Presenter: Kristen Dama, Community Legal Services

February 2, 2021

Presenter: Ria Pereira, Esq., Pennsylvania Utility Law Project

This session provided an overview of weatherization and usage reduction programs available in Northern Schuylkill County.

January 8, 2021

Presenters: Laura Edinger, PULP and Elizabeth Marx, PULP

During this hour-long webinar presentation Elizabeth Marx, Executive Director at the Pennsylvania Utility Law Project, and Laura Edinger, PULP’s Senior Policy Analyst, will provide an overview of the LIHEAP program for the 2020-2021 season, updates on key changes from previous years, and tips and suggestions for advocacy in representing and advising clients about LIHEAP and their energy assistance options.  Special attention will be given to updates due to the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Presenters:  Henry Leone, Pennsylvania Legal Aid Network, Inc.; Lacy Toline, Pennsylvania Legal Aid Network, Inc.; and Mariel Quiñones, Pennsylvania Legal Aid Network, Inc.

2020 PLAN Virtual Statewide Conference

This session provides a review of the resources available through PALawHelp.org and PAVictimsHelp.org to help people understand legal issues they may be facing and how to use the site to get assistance with those issues.

Presenters:  Matt Rich, MidPenn Legal Services and Dan Vitek, Community Justice Project

2020 PLAN Virtual Statewide Conference

Residents of mobile home parks are afforded special protections in Pennsylvania under the Manufactured Homes Community Rights Act (MHCRA).

This training will introduce you to the basics of enforcing the rights of mobile home part residents with a focus on defending against an eviction.

Presenter: Kim Nash, Exude Inc.

This program covers understanding perceptions, acting in a professional manner, legal definitions of harassment, company policy and reporting process. We will incorporate relevant scenarios that allow participants to discuss issues to impact learning. The break-out session focuses on executive leaders’ role in fostering a positive work environment.

Presenter: Eileen Yacknin, Neighborhood Legal Services

2020 PLAN Virtual Statewide Conference

The limited availability of suitable Section 8 Voucher housing has often resulted in the demands of Section 8 landlords to exact from needy tenants rent and/or utility payments in excess of what the Section 8 program permits, as a condition to enter into or extend leases with those tenants. Despite the illegality of these payments, desperate tenants often agree to such side deals, thereby paying hundreds, even thousands, more than landlords are entitled. Often, when tenants fail to remit these extra payments, landlords terminate their leases and sue them for eviction and those unpaid sums. The federal False Claims Act, designed to prevent fraud in the receipt of government benefits, has successfully been used to sanction these unlawful landlord practices, with enormous damages and attorney's fees. This workshop will introduce participants to the framework and contours of the Act and to explain how to litigate these cases.

ATTENTION: Due to technical difficulties the first approximately 30 minutes of this presentation was not recorded. The portion recorded and available here focuses on the Pennsylvania Wiretap Act.

Presenters: Alisa Petersen, MidPenn Legal Services and Paul Edger, MidPenn Legal Services

This presentation will discuss PFAs/SVPOs and evidence that clients provide in a these cases.

Presenters:  Omeed Firouzi, Philadelphia Legal Assistance; Nadia Hewka, Community Legal Services; and Julia Simon-Mishel, Philadelphia Legal Assistance

2020 PLAN Virtual Statewide Conference

Worker misclassification is when an employer gives their worker, who works under their direction and control, a Form 1099 (intended for the self-employed) with no tax withholding instead of a Form W-2 with taxes withheld. When workers are misclassified as independent contractors, they owe double the amount of Social Security and Medicare taxes that employees owe and they lose out on key protections employees enjoy.

The issue of worker misclassification is increasingly prevalent in today's 21st Century service-driven gig economy where such workers often help meet our essential needs. This panel will explore how practitioners can assist their clients when their employers misclassify them as independent contractors.

The workshop will include tax, unemployment compensation, and employment law practitioners who have assisted workers in disputing their 1099 status before the IRS, the Department of Labor & Industry, and in federal and state courts.

Presenters: Catherine Martin, Neighborhood Legal Services and Adam DiBuo, Neighborhood Legal Services

2020 PLAN Virtual Statewide Conference - October 21, 2020

This session is a Part 2 to the original Bankruptcy Bootcamp session. It will cover Practical tips on how to get the case into court, how to gather information, what the 341 meeting is like, etc.

Presenters: Maggie Potter, Community Legal Services; Caroline Rivera, Philadelphia Legal Assistance; Saadiqa Kumanyika, Community Legal Services; and Irene Lindsay Brantly

PLAN Virtual Statewide Conference, October 20, 2020

This workshop will explore the impact of trauma and grief on brain functioning and decision-making to enable participants to better engage clients who are in crisis. We will include tips on how to recognize signs of trauma and grief and how to conduct screenings and trauma informed interviews with clients.

Presenters:  Angela Ruan, Philadelphia Legal Assistance and Sarah Robinson, Philadelphia Legal Assistance

2020 PLAN Virtual Statewide Conference - October 20, 2020

This 90 minute session will introduce participants to basic legal concepts in child custody practice, including a discussion of the statutory factors, a review of common pleadings and court procedure, and notice of recent case law updates. The speakers will also provide practice tips in areas of special consideration, such as domestic violence and inter/intrastate issues. This presentation will also provide insights on how to help your clients co-parent during a pandemic and how to adapt your advocacy to the virtual environment.

Presenters: Pamela Putnam Silver, Pennsylvania Health Law Project and James Lee, Pennsylvania Health Law Project. 

2020 PLAN Virtual Statewide Conference - October 19, 2020. 

As most of the 3 million Pennsylvanians covered by Medicaid are now enrolled in managed care, it is vital that advocates understand how the managed care system works - and sometimes doesn't work - for our clients. This session will teach advocates about PA's managed care delivery systems, including the Physical Health and Behavioral Health HealthChoices programs as well as Community HealthChoices (CHC). Topics covered will include how to pick a managed care plan, how to access services, and a brief overview of the services available to adults and children in managed care.  Prior knowledge of public benefits and Medicaid is not a pre-requisite.