Pete Woody
Having a lawyer at your bedside while you're in the hospital isn't the help you might immediately think.
But at VCU Health, we assign attorneys to medical teams to address social issues that may be barriers to low-income patients receiving care. These issues include poor housing conditions, denial of insurance or public benefits, wrongful evictions and domestic violence. This support allows patients and their families to focus on treatment and recovery.
While there are similar programs across the country, VCU Health’s Medical Legal Partnership (MLP) approach to providing pro bono (donation-based) legal services has been recognized by the state’s highest-level professional organization for lawyers.
This summer's Supreme Court Pro Bono Summit, hosted by the Virginia State Bar Association and its Pro Bono Council, is a biennial opportunity for legal professionals from across the state to come together to plan future efforts, discuss areas of need and share success stories. One success story highlighted this year was VCU Health's MLP, who has taken an innovative approach to using legal resources to help patients and their families.
“The VCU Health Medical-Legal Partnership is a great example of a health system and the local legal community working together to address the growing need for legal assistance across the communities VCU Health serves,” said David L. Greenspan, partner at McGuireWoods and pro bono co-chair of the Virginia State Bar Association.
In 2023, the health system's MLP provided legal services to approximately 500 patients and served more than 1,200 patients and community members. The pro bono assistance was valued at more than $1.4 million in donated legal services.
Allison Held, associate general counsel and director of MLP at VCU Health, spoke before the Virginia Supreme Court during the summit. She said the unique way MLP provides donor services to the community, in terms of partnerships and available resources, is why she was invited to speak at the summit.
“While I know there are hospitals that refer some patients to legal aid organizations, I don't know of any other hospitals in the state that have a medical-legal partnership like ours. It's an honor to represent VCU Health at the summit,” Held said.
While most MLPs are partnerships between a hospital and one legal aid organization, Held said VCU Health's range of MLP partners also sets it apart: The primary partner is the legal aid organization Central Virginia Legal Aid Society, and other partners include the Legal Aid Justice Center, CancerLINC, the McGuireWoods law firm, Dominion Energy and the University of Richmond School of Law.
“We are one of the strongest MLPs in the nation in terms of the range of legal services offered, the number of patients served (9) and the number of legal partners,” Held said.
The invitation to the Chief Justice’s Pro Bono Summit adds to the recognition MLP has received to date, including the 2022 ACCC Innovator Award from the Association of Cancer Care Centers and the CPBO Pro Bono Partner Award, also given in 2022 by the Pro Bono Society to VCU Health, McGuireWoods and Dominion Energy.
Perhaps most importantly, Held believes the opportunity to share VCU Health’s MLP story will strengthen the program’s efforts and serve as a template from which other programs across the state can take shape.
“Supreme Court justices and many lawyers and bar association leaders across the state have expressed a great deal of interest in the MLP. Some lawyers have expressed interest in handling matters pro bono for VCU Health patients, while others have expressed interest in learning how to bring a similar program to their local hospitals,” Held said. “So I'm hoping to reach out to a number of people.”
