KIDS LEGAL Staff

Sara Anne Meerse, Directing Attorney

Sara Meerse is the directing attorney of KIDS LEGAL, a statewide project at Pine Tree Legal Assistance, and represents children and their families in matters affecting low income children and youths in Maine, provides consultations to professionals within Maine who are working with low-income children, and conducts various trainings throughout the state on issues affecting low-income children in Maine. She graduated magna cum laude from the University at Buffalo Schools of Law and Social Work, with her JD and MSW, concentrating in child welfare/family systems and education law. She began her legal career as one of 25 national Skadden Fellows selected in 1996 at Pine Tree Legal Assistance in Aroostook County, where she provided advocacy on behalf of families with children in education, housing and medical matters. When her fellowship ended, she continued to work at Pine Tree Legal Assistance as a staff attorney in the Bangor and Portland offices providing general legal services to low-income Mainers in housing, public benefits, family law, and education matters. She has been a rostered guardian ad litem since 2001.

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Rachel S. Violette, Staff Attorney

Rachel Violette is a staff attorney of KIDS LEGAL, representng children and their families in matters affecting low income children and youths in Maine. Rachel received a J.D. from the University of Maine School of Law in 2007, and graduated from the University of Southern Maine summa cum laude with a B.A. in criminology. During her time at the University of Southern Maine, Rachel volunteered and interned at the Volunteer Lawyer’s Project. While at the University of Maine School of Law, Rachel worked as a student attorney at the Cumberland Legal Aid Clinic and was the Treasurer of the Women’s Law Association. During her spare time, Rachel volunteers for the Maine Women's Lobby. Rachel is also a rostered guardian ad litem.

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Frank D'Alessandro, Southern Regional Directing Attorney of Pine Tree Legal Assistance

As Southern Regional Directing Attorney, Frank D'Alessandro supervises the legal staff of the Pine Tree Legal Assistance offices in Portland, Lewiston, Augusta and the York County Shelter. He maintains an active case load, representing low-income clients for KIDS LEGAL and the broader client community for Pine Tree Legal Assistance in education, juvenile, housing, family law, MaineCare and public benefit matters. He started at Pine Tree Legal Assistance in 1985 in Aroostook County and moved to the Portland Office in 1995. He has been a staff attorney in the Native American Unit and the Family Law Unit. He specializes in LEP issues. He graduated from the University of Denver College of Law and earned his BS from Villanova University. He serves on several community boards and task forces.

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Lucy Rhodes, KIDS Paralegal

Lucy Rhodes has a professional background as a magazine editor and also has a history of volunteer advocacy, including being a VISTA volunteer, literacy tutor, foster parent, and telephone relay communication assistant for deaf and hearing impaired. Upon moving to Maine in 1999, Lucy opted to change her career and joined Pine Tree Legal as a family law legal assistant. After a brief hiatus at a law firm in 2003, she returned to legal services in September 2004 to be the statewide KIDS LEGAL paralegal.