Written by Justin Karter
When a 65-year-old man with severe epilepsy recently came to NLSA after being denied Social Security benefits, Attorney Katy McKee was on the case. The man had survived without seeking assistance from Social Security for years. He lived on approximately $200 a month and food stamps, from which he tried to maintain a house, and pay his utilities and property taxes. Then, after his cash assistance was cut off, he finally sought help from NLSA.
“At the time he came to our office,” McKee reported, “he was afraid to shower or turn on his heat. He had unplugged his battered refrigerator, for fear of the cost of the utilities, and could not afford to get anything repaired in his home.”
Working with NLSA’s social worker, Kathleen Parke, McKee was able to help him recover approximately $10,000 in back benefits, avoid his utilities from being shut off, and secure an ongoing source of monthly benefit payments.
“It’s nice to know what a big difference NLSA can make in the lives of our clients. This client did not have the capacity to deal with the issues he was facing on his own. But our office was able to offer assistance that greatly improved his quality of life,” McKee said.
For Katy McKee, her interest in public service and law started at the College of Wooster when she took advantage of an off campus study opportunity on the U.S. Mexican border. It was during this time, working at a non-profit immigration agency, that Attorney McKee decided that she wanted a career helping under-served populations.
“Before my time on the border, I hadn’t had any direct exposure to the legal profession and had never considered the law as a possible career. The experience opened my eyes to the ways that lawyers can really help people to navigate complicated situations,” McKee remembered.
She attended the University of Pittsburgh School of Law with the assistance of a public interest scholarship. She took advantage of the opportunities available in Pittsburgh by participating in the Elder Law Clinic at the law school, joining Pitt Law’s public interest student group (PLISF), interning at Jewish Family and Children’s Service in the immigration law program and at the Women’s Center and Shelter, completing a practicum with NLSA and later working at the organization as an intern handling Protection from Abuse cases. These experiences with NLSA led to her current job as a staff attorney in 2007.
“I got really lucky,” she said, “because of all the funding cuts there are fewer positions today for young lawyers looking for a career in public interest law.”
Since 2007, McKee has handled cases for clients at NLSA including public and subsidized housing cases, illegal lockouts, denials and terminations of Supplemental Security Income, bankruptcy, unemployment compensation, and Protection from Abuse.
Pamela Dalton-Arlotti, the Director of Program Performance and Compliance at NLSA states that “when individuals come to NLSA, they are often facing life threatening emergencies, whether it be from physical abuse or from the loss of heat or housing, and Katy, exemplifies the compassion, skill, and genuine commitment that our staff bring to each request for help.” She stated, “We recognize her value as does the legal community in Pittsburgh given that Katy was recently awarded the 2012 Lorraine M. Bittner Public Interest Attorney Award by the Allegheny County Bar Foundation.” This award is given to an outstanding and dedicated attorney whose primary function is the delivery of civil legal services to the poor.
NLSA was established in 1966 as a non-profit, public interest law firm to provide civil legal assistance to poor and vulnerable residents of Allegheny, Beaver, Butler, and Lawrence Counties. NLSA is the major provider of free civil legal services in the area and helps more than 20,000 individuals and families each year.
(Image: NLSA attorney Katy McKee listens to a client. NLSA photo)
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