Klehr Harrison + HAP 20 Years Strong: David Steerman's Story

David Steerman‘s relationship with the Homeless Advocacy Project began when he joined Klehr Harrison. In February of 2020, not only will David celebrate eight years with the firm, but he will also celebrate eight years of working on child custody cases for HAP. “I have enjoyed helping HAP clients with their family law issues over the last seven plus years,” David says of his pro-bono efforts, “It is rewarding being able to give my time, knowledge and efforts on behalf of individuals who are often feeling helpless and ill prepared in a legal system that is hard to navigate.”

David’s most recent ongoing child custody case involves a client residing at St. John’s Hospice. David has been working for nine months with the father of twin children, who were abducted from their home in Pennsylvania and taken to Florida by their mentally ill mother. David reports that, “[his] client is doing everything that has been asked of him and he is making herculean efforts to get himself back on his feet and [to be] able to provide for his young twin children.”

David is working with the client’s caseworker and a non-profit attorney in Florida, coordinating court dates and proceedings, so that the children can be brought back to Pennsylvania to live with their father. When brought back to Pennsylvania, the client’s children will temporarily live with the client’s brother, and once the client obtains adequate housing, the client’s brother will release the children to the client. David is currently preparing for the client’s court date in January of 2020.

On this particular child custody case, David says that “It is my hope that the new year will result in achieving my client’s ultimate goal of having his children returned to him and having a home within which he can assume primary physical custody of his young children.”

About The Homeless Advocacy Project
The Homeless Advocacy Project (HAP) collaborates with shelter providers, homeless advocates, community service providers, and the legal community to provide homeless clients with legal representation and to connect them with other social services. Each year, HAP holds over 100 legal clinics at 25 homeless shelters, transitional housing sites, overnight cafes, and soup kitchens in Philadelphia. Since HAP’s first legal clinic in December 1990, HAP’s 350 volunteers have helped more than 52,000 homeless people and have provided more than $86 million worth of free legal services to homeless clients. To learn more about HAP, please click here.