Help ASB Celebrate National Pro Bono Week October 25-31
The American Bar Association has designated the week of October 25-31, 2009 as National Pro Bono Week and the Alabama State Bar is coordinating the planning statewide. President J. Mark White of Birmingham appointed a Pro Bono Celebration Task Force chaired by 2009-10 President-elect Alyce M. Spruell of Tuscaloosa and includes the following members:
Cassandra A. Agee (Miles Law School) |
Cassandra W. Adams (Cumberland School of Law) |
Jeffrey Baker (Jones School of Law) |
Robert Newell Bailey, II, Huntsville |
Lisa Borden, Birmingham |
Jessica P. Davis, Birmingham |
Roy C. Dumas, Montgomery |
Edward A. Hosp, Birmingham |
Emily C. Marks, Montgomery |
Kelli J. Hogue-Mauro, Birmingham |
Phil D. Mitchell, Decatur |
Joseph A. Morris, Dothan |
David R. Peeler, Mobile |
Richard J.R. Raleigh, Jr., Huntsville |
Jeanne Dowdle Rasco, Talladega |
Hon. Brenda S. Stedham, Anniston |
Brian Strength, Tuskegee |
Allen L. Tapley (Legal Services Alabama) |
James B. Terrell, Birmingham |
Gordon Warren (Birmingham School of Law) |
Tara D. Williams (Univ. of Alabama School of Law) |
The task force will be assisted by pro bono director liaisons Blakely Davis (Mobile VLP Program), Debra Jenkins (Birmingham VLP Program) and Lee Ann Pasker (Madison County VLP Program). The task force has already begun work on creating a Web site, producing broadcast messages about how lawyers help the poor and disadvantaged and creating a special logo to commemorate the celebration.
Timing is everything
The confluence of two circumstances makes this timing ideal: the increasing need for pro bono services as economic conditions worsen, and the unprecedented response of attorneys to meet this need. Although national in breadth, this celebration provides an opportunity for the Alabama State Bar to commemorate the contributions of ASB members and to recruit additional volunteers to meet the growing demand through the Volunteer Lawyers Program. Together, local bars in each of the state's 41 judicial circuits are being asked to showcase projects that demonstrate the great difference that pro bono lawyers make everyday as they render service to our communities and to the clients whom they serve. Examples of some activities that can be conducted are:
- Deliver a speech about the importance of pro bono (to a community service organization such as Rotary, Kiwanis, etc.);
- Law schools can conduct a legal aid clinic;
- Get the mayor to issue a proclamation;
- Hold a recruiting drive to enlist members for the ASB VLP Program or a local program;
- Schedule appearances on local TV or radio stations to discuss how Alabama lawyers render pro bono service;
- Organize a conference or town hall-style meeting and invite the public to discuss legal needs in the community and ways the local bar can help;
- Set up a display table in the courthouse and distribute ASB public information pamphlets or information about legal aid; or
- Ask the judiciary to participate.
Use your imagination
Ideas for additional activities are only limited by your imagination. The National Celebration of Pro Bono will highlight the ongoing efforts by so many in the legal community who work tirelessly throughout the year to meet the legal needs of people who are poor. Most importantly, the celebration will draw even more attorneys into the pro bono community, increasing the profession's ability to meet one of our greatest responsibilities: providing access to justice for Americans living on the social margins.
We have much to celebrate, and much more to do. To find out how you can help, contact Linda Lund, director of the Volunteer Lawyers Program, at linda.lund@alabar.org.
