After 41 years of fighting for WNC, legal aid, Pisgah Legal's Jim Barrett is retiring

ASHEVILLE - Winning legal battles against landlords who refused to fix dilapidated, rodent infested homes, helping to establish the first minimum housing code in Buncombe County and advocating for the continued access to legal aid for all low-income people in 18 counties in Western North Carolina.

These are just a few of Jim Barrett's accomplishments during his tenure as executive director of Pisgah Legal Services, a legal aid nonprofit located at 62 Charlotte St. But Barrett remains humble — saying that he "doesn't like the attention."

Now, after 41 years of seeking justice with free legal assistance for the low-income people of Western North Carolina, Barrett is retiring in early August.

"I'm lucky to get paid to do something as meaningful as this," Barrett said.

Founded in 1978, Barrett joined the then small legal aid nonprofit as a legal fellow in 1983, a landing spot he said he earned with "great luck."

One of his more memorable early career cases was an eviction filed by the Housing Authority of the city of Asheville against a woman who was raising her grandchild and didn't have the proper Department of Social Services documentation. It's a case that he resolved with a phone call.

"She was doing the world a favor by raising her grandkid," Barrett said. "It's just ridiculous that you need a lawyer to deal with that."

Stories such as this one aren't uncommon. Indeed, many have been captured by local media. In 1991, Green Line News reported on Barrett's defense of a tenant who was facing unfair housing conditions in a local trailer park — a park the legal aid nonprofit had received 45 complaints about in two years.

The hope is that many would be deterred by Pisgah Legal's advocacy, he said.

"Think of all the bad actors we might have deterred," he said.

'Incredible: in the true sense of that word'

As an attorney, Barrett fought for low-income people experiencing unfair housing conditions, discrimination, domestic abuse and unjust evictions for nine years, until becoming executive director in 1993. The job then became one of working out the "jigsaw puzzle" of finding and maintaining funding for Pisgah Legal.

Barrett says that while he was a "pretty good lawyer," he found his true calling when he was able to advocate and raise money for more lawyers. His advocacy for Pisgah Legal's growth may be one of his lasting accomplishments.

Since joining Pisgah Legal, the nonprofit has grown from around 15 staffers to over 130 in 18 counties. Of the full-time staff, 35 are attorneys who provide free legal assistance alongside 250 active volunteer attorneys.

"When I became director, I was determined to not have layoffs, not to wonder if we are going to pay raises to retain staff so that we could keep people who knew what they were doing," Barrett said. "Because low income people deserve competent representation."

His successor said there "really is no stepping into his shoes."

"He's had such a remarkable career and legacy," said Jackie Kiger, Pisgah Legal's Chief Operations Officer and recently announced incoming executive director. Kiger expressed her admiration for Barrett's leadership, humility and advocacy that shows his deep "care and compassion for the people of Western North Carolina."

Though the nonprofit has experienced four or five periods when funding was cut by "hundreds of $100,000s," Pisgah Legal has only once had lay-offs during his tenure, Barrett said. In 2017, when the nonprofit lost funding after the state made cuts to one of its sources, they had to let go of six employees. By the end of the year, they had rehired three of them.

"Jim's work here for the past four decades is incredible - in the true sense of that word," Kiger said.

And, though he might not like the attention, Barrett's getting it anyway.

Around 400 people attended his retirement bash on July 18 and the Buncombe County Commission proclaimed Aug. 2, his last day on the job, "Jim Barrett Day." A July 5 letter from Attorney General Josh Stein came with a note of "Well done, Jim!"

North Carolina District 49 Senator Julie Mayfield said he has done the "hard, hard work" of piecing together the resources to provide WNC's legal aid resources.

"He and PLS are deservedly well respected and much loved, and I am grateful to him for his service to our community," Mayfield told the Citizen Times.

For Barrett, he points back to the community for their success.

"I feel like it wasn't my doing so much: It was everybody that helped us," Barrett said.

'Why I picked this time to retire'

In his time at Pisgah Legal, Barrett said he thinks "we're putting a dent in poverty" but the economic forces, such as the lack of housing in the area, are "way bigger" than their 130 staff can handle alone. He still wonders why the nonprofit, which is dedicated to helping people escape poverty, doesn't receive government funding.

"You would think that it wouldn't be a political football to stop child abuse and domestic violence," Barrett said.

As for what's next, Barrett said he plans to focus on his garden, maybe take more naps when he can, and he looks forward to "having enough energy to read a book without going to sleep after 10 pages." He also plans to continue to volunteer in the community.

While his father started a Habitat for Humanity chapter in his retirement and his mother, 94, still volunteers for local events, Barrett joked that he was unsure if he could "match their success rate" in retirement. Right now, he plans on shifting his focus to the 2024 election — it's actually why he's chosen to retire at this time.

"I want to volunteer in the election. That's why I picked this time to retire," Barrett said. "We need younger people to vote."

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Will Hofmann is the Growth and Development Reporter for the Asheville Citizen Times, part of the USA Today Network. Got a tip? Email him at WHofmann@citizentimes.com. Please help support this type of journalism with a subscription to the Citizen Tim es.

This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: After 41 years of fighting for WNC, legal aid, Pisgah Legal's Jim Barrett is retiring