Alycia Guichard, August 2021 Volunteer of the Month, Volunteer Lawyers for Justice
We’re thrilled to feature Alycia Guichard as our August Volunteer of the Month. Alycia is counsel for Verizon's Public Policy Law & Security Group, where she provides legal assistance to international and domestic clients during the product launch process.
In addition Alycia also supports Verizon’s Pro Bono Chair, John Frantz, SVP & General Counsel, Verizon Business Group by coordinating Verizon’s Public Policy Law & Security Worldwide Pro Bono Program,. She was first introduced to VLJ through her friend Jessica Kitson, VLJ’s Managing Attorney. With a team of Verizon volunteers, Alycia first began working with VLJ’s ReLeSe Program providing assistance with expungement matters.
During the Fall of 2020, as the Covid-19 pandemic unfolded, Alycia and her colleagues felt the need to do more for underserved populations. Because of their commitment to helping New Jersey’s most vulnerable, Verizon expanded its partnership with VLJ to include estate planning services.
Alycia recruited four volunteer attorneys to provide remote estate planning assistance to seven clients. The volunteers prepared wills, power-of-attorneys, health care proxies, and advanced medical directives. Though this work was outside of their comfort zones, Alycia remained a steadfast champion of the work, providing encouragement and logistical support when needed. For example, when a Spanish-speaking client needed help drafting estate planning documents, Alycia made sure to find a volunteer interpreter. Thanks to Alycia’s assistance, the volunteer Verizon attorney was able to accept the case and draft documents with full confidence that the client’s wishes were accurately reflected.
“VLJ is a wonderful organization and our partnership is trend-setting,” says Alycia. She also shares that the mentorship VLJ offers makes volunteers “feel confident asking questions and taking on more cases because they know that VLJ is available to assist.”
Alycia is also dedicated to pro bono work outside of VLJ. Through Verizon’s Pro Bono Program, Alycia is able to help even more people while empowering Verizon employees to do the same. Regarding Verizon’s program, Alycia shared that, “With every new partnership we forge, with every mentoring relationship we enter with our youth, with every nonprofit we help with our talents, I am able to give back. Verizon is an amazing place to work and our Pro Bono Program represents the best of what we at Verizon have to offer.”
We are immensely grateful to Alycia for her leadership, dedication to VLJ’s clients and to Pro Bono work as a whole. Congratulations to Alycia Guichard, our August Volunteer of the Month!