Brennan, Smith & Cherbini, a law firm in Muskogee, recently made a $5,000 contribution to Muskogee’s Legal Aid office. The gift to Legal Aid is the largest ever from an Oklahoma law firm outside the Tulsa and Oklahoma City metro areas. The partners, Juliet Brennan, Rusty Smith, and Martha Cherbini, now are hoping other Muskogee County attorneys will do the same.

Legal Aid provides civil legal assistance to persons who meet federal poverty guidelines and who are age 60 or over, regardless of their income, through a grant from the EODD Area Agency on Aging.

Legal Aid’s Muskogee Law Office – located at 624 W. Broadway – has a staff of three attorneys including Managing Attorney Carol Cowan, Teressa Webster and Tara G. Lemmon. Legal secretary Ida Warren assists the attorneys. Cowan also supervises the Stilwell satellite office— located at 219 West Division – which is staffed by Attorney Laci R. Klinger and Wynoma Asbill, legal secretary. In 2010, the office handled 1,093 cases, 549 of which were in the area of family law.

Legal Aid Services of Oklahoma is a not-for-profit law firm which provides free civil legal assistance to eligible low-income individuals and their families and to elderly persons in the areas of family, consumer, housing, health and employment. Legal Aid attorneys and staff work through a network of fully-staffed law offices and satellite offices, serving eligible clients in all 77 counties of Oklahoma. The statewide toll-free number to call for legal assistance is 888-534-5243.

Funding for Legal Aid is from the Legal Services Corporation, the State of Oklahoma, the Oklahoma Bar Foundation, 14 United Way or United Fund organizations and generous attorneys, law firms, foundations, businesses and individuals throughout the state contributing to the Campaign for Justice.

For additional information on contributing to Legal Aid in Muskogee, contact Cowan at 918/683-5681.