Tacomaprobono first learned of Hire Pierce County: Next Gen when they were approached by a young adult interested in interning for the free civil legal aid agency.
“Ramón’s timing was perfect – we have been experiencing considerable growth in our civil legal aid programs. Although our grants provide us with the funds to hire attorneys and paralegals, we are never adequately funded to support our programs with sufficient administrative, client intake, and legal assistant positions, said Melisa Evangelos. “This funding allowed us to better support one of our housing programs that provides legal assistance to low-income tenants facing pre-eviction housing issues.”
Ramón assisted with client intakes, follow-up calls, clinic appointment support, and closing letters. Evangelos said that removing these tasks from the housing paralegals allowed Tacomprobono to better leverage their time and, therefore, the attorney time and serve more clients.
And Ramón did such a great job that, when a paralegal position came open in their office, they immediately offered it to him. He now works full-time for the office. And because the Next Gen program was such a positive experience, the office brought on three additional interns to provide support services and IT support.
