Serving our Clients & Serving the Southern Maryland Community

At Andrews, Bongar, Starkey & Clagett, we believe, as a law firm of quality attorneys, giving back to our community is an important part of our job. Our community has been very good to us over the years, and we try to repay that kindness as much as possible.

The law affects every one of us - rich and poor. That is why we provide legal assistance to community organizations. And it is why we provide pro bono service to some of those members of the community who cannot afford a lawyer.

Read on to see a few of the many examples of how our attorneys actively serve our community.

We Support Teachers. Susan Steinmetz, wife of Attorney Rick Steinmetz and music teacher at James Craik Elementary, holds one of the 100 goodie bags our firm gave teachers on their first day back to school in 2008. We gave them USB flash drives, notebooks, pens, post its, and, most importantly, emergency chocolate for those stressful moments! We were able to give these bags to all teachers in two schools, and hope to expand this project in coming years. Supporting teachers comes naturally for us since every attorney here is related to, or married to, a teacher.

Our standing policy is to provide free legal consultations to any educator. We feel this is the least we can do for those who give so much to our community while not making a lot of money. We cannot increase their income, but we can make sure they don’t have to pay for legal advice.

Alternatives for Youth & Families is a non-profit organization dedicated to helping emotionally troubled children and adolescents receive local, community based treatment close to their families. Located in Charlotte Hall, and primarily serving children from Southern Maryland, AFYF has been filling a vital need for local treatment options since the 1970’s. AFYF represents a movement that is attempting to keep troubled children in their community, close to their families and support systems, rather than sending them away to institutions. Reunifying children with their families is their primary goal.

Tucker Clagett has served as a Board member and pro bono lawyer for AFYF since shortly after he became an Associate with our firm over 10 years ago. Tucker wanted to do something to serve children, and picked AFYF because of its local commitment to that issue. Not a year goes by without Tucker spending significant pro bono time assisting AFYF with the various legal challenges that inevitably crop up.

AFYF is a very worthy local charity. To learn more, donate your time or money, or to serve as foster parent for a troubled child, call them at (301) 884-0312 or (301) 870-1405. Or email them at AFYF@alternatives4youth.org.

The Greater Waldorf Jaycees really need no introduction. They have long been one of the premier service agencies in Charles County. Composed of members between 21 and 40, they focus their membership on community service. They regularly provide large sums of money for extremely worthwhile charitable projects, and have funded some of the finest facilities in this region.

Rick Steinmetz and Tucker Clagett are both members of this wonderful service organization. Rick Steinmetz has served as counsel to the Greater Waldorf Jaycees for several years. He provides whatever legal services they need, whenever they need it. He does this on a pro bono basis, which saves much needed funds for charity.

Form more information on the Greater Waldorf Jaycees, visit the link provided. To join, email them at info@greaterwaldorfjaycees.com.

When a 3 year old boy with Down Syndrome was diagnosed with leukemia, family and friends poured out their hearts and opened up their wallets. The young boy was set to undergo a costly series of treatments at Children’s Medical Hospital. The family needed funds to pay for his treatment, and other related necessities. They wisely decided to open a separate bank account for this purpose. When they were told they needed to set up a formal trust in order to open this bank account for donations, the family came to our firm. We drafted the trust documents without charge, which allowed the family to legally accept donations while avoiding tax problems.

Sometimes our paralegals take the time to make a difference without even involving the attorneys. When one of our clients was diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer, and needed to receive an operation shortly to have a chance to live, she found it hard to get the surgery approved and scheduled. She is of limited means and had to be approved by the department of social services to receive her medical care. It just wasn’t happening quickly enough, and her life was at risk because of the delay.

Christy Bankston simply got mad and started hounding the people at social services to approve her surgery. This had nothing to do with her case. She just wanted to help out our client who was in need. She made calls and wrote letters, shaking the trees at social services. It worked. The client’s surgery was approved within days. Sometimes people just need some help navigating a complicated system, and find it hard to be their own advocates. Christy advocated for our client, and got her the care she needed.

After an unexpected illness, a local military family found itself with thousands of dollars in medical bills they were unable to pay. To add to their financial woes, they were the victims of an email scam that cost them the remaining funds they had. They came to us desperate, needing a bankruptcy but unable to pay the fee up front. We were able to handle their bankruptcy at a reduced cost, and by taking small payments over the course of time. As a result, they are now on their way to wiping the slate clean and starting over.