Jane B. Weathers Lawyers Helping Lawyers Fund
Grants to assist North Carolina lawyers experiencing financial hardship due to difficult circumstances, including medical, personal or professional challenges. Please review the Lawyers Helping Lawyers Fund Grant Guidelines below.
Applications to the Fund are reviewed quarterly and the deadlines for consideration are March 15, June 15, September 15 and December 15. Applications are reviewed anonymously by members of the North Carolina Bar Foundation Endowment Committee. For more information, please email [email protected].
Guidelines for Support
The North Carolina Bar Foundation’s Lawyers Helping Lawyers Fund is intended to provide support for North Carolina lawyers who have fallen on hard times. These are generally one-time grants to help lawyers through unforeseen difficult circumstances and are not intended to provide assistance for on-going challenges or circumstances. Attorneys who have had their law license involuntarily suspended or revoked by the North Carolina State Bar generally will not be considered. Funding may be conditioned on the applicant’s participation in the Lawyers Assistance Program or some other counseling or assistance program.
Qualification
In order to qualify for support applicants must have or have had a meaningful law practice in North Carolina. A meaningful practice means the applicant was licensed by the North Carolina State Bar during their years of practice and represented North Carolina clients on a regular basis, or the applicant worked for the federal government and was not required to be licensed by the North Carolina State Bar.
Applicant / Applicant Family Need
Applicants must have sufficient need to justify support and applicants must submit documentation of stated need. Need may include serious, diagnosed physical, mental or emotional health issues, whether temporary or permanent, which reduce or eliminate the ability of the applicant to support him/herself or to support his/her family. Applicants may be eligible for support when providing care to spouses, dependent children dependent parents with severe physical, mental or emotional health issues.
It is not a requirement that applicants be destitute or near-destitute before they are eligible. However, in recognition of the limited funds available, the applicant’s financial circumstances may be considered during a determination of eligibility or level of support.
There is a preference for applicants who live in North Carolina during the time they apply for and receive support.