Staff

Rob Mount has been the Managing Attorney of the Fall River Law Office of South Coastal Counties Legal Services (SCCLS) since December 2020. In this position, he oversees and ensures the provision of high-quality legal services to clients in the greater Fall River, Taunton, and Attleboro areas. To provide excellent legal advocacy to the community, he works collaboratively with other managing Attorneys in SCCLS and engages with the organization’s leadership team to develop and manage strategic initiatives and coordinate impact work. Attorney Mount directly supervises advocacy and support staff and works in conjunction with SCCLS senior management for the betterment of the organization. Previously he worked as a staff Attorney in the New Bedford Law Office of SCCLS, a legal advocate for Citizens Disability, and a Staff Attorney at the Committee for Public Counsel Services.

Clare McGorrian is Intake Supervising Attorney for South Coastal Counties Legal Services. In this role, she works with SCCLS leadership and staff to ensure access to civil legal services for low-income residents of Southeastern Massachusetts. Clare develops systems for intake, advice and referral, trains and supervises intake staff, and oversees provision of intake-related services throughout SCCLS. Clare joined SCCLS in September 2018, as the first hire in the newly created Intake Supervising Attorney position.

Prior to joining SCCLS Clare was a Senior Staff Attorney with the non-profit Health Law Advocates, where she represented individual clients, participated in impact litigation, and advocated for policy change. Clare also spent several years running a solo practice focused on health and disability benefit matters. Clare has a J.D. from Northeastern University School of Law and a B.A. from Harvard College.

Ericka is the supervising consumer attorney at SCCLS. Sowing the seeds of the consumer unit, her practice currently involves advising and representing clients in a variety of consumer matters including debt collection, bankruptcy, and credit reporting. She is a graduate of the University of South Carolina – Beaufort and Roger Williams School of Law. She is barred in Massachusetts, New York, and New Hampshire. She is a native of Hilton Head Island, South Carolina.

Colleen Hibbert-Kapler is the Elder Program Group Leader working in the Fall River Law Office covering northern Bristol County working in the areas of housing, state and federal benefits, and elder outreach.  Prior to coming to SCCLS, Colleen was an attorney at the Cambridge and Somerville office of Greater Boston Legal Services as a public service fellow and then AmeriCorps attorney through AmeriCorps Legal Advocates of Massachusetts where she provided direct client service and community advocacy and training on housing and state and federal benefits cases. Colleen is a graduate of Fordham Law School and Wellesley College. While in law school she interned at the Fordham Mediation Clinic in Manhattan Small Claims Court as a mediator and in the New York City Council’s Office of General Counsel, and clerked at the Tennessee Justice Center fighting for appropriate state and federal benefits and medical coverage for disabled and impoverished children. Throughout law school she also held leadership positions with the Phi Alpha Delta Law Fraternity and Habitat for Humanity student group focusing on increasing access to affordable and decent housing and was awarded the Archibald R. Murray Public Service award for her efforts.

Megan Burns is an attorney at SCCLS’ Fall River office. Her practice focuses on housing and benefits. Prior to joining SCCLS, Megan worked as an Assistant District Attorney in Bronx, New York for three years. She is a graduate of Christopher Newport University and Boston College Law School.

Court Diercks is an Attorney in the Fall River office. They received their J.D. from Boston University School of Law and their B.S. in Criminology and Philosophy from Florida State University.

Emily Flaherty is an Attorney at the Fall River Office. Emily is a graduate of Suffolk University Law School and has a B.S. in Business Administration from the University of Vermont. While in law school, Emily interned at the Women’s Bar Foundation, where she developed her love of legal aid work and family law. She also served as a Judicial Intern at the Barnstable Superior Court. Additionally, Emily was a S.J.C. Rule 3:03 Student Attorney and member of the Suffolk Defenders Program in her final year of law school, where she was able to represent clients in criminal matters before the Boston Municipal Court. Emily joined SCCLS in August 2022, and her primary practice area is in family law.

Aileen Konanez is an attorney at SCCLS’ Fall River Office. Her practice focuses on housing and benefits matters. Prior to joining SCCLS, Aileen was an attorney at the Victim Rights Law Center where she represented survivors of sexual violence and stalking in employment, housing, privacy, and safety matters.  She is a graduate of York College and Roger Williams University School of Law.

Barang Phuk joined SCCLS’s Fall River office in August 2022. Barang speaks Khmer and is a native Cambodian. She is a graduate of Elon University and Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law.

Jeannine Schoos is a Staff Attorney in the Fall River office. In her practice, Jeannine represents survivors of crimes and other harms, specializing in domestic violence and sexual assault. She practices a variety of civil legal matters including housing, safety, privacy, and education. Prior to joining SCCLS, Jeannine was a Staff Attorney at the Victim Rights Law Center (VRLC) and worked exclusively with survivors of sexual assault. Before joining the VRLC, Jeannine served as an AmeriCorps Attorney at SCCLS in the housing unit. Jeannine is a member of the Greater Fall River Domestic Violence Coalition, and on the Board of Directors of South Coast Fair Housing. Jeannine is a graduate of New York University, and the City University of New York School of Law. She is barred in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Virginia, and the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts.

Annika Skansberg (she/her) is a staff attorney at SCCL’s Fall River Office. Her practice involves advising and representing individuals on disability and unemployment benefits and representing older persons in a variety of civil legal matters including housing, public benefits, health care, and consumer issues. Annika received her B.S. in Psychology from the University of Minnesota – Twin Cities, her J.D. from Northeastern University School of Law, and has a Masters in Public Health from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

Lauren Vandemortel is an attorney at SCCLS’ Consumer Unit .  She graduated from Boston University School of Law, where she represented low-income clients in debt collection actions and unemployment appeals.  During law school, Lauren interned with New York Legal Assistance Group’s Consumer Protection Unit and the Center for Public Representation.  Prior to law school, she was a paralegal at civil rights litigation firms in San Francisco and New York City.  She attended Oberlin College.

Jessica Weldon is a staff attorney working in SCCLS’ Fall River office.

Ann Carmody is a JD who provides assistance to residents facing housing instability or eviction. She works from SCCLS’ Fall River office. Previously, Ann has worked in the Criminal Defense Division of The Legal Aid Society of NYC based both on Rikers Island and in Manhattan County. During law school, Ann also worked as an intern for The Southern Poverty Law Center based in Ocilla, Georgia, three hours southwest of Atlanta. Ann received her JD from Roger Williams University School of Law in Providence, Rhode Island. A Bronx native, Ann earned her BA in Art History (minor, German Studies) from Fordham University in NYC.

Emery Acosta is a Paralegal in the Fall River office focused on ensuring eligible applicants are connected with appropriate services.

Theresa joined South Coastal Counties Legal Services in the Fall River office as a temporary Paralegal through the COVID Eviction Legal Help Project. She is a graduate of Fisher Junior College where she graduated with Highest Honors with an Associates in Science-Legal Studies Degree. Prior to joining SCCLS, she was a foreclosure Paralegal for eight years. Her prior experience involves several other areas of law, such as criminal, evictions, domestic, personal injury, workers’ compensation and social security disability.

Yanitza Garcia is a Paralegal with a primary focus on our CLAVC program (The Civil Legal Aid for Victims of Crime). Yanitza performs intakes and assess eligibility of clients for the program helping victims of crime throughout our service area with their related civil legal problems — including . Previously Yanitza has worked as an advocate Specialist in the Social Services field providing information assistance and support to individuals with disabilitiesfamily law, housing, immigration, disability rights, child welfare, education, consumer, identity theft, employment rights and public benefits. Yanitza also assisted individuals with disabilities in providing information on five core services which are advocacy, information and referral, peer counseling, transition and prevention (focusing on transitioning people out of nursing homes/institutions into the community. Additionally Yanitza assisted in the community youth program with transition into adulthood such as, work readiness training, internship opportunities, and life skills training). Yanitza attended the Sacred Heart University in San Juan Puerto Rico, with a mayor focus in Business Administration.  Yanitza works from the SCCLS Fall River Office

Lulu Kodreanu is a Paralegal in the Fall River office focused on ensuring eligible applicants are connected with appropriate services.

Dineira Paulino is a Paralegal in the Fall River office focused on ensuring eligible applicants are connected with appropriate services.

Wyntter Silva is a Paralegal in the Fall River Law  office focused on ensuring eligible applicants are connected with appropriate services.

Patricia Valente is a Paralegal in the Fall River office focused on ensuring eligible applicants are connected with appropriate services.

Lolly Pinto is an Administrative Secretary in the Fall River Office. Hired as legal secretary in the New Bedford Law Office in 1983. Lolly speaks Portuguese and was born in Portugal. She enjoys her status as the longest running employee in the program.

Jackie Harrington is an AmeriCorps Legal Advocate in the Fall River Office. She will primarily focus on elder law but hopes to be exposed to a range practice groups throughout her service year. Jackie graduated from College of the Holy Cross in the spring of 2022 with a double major in history and political science and a concentration in peace and conflict studies. Throughout her time at Holy Cross, Jackie engaged in a variety of volunteer efforts aimed at addressing inequities in low income communities. In her senior year, she interned with the Honorable Timothy Hillman of the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts and gained practical knowledge of the judicial system. She is interested in a career in public interest law and aims to acquire familiarity with both the mechanisms of the law and the needs of the communities she serves.