The Power of Legal Aid Mentorship: The Marty Wegbreit Effect

By Sarah Bennett Bures

The topic of my first pro bono case was auto fraud. A shady car dealer had made false representations to my client to induce her to buy a lemon. I attended a training session, researched possible claims, and met with my client with the energy and enthusiasm of a Big Law junior associate. I was ready to sue, only to realize the gaps in my knowledge on the mechanics of actually filing a claim in Virginia general district court. Enter Marty Wegbreit.

A veteran legal aid attorney, Marty had offered his contact information for pro bono attorneys taking on new auto fraud matters. In response to my questions, Marty replied promptly with detailed answers — including useful citations — and other practice pointers for the jurisdiction. With renewed confidence, I successfully sued, obtained default judgment, and got the client her money back.

Marty did not know me beyond a quick introduction at the training session. But he took his time to ensure I had the resources I needed to be successful with my pro bono matter. Marty did so with patience and kindness toward me, paired with a deep subject-matter knowledge and dedication to a just outcome for my client. That was the first of many clients and many topics for which Marty graciously supported me over the years.

Marty retired this April after 45 years in legal aid. Marty began his legal aid career with an organization in South Carolina. After two years there, he moved to southwest Virginia and assisted coal miners, farmers, and other low-income Virginians with a variety of legal claims, including public benefits. For the past 19 years, Marty has worked for Central Virginia Legal Aid Society (CVLAS), an LSC grantee, retiring as Director of Litigation.

I am one of hundreds, likely thousands, of attorneys who learned from Marty and benefited from his dedication.

Upon his retirement, CVLAS attempted to quantify the difference Marty made for his clients. Marty recovered approximately $3 million for clients over his 19 years with CVLAS and saved clients more than $7 million. In the four years following the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, he personally handled more than 600 cases involving unemployment claims. These numbers are impressive. They are also incomplete. For instance, these numbers do not reflect the far-reaching effects of the groundbreaking eviction diversion program Marty helped to established in Richmond, Virginia.

And these numbers do not reflect the support Marty provided to other attorneys across Virginia for decades, along with the positive outcomes for low-income clients accomplished through that support. I am one of hundreds, likely thousands, of attorneys who learned from Marty and benefited from his dedication.

At his retirement party, Marty shared reflections on the law today versus when he started his career, concluding that the law is better for low-income people today. Predatory lending has been curtailed with limits on interest rates; minimum wage and garnishment protections have grown; uncontested no-fault divorces have become easier to obtain; Medicaid coverage has expanded; landlords have been required to provide clearer notices to tenants; and so on. Marty concluded with a message of hope:

“In the short term, our fight for justice and dignity for low-income people may seem stalled with little discernable movement. But in the long term, progress toward freedom, equality, and justice is inevitable. As Dr. Martin Luther King wisely said: ‘The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.’”

Marty asked each of us to continue to bend that arc.

I so commit and ask you to do the same. And to my fellow private practitioners, I offer you this advice: find your Marty. Know that your local legal aid organization and others in the community stand ready to assist those helping low-income neighbors in need of legal services.

Sarah Bennett Bures is Pro Bono Director & Counsel at Troutman Pepper where represents pro bono clients and manages pro bono initiatives in the firm’s southeastern offices. She is a member of LSC’s Emerging Leaders Council.