We are pleased to present a Q&A with Jason Elter, Law Offices of Jason Elter, a certified family law specialist and recipient of the Volunteer Legal Services Corporation (VLSC) award for Mentor of the Year. Jason will receive his award on May 22, 2014 at Justice for All: Celebrating Pro Bono, VLSC’s annual volunteer recognition and fundraising event. A reception, and always exciting silent auction, will precede the dinner program and awards presentation.  You may buy tickets to the event and see the full list of award recipients by visiting the ACBA website, or by contacting Whitney Ward at whitney@acbanet.org. We hope you will be able to join us to celebrate Jason’s service to the community!

Why do you volunteer with VLSC?

There are many reasons to volunteer, first being that it’s clearly a service that people desperately need.  VLSC helps people move through the legal system more efficiently, which in the end, serves everyone involved.

Do you have a particularly memorable VLSC client or pro bono case?

Those cases when someone is new not only to our legal system, but to our culture as a whole, are the most memorable.  It is empowering to witness someone take on intimidating unknowns with such bravery and with so much at stake.

What other community activities are you involved in?

I volunteer as a settlement conference judge and judge pro tempore in Alameda County, serve as Chair for the State Bar Bay Area Standing Committee, and coach my kids t-ball and soccer teams.

What are you listening to on your iPod now?

Old school: Meat Puppets, Metallica (with SF Orchestra); modern: JJ Grey & Mofro, among a sea of others.

What is one thing that you wished our people knew about VLSC?

If everyone were to give just a bit of service, the system we work within would be vastly improved.  The whole is greater than the sum of its parts.

For more information on volunteering with VLSC or to donate, please visit the VLSC page on the ACBA website.