Super Lawyers, part of Thomson Reuters, has announced the seven recipients of its second annual Pro Bono Awards. The awards recognize legal professionals, students, firms and organizations that exemplify excellence in the practice of law by offering volunteer legal services to the poor, disadvantaged or the exploited.

The 2012 Pro Bono Recipients are:

• Steven M. Lieberman, partner, Rothwell, Figg, Ernst & Manbeck, P.C., Washington, D.C.
• Pearl Law Group, San Francisco
• J. Robert Linneman, partner, Santen & Hughes, Cincinnati
• Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld, Washington, D.C.
• West Virginia University College of Law, Clinical Law program, Morgantown, W.Va.
• Jennifer Cunha, law student, University of Wisconsin Law School, Madison, Wis.
• Pittsburgh Pro Bono Partnership, Pittsburgh

“From Steven Lieberman’s efforts to serve the Jewish community in Washington, D.C. and beyond, to the Pearl Law Group’s work representing immigrant populations, the attorneys, firms and programs receiving these awards demonstrate excellence in pro bono practice and inspire the entire legal profession,” said Julie Gleason, Director of Research for Super Lawyers. “These honorees underscore the value of pro bono service to the entire legal profession, and one of the central tenets of law, which is equal access to justice.”

Honorees will be featured in the Pro Bono Digital Edition of Super Lawyers Magazine.

For more information about this year’s honorees, and to nominate an attorney or group for the 2013 Pro Bono Awards, visit http://www.superlawyers.com/probono.

In response to the report of the Legal Services Corporation (LSC) Pro Bono Task Force (PBTF), LSC has scheduled rulemaking workshops in Denver, Colo. (July 23, 2013), and in Washington, DC (Sept. 17, 2013).  LSC will select workshop panelists from among the expressions of interest received by the published deadlines.

Recommendation 2 of the PBTF addresses LSC’s Private Attorney Involvement (PAI) regulation, 45 CFR part 1614, which requires grantees to expend an amount equivalent to 12.5 percent of their basic field grants to encourage the involvement of private attorneys in the delivery of legal assistance to eligible clients.

These workshops will involve an open discussion among LSC, panelists, and public participants regarding the three topics identified by the PBTF for possible revisions to the PAI regulation.  The topics and items for discussion appear in the Federal Register Notice at https://federalregister.gov/a/2013-11071.

Deadlines for Comments and Expressions of Interest in Participating as a Panelist:

Individuals applying to participate as panelists must submit their expressions of interest by:

• 5:30 p.m. EDT on June 25 for the first workshop, and
• 5:30 p.m. EDT August 20 for the second workshop. 

Those deadlines also apply for written comments submitted for consideration at each workshop regarding the PAI regulation or the topics for discussion.

Any other comments regarding revisions to the PAI rule must be received by 5:30 p.m. EDT on October 17, 2013.

Advanced Registration for Public Participation:

Individuals who are not panelists may speak in the public comment period of a workshop. LSC requests that interested individuals register 14 days before the relevant workshops according to the instructions on the LSC website.

Contact information, and additional details and materials, are available on the LSC website at http://www.lsc.gov/about/regulations-rules/open-rulemaking/information-rulemaking-workshops-re-lscs-private-attorney.

 

Pennsylvania Supreme Court Chief Justice Ronald D. Castille will offer remarks along with other judges, low-income Pennsylvanians and the lawyers who help them, and community and business leaders at a Pennsylvania Senate Judiciary Committee Public Hearing, “Civil Legal Representation of the Indigent: Have We Achieved Equal Access to Justice?” on Thursday, May 23 at 9:30 a.m. at the Philadelphia Bar Association, 1101 Market Street, in the 11th floor Conference Center.  Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Stewart J. Greenleaf (R-Montgomery, Bucks) will chair the hearing.

Chief Justice Castille is the Honorary Chair of a broad-based “Civil Legal Justice Coalition” created to work collaboratively on exploring strategies to improve access to justice.  The 13,000-member Philadelphia Bar Association and 28,000-member Pennsylvania Bar Association are among the organizations that are part of the Coalition.

Among those expected to testify at the hearing are a number of low-income clients, and key stakeholders including: Kathleen D. Wilkinson, Chancellor, Philadelphia Bar Association; Sister Mary Scullion, Co-Founder, Project HOME; Dabney Miller, Associate Director, Women’s Law Project; Hon. Margherita Patti-Worthington, President Judge, Court of Common Pleas, Monroe County; Hon. Margaret T. Murphy, Supervising Judge, Family Division, Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas; Hon. Annette M. Rizzo, Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas; and Catherine C. Carr, Executive Director, Community Legal Services of Philadelphia.

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the landmark decision Gideon v. Wainwright establishing the right to counsel for the indigent in serious criminal matters.  Few such Gideon-type rights have been recognized in civil matters where basic human needs such as shelter, safety, health, sustenance and child custody are at stake.  Meanwhile, the demand has surged for civil legal representation on behalf of the poor, whose ranks have swelled following one of the worst recessions in the nation’s history.  

Those needs have been largely unmet due to a “perfect storm” of sustained, repeated and severe cuts in federal and state funding and a tight private fund-raising environment that have resulted in layoffs of legal aid staff and office closings.  The gulf between client need and availability of legal help has been termed “the civil justice gap.”

State and national studies estimate that a staggering 80 percent of critical legal needs of low-income people go unmet due to grossly insufficient funding and support.

The purpose of the public hearing is to explore and create awareness of the current state and scope of the unmet need for civil legal services by low-income Pennsylvanians confronting legal problems involving basic human needs.  

Three hearings on the issue are being held by the Senate Judiciary Committee.  The first hearing was held on May 7 in Harrisburg.  Video and audio recordings of the May 7 hearing are available on the website of the Senate Judiciary Committee. More information, including a complete witness list and copies of the testimony presented at the hearing are available  at the Civil Gideon Corner of the Philadelphia Bar Association's website at http://www.philadelphiabar.org/page/CivilGideon?appNum=1.

A future hearing will be scheduled in Pittsburgh.

Public interest agency clients with serious legal problems impacting their basic human needs and those of their families – individuals without access to an attorney or who otherwise could not have been helped without access to an attorney – will share their personal stories of struggle at the hearing.

Additionally, key stakeholders will testify regarding the legal community’s ethical obligations to the civil side of justice and discuss the adverse impact of the growing civil justice gap, including the economic and social harm (direct and/or indirect) when critical legal needs are unmet as well as the economic and social benefits to the community when such needs are met.

It is anticipated that the hearing will elicit information about how the substantial number of unrepresented litigants in civil legal matters adversely impacts the quality of justice for all parties in Pennsylvania courts, increases the amount of litigation and undermines the rule of law.  

Additionally, the hearing is expected to explore how the unmet need for civil legal assistance is profoundly impacting vulnerable Pennsylvanians and costing taxpayers millions of dollars by increasing homelessness, failing to prevent domestic violence and increasing poverty.   In these difficult economic times, current funding is inadequate to meet the critical need for civil legal assistance in the state.

“Equal access to legal representation is one of the most critical justice issues we face today,” said Senator Greenleaf.  “I am pleased to see the Commonwealth’s legal community come together to offer their insights and recommendations to the Judiciary Committee on this important matter.  In recent years, we have seen the number of individuals seeking assistance increase and funding disappear due to the economic downturn.  I would like to thank the Bar Associations of Philadelphia and Pennsylvania for their dedicated work for equal access to justice for all Pennsylvanians.”

Agenda of Hearing

 

The Mazzoni Center in Philadelphia is currently looking for attorney volunteers to staff the Drop In Legal Clinic at the 2013 Philadelphia Trans-Health Conference. The clinic will take place on Saturday, June 15, 2013, from 9:00 am-12:00 pm at the Pennsylvania Convention Center in Philadelphia.

Run by Mazzoni Center Legal Services, the clinic will be offering drop-in legal assistance to those attending the conference, primarily transgender people and their families. They are seeking as great a diversity of practice areas as possible, but know that volunteers with expertise in discrimination matters, family law, or advanced planning will be in highest demand.

Mazzoni Center Legal Services provides direct legal assistance to low-income lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) individuals in a wide range of areas, including:

• elder issues
• employment discrimination/harassment
• family law/parenting issues
• name changes for transgender individuals
• relationship recognition & dissolution
• wills/powers of attorney
• youth concerns. 

The conference is the largest of its kind and should be attended by over 3,000 people this year.

If you have any questions or would like to volunteer some of your time, please contact Staff Attorney Barrett Marshall, at bmarshall@mazzonicenter.org.

This post from The PBEye, the blog of the Pro Bono Institute reports on how transactional or business-related pro bono projects can offer meaningful long-term solutions for individuals, families, and communities in need.

Some ideas from a recent webinar which presented a number of transactional (non-litigation/business-related) pro bono projects.

Read the Post - Pro Bono Isn’t Just For Litigators!

The 2013 Pennsylvania Bar Association Pro Bono Conference, entitled Spring Into Pro Bono Action, will be held via simulcast around the state on May 14, 2013. 

Earn six continuing legal education credits during the statewide pro bono conference and CLE program, which is sponsored by the PBA Legal Services to the Public Committee and the Pennsylvania Bar Institute (PBI). 

Chief Justice of Pennsylvania Ronald D. Castille will be participating, the May 14 program which highlights ways lawyers can improve access to justice by rendering legal service for the public good. The program will be presented in live from Philadelphia and Mencnaicsburg, and simulcast to multiple locations around Pennsylvania.

More information and register on the PBI website. 

Event Brochure 

More about the PBA Pro Bono program

Mary R. Bates, chief legal officer of the Washington City Mission, will receive the Louis J. Goffman Award from the Pennsylvania Bar Foundation for outstanding pro bono support and service.

The award, named for a late Pennsylvania Bar Association president, will be presented May 8, 2013 during the Pennsylvania Bar Association Annual Meeting awards luncheon at the Wyndham Grand Pittsburgh Downtown, Pittsburgh.

The Washington City Mission, a non-denominational, Christian, social services organization, provides shelters for men and women, offers long-term restorative programs for residents and operates five thrift stores. Bates founded The Legal Clinic ("TLC") to provide legal assistance to the mission's residents. Bates and a group of part-time volunteers advocate for shelter residents and work with state and local law enforcement, state and local officials, judges, lawyers, law school and legal aid organizations to expand the safety net for the homeless, poor and needy. The clinic serves more than 90 homeless individuals each year.

Bates is a chair of the Washington County Bar Association Pro Bono and Lawyer Referral Service Committee. She organized a panel of pro bono lawyers for the mission's homeless veterans and hosted a Pro Bono Law Day at the mission. Bates also presented a continuing legal education program for lawyers that spotlighted the call for pro bono service in the Pennsylvania Rules of Professional Conduct, and she recently spearheaded the inaugural Washington County Bar Association Pro Bono Attorney of the Year Award.

Bates is a chapter leader of the Christian Legal Society of Southwestern Pennsylvania.

Bates previously served as treasurer and vice chair of the Washington City Mission's Board of Directors.

A Pittsburgh native, Bates earned an undergraduate degree from Duquesne University, a master's degree from Carnegie Mellon University and a juris doctorate from the Duquesne University School of Law.

The Pennsylvania Bar Foundation, the charitable affiliate of the Pennsylvania Bar Association, improves the public's understanding of the law and its appreciation of democracy and strives to ensure that citizens, particularly Pennsylvania's most vulnerable, have full access to our legal system. The foundation accomplishes its mission by making grants, seeking financial support from individuals and organizations both within and outside of the legal community, and encouraging bar members to donate their time, talent and expertise in service to the public.

Low-income Pennsylvanians and the lawyers who help them will testify along with community and business leaders and judges at a Pennsylvania Senate Judiciary Committee Public Hearing, “Civil Legal Representation of the Indigent: Have We Achieved Equal Access to Justice?” on Tuesday, May 7 at 9:30 a.m. in Room 8E-B in the East Wing of the Capitol Building in Harrisburg.  Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Stewart J. Greenleaf (R-Montgomery, Bucks) will chair the hearing.

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the landmark decision Gideon v. Wainwright establishing the right to counsel for the indigent in serious criminal matters.  Few such Gideon-type rights have been recognized in civil matters where basic human needs such as shelter, safety, health, sustenance and child custody are at stake.  Meanwhile, the demand has surged for civil legal representation on behalf of the poor, whose ranks have swelled following one of the worst recessions in the nation’s history.  Those needs have been largely unmet due to a “perfect storm” of sustained, repeated and severe cuts in federal and state funding and a tight private fund-raising environment that have resulted in layoffs of legal aid staff and office closings.  The gulf between client need and availability of legal help has been termed “the civil justice gap.”

State and national studies estimate that a staggering 80 percent of critical legal needs of low-income people go unmet due to grossly insufficient funding and support.

The purpose of the public hearing is to explore and create awareness of the current state and scope of the unmet need for civil legal services by low-income Pennsylvanians confronting legal problems involving basic human needs.

Public interest agency clients with serious legal problems impacting their basic human needs and those of their families – individuals without access to an attorney or who otherwise could not have been helped without access to an attorney – will share their personal stories of struggle at the hearing. 

Additionally, key stakeholders will testify regarding the legal community’s ethical obligations to the civil side of justice and discuss the adverse impact of the growing civil justice gap, including the economic and social harm (direct and/or indirect) when critical legal needs are unmet as well as the economic and social benefits to the community when such needs are met.

It is anticipated that the hearing will elicit information about how the substantial number of unrepresented litigants in civil legal matters adversely impacts the quality of justice for all parties in Pennsylvania courts, increases the amount of litigation and undermines the rule of law. 

Additionally, the hearing is expected to explore how the unmet need for civil legal assistance is profoundly impacting vulnerable Pennsylvanians and costing taxpayers millions of dollars by increasing homelessness, failing to prevent domestic violence and increasing poverty.   In these difficult economic times, current funding is inadequate to meet the critical need for civil legal assistance in the state.

“Equal access to legal representation is one of the most critical justice issues we face today,” said Senator Greenleaf.  “I am pleased to see the Commonwealth’s legal community come together to offer their insights and recommendations to the Judiciary Committee on this important matter.  In recent years, we have seen the number of individuals seeking assistance increase and funding disappear due to the economic downturn.  I would like to thank the Bar Associations of Philadelphia and Pennsylvania for their dedicated work for equal access to justice for all Pennsylvanians.”

The 13,000-member Philadelphia Bar Association and 28,000-member Pennsylvania Bar Association are among the organizations that are part of a broad-based “Civil Legal Justice Coalition” created to work collaboratively on exploring strategies to improve access to justice.  The Honorary Chair of the Coalition is Pennsylvania Supreme Court Chief Justice Ronald D. Castille.

Among those expected to testify at the hearing are a number of low-income clients, and key stakeholders including Thomas G. Wilkinson, President, Pennsylvania Bar Association; Samuel W. Milkes, Executive Director, Pennsylvania Legal Aid Network, Inc. (PLAN, Inc.); Hon. Chester T. Harhut, Judge, Lackawanna County Court of Common Pleas, and President of the PLAN, Inc. Board of Directors; Hon. Todd A. Hoover, President Judge, Dauphin County Court of Common Pleas; Rhodia D. Thomas, Executive Director of MidPenn Legal Services; Bill Rothman, Founder, RSR Realtors; Andrew F. Susko, Chair, Pennsylvania Interest On Lawyers’ Trust Accounts (IOLTA) Board; and Elaine Strokoff, Executive Director, Downtown Daily Bread.

A second Senate Judiciary Committee Public Hearing on Civil Legal Representation of the Indigent will be held on Thursday, May 23 at 9:30 a.m. at the Philadelphia Bar Association, 1101 Market Street, in the 11th floor Conference Center.

 

 

Every year on May 1, we observe Law Day, the national celebration of our country’s commitment to the rule of law. This year’s theme, “Realizing the Dream: Equality for All,” speaks directly to the mission of the Legal Services Corporation to ensure equality in something essential to our democracy—access to justice. At its founding, LSC was called upon by Congress to help “provide equal access to the system of justice in our nation” and “to provide high quality legal assistance to those who would be otherwise unable to afford adequate legal counsel.”

In the face of growing poverty and declining funding, our nation’s realization of these goals is in peril. As we have worked to increase funding support for LSC, we have also encouraged the private bar to do more. At national forums on civil legal assistance that we have convened across the country in conjunction with our quarterly board meetings, we have urged greater use of pro bono.

LSC’s national pro bono task force is working to find ways to expand the ranks of lawyers who are willing and able to do pro bono work and to better match those lawyers with the growing unmet civil legal needs of low-income Americans. LSC has also led the effort to broaden and improve the use of technology to help enhance pro bono and to better assist those individuals who must represent themselves as they navigate the civil court system.

On the occasion of Law Day, we at LSC, and members of the bar across the country, are reminded of our special responsibility to see to it that a justice system accessible to all is preserved and passed down to generations of Americans to come. Our ability to meet the needs of our low-income citizens is essential to their continued confidence in our civil justice system. For as Dr. King famously observed 50 years ago, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”

Original Content

The American Bar Association Standing Committee on Pro Bono and Public Service established the ABA Outstanding Medical-Legal Partnership Pro Bono Advocacy Award.

The recipient of the 2013 ABA Outstanding Medical-Legal Partnership Pro Bono Advocacy Award is Maureen Darrow of MetLife and was presented at the Annual Medical-Legal Partnership Summit in Bethesda, MD on April 12, 2013.

See this post on the ABA Center for Pro Bono Exchange blog for more information.

American Bar Association Medical-Legal Partnerships Pro Bono Support Project

Vice President Joe Biden, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, Jr., and other senior administration figures, chief justices of several states, and leaders of the legal profession from across the country gathered at the White House on April 16, 2013 for a program entitled A White House Forum on Increasing Access to Justice. It was the second such event that the Legal Services Corporation has co-hosted with the White House.

Biden, who was introduced by White House Senior Advisor Valerie Jarrett, argued that equal access to legal representation is "the single right that makes every other right viable."  He also shared the story of his early career decision to leave a large law firm and become a public defender.

LSC Board Chairman John G. Levi struck a similar chord in his opening remarks, noting that we must all work toward a full realization of the equal access to justice embodied in our values and laws. 

Attorney General Holder also spoke, discussing various equal access initiatives at the Justice Department, including the Access to Justice Initiative, a new office he launched three years ago "to help spearhead national efforts to ensure that basic legal services are available, affordable and accessible for everyone in this country – regardless of status or income."

The forum also featured two panels, one on pro bono and the second on the use of technology to help improve pro bono and to better assist those who must represent themselves as they navigate the court system.

The pro bono panel, moderated by Harvard Law School Dean and LSC Vice Chair Martha Minow, featured as Panelists:

• Laurel Bellows, American Bar Association president;
• Robert J. Grey, Jr., partner at Hunton & Williams, LSC board member and co-chair of the LSC Pro Bono Implementation Task Force; 
• Heather Hodges, senior attorney at Neighborhood Legal Services Program of DC;
• Sheila Hubbard, executive director of the Volunteer Lawyers Project of the Boston Bar Association; 
• Chief Justice Wallace Jefferson, Texas Supreme Court,
• Laura Klein, pro bono program manager at the U.S. Department of Justice; 
• Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman, New York Court of Appeals;
• Chief Justice Chase Rogers, Connecticut Supreme Court. 

Below is a video recording of that panel: 
 

Additional information, including video of the technology panel and video of Attorney General Holder's remarks, is available on the LSC Website.

During this 50th anniversary year of the landmark Gideon v. Wainwright decision establishing the right to counsel for the indigent in criminal trial matters, Chief Justice of Pennsylvania Ronald D. Castille is calling on lawyers to support the Commonwealth’s civil legal aid programs by providing pro bono service through direct representation and financial contributions.

The chief justice noted this anniversary year is the perfect time for lawyers to contemplate the legal community’s ethical obligations to the civil side of justice, where few Gideon-type rights have been recognized.

In a letter to Pennsylvania’s 70,000 registered lawyers, the chief justice joined with Pennsylvania Bar Association (PBA) President Tom Wilkinson to call on attorneys to make a personal commitment to provide pro bono service through direct representation of the poor and financial support of legal aid programs. The reminder of their ethical duty to provide public service is being widely distributed to the legal community by the courts and the PBA.

“Pro bono volunteers provide meaningful time and financial contributions by representing clients who have critical needs, but cannot afford private counsel,” Chief Justice Castille said. “Despite the support of the court and licensing fees, it is the volunteer efforts that still matter. In these times of such great need, pro bono service is more important than ever.”

Chief Justice Castille noted that in each of the last two years every lawyer in Pennsylvania has contributed $35 to civil legal aid through the Interest on Lawyers Trust Accounts (IOLTA) portion of annual licensing fees. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court also has supported civil legal aid by providing new avenues for funding legal services and setting up a loan-forgiveness program of legal services attorneys funded by pro hac vice filing fees.

The Pennsylvania Legal Aid Network (PLAN) is the state’s coordinated system of organizations providing civil legal aid for those with nowhere else to turn.  PLAN, whose programs provide legal assistance and access to the courts for Pennsylvanians whose family income is less than 125 percent of the poverty level, is facing a crisis due to a substantial decrease in funds available for civil legal aid.

Letter from Chief Justice Castille to Pennsylvania Attorneys

The Internal Revenue Service’s Low Income Taxpayer Clinic (LITC) Program Office has issued its first report showing how LITCs provide pro bono legal services to help thousands of low income taxpayers nationwide resolve disputes with the IRS and learn about their taxpayer rights and responsibilities.

“Although the LITC Program has been operating and helping taxpayers since 1999, this is the first time we have compiled a report describing the program’s activities and accomplishments. We are proud to provide this synopsis and to demonstrate how the pro bono representation, education, and advocacy efforts of clinics assist low income taxpayers,” said Nina E. Olson, National Taxpayer Advocate.

“During the first half of 2012, LITCs helped taxpayers secure more than $3.2 million in tax refunds and to eliminate nearly $16.5 million in tax liabilities, penalties and interest,” said William P. Nelson, LITC Program Director.

The LITCs provide free or low-cost assistance to low income taxpayers who have a tax controversy with the IRS, such as an audit or collection matter, and conduct outreach and education to taxpayers who speak English as a second language (ESL). The report provides an overview and history of the LITC Program, discusses the type of work the LITCs perform, and explains how their work helps ensure the fairness and integrity of the tax system.

Although LITCs receive partial funding from the IRS, LITCs, their employees, and their volunteers operate independently from the IRS. The grant program is administered by the Office of the Taxpayer Advocate at the IRS, led by the National Taxpayer Advocate. The program awards matching grants of up to $100,000 per year to qualifying organizations to develop, expand, or maintain a low income taxpayer clinic. Examples of qualifying organizations include:

• Clinical programs at accredited law, business, or accounting schools whose students represent low income taxpayers in tax disputes with the IRS.
• Organizations exempt from tax under Internal Revenue Code Section 501(a) that represent low income taxpayers in tax disputes with the IRS or refer those taxpayers to qualified representatives, or that provide education and outreach for ESL taxpayers.

Low Income Taxpayer Clinic Program Report

Follow the link below to view a video where Allegra Rich, partner at Seyfarth Shaw, which won Law Technology News' award for Most Innovative Use of Technology in a Pro Bono Project, discusses implementing a secure, private extranet for the Kids in Need of Defense program.

Allegra Rich on a Pro Bono Extranet

The Philadelphia Bar Association has received a grant from the American Bar Association's Access to Justice Commission Expansion Project to promote the creation of a new Access to Justice Commission. The grant application was submitted by the Philadelphia Bar Association's Civil Gideon and Access to Justice Task Force.

The Association plans to use the funding to create a broad-based statewide coalition including the Pennsylvania Bar Association and other key stakeholders to work collaboratively on improving access to justice; to plan and conduct a series of statewide public hearings to generate greater public awareness and understanding of the civil justice gap crisis; to identify various solutions to close the justice gap; and to explore whether Pennsylvania should implement an Access to Justice Commission.

The formation of the statewide coalition will be completed in the coming weeks and a series of strategic meetings will be held to explore how an Access to Justice Commission may improve access to justice.

Access to Justice Commissions are formal entities that bring together the highest level of the state's courts, organized bar and other stakeholders to support the expansion of access to civil justice for low-income and disadvantaged people. As of March 15, there were Access to Justice Commissions in 27 states and the District of Columbia. Most of the Commissions were created by the state's Supreme Court.

Access to Justice Commissions have had a major impact in expanding support for self-represented litigants in the courts; increasing state-level funding for civil legal aid; developing new initiatives to increase pro bono services by attorneys; promoting collaboration and coordination among civil legal aid providers; building a commitment to pro bono and support for legal aid among law students and new lawyers; and increasing awareness among legislators and other key decision makers, the bar, the judiciary and the general public about the legal needs of low-income and disadvantaged people and the social and economic benefits of ensuring that they do not go unmet.

The goal of the grants is to expand access to civil justice for low-income people by increasing the number of state-level Access to Justice Commissions, and more broadly, by increasing and strengthening partnerships among the courts, the bar, civil legal aid providers and funders, law schools, legislators, executive officials and other stakeholders. The projects funded include statewide hearings, planning processes, and engagement of Access to Justice staff and consultants. All of the projects funded demonstrated broad support from key stakeholders in the state.

The project is seeking applications for 2013 Innovation Grants to existing Access to Justice Commissions. Applications are due on May 1, 2013. Additional information about 2012 grants and the 2013 Innovation Grant application process is available at americanbar.org under "Grants."

The ABA Access to Justice Commission Expansion Project is administered by the ABA Resource Center for Access to Justice Initiatives. The purpose of the project is to expand the number of state Access to Justice Commissions, strengthen existing Commissions and promote innovative initiatives by Commissions.

Grants were also awarded to the Arizona Foundation for Legal Services and Education, the Supreme Court of Ohio, the Supreme Court of Oklahoma and the Rhode Island Judiciary. The grants were made possible by funding from the Public Welfare Foundation and the Kresge Foundation.

 

Nominations for the 2013 Pennsylvania Bar Association Pro Bono Awards, presented by the PBA Legal Service to the Public Committee, are due to the Pro Bono Office by April 12, 2013.

PBA President Thomas G. Wilkinson Jr. calls on all Pennsylvania lawyers to celebrate pro bono service.  This year marks the 26th year the committee has sought nominees for individual Pro Bono Awards. 

It is the ninth year for both the Judges Award and the Civil Legal Aid Attorney of the Year Award, given, respectively, to a judge and a legal services attorney selected by the committee in recognition of exceptional contributions to improving civil legal aid in the commonwealth. It is the third year for the Pro Bono Partner Award, given to a nonattorney who supports legal services to the needy. 

The awards nominations deadline is April 12, 2013 and the awardees will be announced on Law Day in May. The award winners will be acknowledged and recognized at pro bono events around the state throughout the remainder of the year. 

The Pro Bono Award is your chance to recognize and thank those who have used their talents to help the needy in your county. While the obstacles to equal access to justice continue to mount, the willingness of attorneys to help meet the legal needs of the indigent in their communities is important and inspiring, as well as a hallmark of our great profession. These nominees provide critical services that allow the doors ofjustice to remain open to all citizens.

As you select your nominees for the awards, please keep in mind the following criteria:

• The lawyer or judge practices in Pennsylvania; the partner nominee works in Pennsylvania.
   
• The lawyer, other than the Civil Legal Aid Attorney of the Year nominees, is not employed by an organization that has as its primary purpose the provision of free legal services to the poor. The partner may work for such an organization.
   
• The lawyer or judge has provided direct delivery of legal services or assisted in facilitating the delivery of such service in civil matters, with no expectation of receiving a fee, to a client or client group that does not have the resources to employ compensated counselor has worked to facilitate such effort by other attorneys.
   
• The lawyer or judge has made an outstanding contribution to the provision of legal services to the indigent without charge.
   
• The lawyer, judge and partner nominee has made such contributions primarily through organized pro bono programs, lawyer referral service no-fee panels and legal services programs or has worked with such organizations to improve the delivery of legal services to the poor.
   
• The lawyer's, judge's and partner' s efforts have resulted in the increased access to legal services for low-income people.

This year's nomination form is located on the PBA website and can be completed electronically. You will receive instant confirmation that we have received your nomination after you submit it. 

If there are any questions regarding the Pro Bono Awards, please contact Pro Bono Coordinator David Keller Trevaskis at 800-932-0311 , Ext. 2236, or 717- 571-7414 (cell); or by email to david.trevaskis@pabar.org).

More Information

Nomination Form

 

Nominations for the 2013 Pennsylvania Bar Association Pro Bono Awards, presented by the PBA Legal Service to the Public Committee, are due to the Pro Bono Office by April 12, 2013.

PBA President Thomas G. Wilkinson Jr. calls on all Pennsylvania lawyers to celebrate pro bono service.  This year marks the 26th year the committee has sought nominees for individual Pro Bono Awards. 

It is the ninth year for both the Judges Award and the Civil Legal Aid Attorney of the Year Award, given, respectively, to a judge and a legal services attorney selected by the committee in recognition of exceptional contributions to improving civil legal aid in the commonwealth. It is the third year for the Pro Bono Partner Award, given to a nonattorney who supports legal services to the needy. 

The awards nominations deadline is April 12, 2013 and the awardees will be announced on Law Day in May. The award winners will be acknowledged and recognized at pro bono events around the state throughout the remainder of the year. 

The Pro Bono Award is your chance to recognize and thank those who have used their talents to help the needy in your county. While the obstacles to equal access to justice continue to mount, the willingness of attorneys to help meet the legal needs of the indigent in their communities is important and inspiring, as well as a hallmark of our great profession. These nominees provide critical services that allow the doors ofjustice to remain open to all citizens.

As you select your nominees for the awards, please keep in mind the following criteria:

• The lawyer or judge practices in Pennsylvania; the partner nominee works in Pennsylvania.
   
• The lawyer, other than the Civil Legal Aid Attorney of the Year nominees, is not employed by an organization that has as its primary purpose the provision of free legal services to the poor. The partner may work for such an organization.
   
• The lawyer or judge has provided direct delivery of legal services or assisted in facilitating the delivery of such service in civil matters, with no expectation of receiving a fee, to a client or client group that does not have the resources to employ compensated counselor has worked to facilitate such effort by other attorneys.
   
• The lawyer or judge has made an outstanding contribution to the provision of legal services to the indigent without charge.
   
• The lawyer, judge and partner nominee has made such contributions primarily through organized pro bono programs, lawyer referral service no-fee panels and legal services programs or has worked with such organizations to improve the delivery of legal services to the poor.
   
• The lawyer's, judge's and partner' s efforts have resulted in the increased access to legal services for low-income people.

This year's nomination form is located on the PBA website and can be completed electronically. You will receive instant confirmation that we have received your nomination after you submit it. 

If there are any questions regarding the Pro Bono Awards, please contact Pro Bono Coordinator David Keller Trevaskis (800-932-0311 , Ext. 2236; cel.l: (717) 571-7414; email: david.trevaskis@pabar.org).

More Information

Nomination Form

 

The American Bar Association’s Access to Justice Commission Expansion Project has announced the award of five grants to promote the creation of new Access to Justice Commissions in states where they do not exist. The grants were made possible by funding from the Public Welfare Foundation and the Kresge Foundation.

The grants were awarded to: the Arizona Foundation for Legal Services and Education; the Supreme Court of Ohio; the Supreme Court of Oklahoma; the Philadelphia Bar Association; and the Rhode Island Judiciary.

Access to Justice Commissions are formal entities that bring together the highest level of the state’s courts, organized bar and other stakeholders to support the expansion of access to civil justice for low-income and disadvantaged people. As of March 15, there were Access to Justice Commissions in 27 states and the District of Columbia. Most of the Commissions were created by the state’s Supreme Court.

Access to Justice Commissions have had a major impact in expanding support for self-represented litigants in the courts; increasing state-level funding for civil legal aid; developing new initiatives to increase pro bono services by attorneys; promoting collaboration and coordination among civil legal aid providers; building a commitment to pro bono and support for legal aid among law students and new lawyers; and increasing awareness among legislators and other key decision makers, the bar, the judiciary and the general public about the legal needs of low-income and disadvantaged people and the social and economic benefits of ensuring that they do not go unmet.

The goal of the grants is to expand access to civil justice for low-income people by increasing the number of state-level Access to Justice Commissions, and more broadly, by increasing and strengthening partnerships among the courts, the bar, civil legal aid providers and funders, law schools, legislators, executive officials and other stakeholders. The projects funded include statewide hearings, planning processes, and engagement of Access to Justice staff and consultants. All of the projects funded demonstrated broad support from key stakeholders in the state.

In October 2012, the Access to Justice Commission Expansion Project awarded similar grants to: the Georgia State Bar Access to Justice Committee; the Administrative Office of the Illinois Courts; the Indiana Bar Foundation; the Montana Justice Foundation; the New Hampshire Access to Justice Commission; the Supreme Court of Virginia; and the Supreme Court of the Virgin Islands.

The project is seeking applications for 2013 Innovation Grants to existing Access to Justice Commissions. Applications are due on May 1, 2013. Additional information about 2012 grants and the 2013 Innovation Grant application process is available here under “Grants.”

The ABA Access to Justice Commission Expansion Project is administered by the ABA Resource Center for Access to Justice Initiatives. The purpose of the project is to expand the number of state Access to Justice Commissions, strengthen existing Commissions and promote innovative initiatives by Commissions.

For additional information, contact Bob Echols at Robert.echols@comcast.net.

 

In observance of the 50th Anniversary of the landmark case of Gideon v. Wainwright, the American Bar Association Section of Litigation has prepared a special webpage commermorating the historic case.

Nearly 50 years ago, on March 18, 1963 the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that everyone charged with a felony offense had the Constitutional right to a lawyer.  No longer would any other criminal defendant face a possible jail sentence without the help of an effective lawyer.

The special ABA Section of Litigation webpage contains free materials and other resources you can use to educate, inform and commemorate this historic event.  Included as part of the materials is video of a recent program featuring rare, vintage video footage of Clarence Gideon himself. 

The video also features a roundtable discussion moderated by Joanne A. Epps, Dean of Temple Beasley School of Law and includes panelists Professor Bruce Jacob, Dean Emeritus and Professor of Criminal law at Stetson Law School, who argued the case 50 years ago in the United States Supreme Court for the State of Florida and the Honorable Carlos Martinez, a public defender for the 11th Judicial Circuit in Florida (Miami-Dade County) who describes the reality of public defender work today. 

In addition, Anthony Graves, an exonerated death row prisoner, tells his compelling and heartbreaking story of spending 18 years in prison and nearly being executed for a crime he did not commit.  His story should not be missed. 

Celebrating The Promise of Gideon

The ABA Standing Committee on Pro Bono and Public Service is currently seeking nominations for the  2013 ABA Outstanding Medical-Legal Partnership Pro Bono Advocacy Award.

The Outstanding Medical-Legal Partnership Pro Bono Advocacy Award was established by the ABA Standing Committee on Pro Bono and Public Service to recognize the critical role pro bono partners play in expanding the value of medical-legal partnerships.  The award will be presented at the 2013 Medical-Legal Partnership Summit in Bethesda, MD on April 11-12.

Qualified recipients include individual volunteer lawyers, law firms and corporate law departments working with an existing MLP site or a MLP site that is in development.  Bar associations, legal aid pro bono projects, law schools, and other institutions in the legal profession whose members have collectively made an outstanding contribution toward one or more of the criteria are also eligible.

To nominate a medical-legal partnership pro bono partner you will need to complete the nomination form and submit supporting materials via email to Kelly Scott at kelly.scott@americanbar.org by March 21, 2013 at 5:00 p.m. CST. Please include MLP Pro Bono Award in the subject line. 

The award criteria and guidelines and the nomination form are available at the link below. Click here for more information about the American Bar Association Medical-Legal Partnerships Pro Bono Support Project.

Award Criteria and Guidelines
Nomination Form