Pro Bono Project Volunteer of the Month March 2014

Kristin Tyler of Gordon Silver

Kristin has been actively involved volunteering with Legal Aid Center of Southern Nevada’s Pro Bono Project since July 2011 in the area of pro bono estate planning, guardianship and probate cases for many Nevadans in need. Kristin has worked in close collaboration with the Pro Bono Project to plan the first Estate Planning and Probate Ask‐A‐Lawyer held September 2013 in partnership with the State Bar Trust & Probate Section. Not only did Kristin assist with the planning of the program, she also recruited 13 volunteer attorneys to participate in the program.

Notwithstanding her busy work schedule, Kristin has continuously volunteered to handle numerous pro bono estate planning, guardianship and probate cases over the last few years. As of March 2014, Kristin is volunteering on 5 open pro bono cases she has taken through the Pro Bono Project.

In addition to the excellent pro bono work to which Kristin is committed, she has made time to Chair the State Bar Trust & Probate Section’s new Pro Bono Committee since 2013. As Chair, Kristin has been instrumental in keeping Section member informed about clients in need by circulating the Pro Bono Project’s case summaries, and Kristin also actively encourages other Section members to accept pro bono cases.

Kristin has gone above and beyond and is considered a friend of Legal Aid Center. She has provided in‐house training to their intake paralegals and consumer staff attorneys to aid their understanding of probate and the key issues which should be considered in evaluating these cases for placement with a pro bono attorney. The

Pro Bono Project has the deepest gratitude for Kristin’s tireless efforts to educate the Pro Bono Project and volunteering her time and expertise in the area of pro bono estate planning, guardianship and probate cases.

When asked what drives her to devote a significant portion of her practice to pro bono service, Kristin stated she wanted to become a lawyer to help people. Kristin finds it gratifying to help clients at a time of loss and grief when they are going through financial difficulty. As a result of Kristin’s pro bono work, she can relieve some of the stress from clients when they need it most. Kristin’s very first pro bono case is her most memorable one. She helped the pro bono client to set aside probate, where her client lost both of his parents, was permanently disabled, and making under $1,000 a month. In order to help him stay in the house his parents left him, Kristin worked to get the house into her client’s name. To this day, her former pro bono client sends Kristin a Christmas card every year, which reminds Kristin of the impact her pro bono work has on her clients.

Congratulations, Kristin!