Legal Aid of North Carolina Features Dylan Bensinger in Pro Bono Spotlight

McGuireWoods Charlotte associate Dylan Bensinger’s pro bono work on behalf of a client facing eviction was featured in Legal Aid of North Carolina’s Jan. 24, 2023, Pro Bono Spotlight.

Dylan, a financial services litigator, said he spent months working with O’Shauna Hunter, head of the housing unit in Legal Aid’s Charlotte office, to represent a client who had fallen behind on rent during the pandemic. Dylan met the client in 2022 through the Charlotte Triage Pro Bono Partnership, a project launched in 2018 by leaders from McGuireWoods and other local law firms and businesses.

In fall 2022, Dylan and the client’s landlord reached a settlement in which the landlord agreed to vacate a small-claims judgment against the client, waive thousands of dollars in back rent and provide a neutral landlord reference going forward.

This was Dylan’s first housing law case, but he said it won’t be his last. The unmet need for legal assistance in eviction cases is great and Legal Aid relies on pro bono volunteers to fill the gap.

“There are people at my firm who are really dedicated to pro bono service,” Dylan said in the article. “Angie Zimmern and Mark Kinghorn here in our Charlotte office are very good at getting people involved and are always coming up with new pro bono opportunities. I hope to develop a similar reputation for dedication to pro bono.”