Ensure Equal Treatment...

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Eunice Joseph
5 years ago
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1 Ensure Equal Treatment... I have always done pro bono work. For me it came with the right to practice law. Pro bono work gives substance to our most fundamental legal ideal equal treatment under the law. This was the lesson of the Jena 6 cases where 90% of the legal effort by our national pro bono defense group was directed at achieving a fair and unbiased criminal justice system for our clients. I am convinced that without a significant, dedicated pro bono effort equal treatment would not have occurred, and the lives of my client and the other young men would have been tragically altered. Stanley J. Adelman DLA Piper LLP (US)

2 Gain Valuable Skills... I began doing pro bono mediations in 2001 and my involvement has been exceptionally rewarding over the years. In addition to developing valuable conflict management skills that can be applied very generally in my own professional and personal life, the mediation opportunities have given me a real sense of making a difference in other people s lives. It is a good thing for those in our profession to use our skills to heal, and I am privileged to be a part of the pro bono community that shares and fosters this ideal. Mark Bergner Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP

3 Use Your Expertise... When the housing crisis began to really heat up in 05 and 06, my years of experience in real estate financing allowed me to represent families whose homes were at risk because of predatory lending practices. More often than not, the victims were older people who trusted those advising them. My being a fellow senior citizen gave me insight into the natural inclination to trust family members and advisors. I also learned that my years of experience proved most helpful at a time when it was needed. Robert E. Deignan Baker & McKenzie LLP

Help the Court... When I was in private practice, I handled all kinds of pro bono matters. Most were civil cases, but I also did some state and federal criminal appeals.

4 Help the Court... When I was in private practice, I handled all kinds of pro bono matters. Most were civil cases, but I also did some state and federal criminal appeals. Although my days of pro bono lawyering are over, the experiences I had as a member of the Seventh Circuit Volunteer Panel inspired me to help establish a volunteer attorney panel at the Bankruptcy Court. Now we have nearly one hundred volunteer lawyers representing debtors (and even an occasional creditor) in adversary proceedings and contested matters in bankruptcy cases. The benefit has been simply tremendous. Honorable A. Benjamin Goldgar U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Northern District of Illinois

5 Make Time to Make a Difference... Supporting pro bono is an integral part of our careers. Whether through representing a minor in probate court as a guardian ad litem, working with The Chicago Bar Foundation to raise funds for legal aid, sitting on boards of Chicagoland agencies, or working to foster pro bono within our firms, pro bono isn t just something we fit into our week, it s a fundamental part of who we are as attorneys. David & Catherine Goldhaber Sedgwick Detert Moran & Arnold LLP Segal McCambridge Singer & Mahoney, Ltd.

Keep Your Perspective... Incorporating pro bono into my practice ensures that I never lose perspective about the need for legal assistance from all parts of our community.

6 Keep Your Perspective... Incorporating pro bono into my practice ensures that I never lose perspective about the need for legal assistance from all parts of our community. One month I may give incorporation advice to a small family-owned business, the next month I may help a family obtain guardianship over a disabled relative, and the following month I might help a non-profit change its tax-exempt status. Pro bono brings the law and courts to people who are otherwise overlooked by our legal system. Jordan M. Heinz Kirkland & Ellis LLP

7 Level the Playing Field... As a judge who has presided over mortgage foreclosure cases for years, I am happy to know that there are pro bono organizations where less affluent litigants can have their legal needs addressed. Every citizen is entitled to representation in court and pro bono organizations play a very important role in making sure that the less privileged have the means necessary to tell their side of the story. I encourage attorneys to volunteer their time and energy for this worthwhile cause. Only by your efforts can we level the playing field and ensure equal justice under the law! Honorable Lewis Nixon, Supervising Judge Mortgage Foreclosure/ Mechanics Lien Section Chancery Division

8 Turn a Life Around... My pro bono work helping people expunge old, minor convictions from their records is humbling and inspiring. I ve helped people who, despite records that prevented them from living in the homes or getting the jobs that they wanted, have shown remarkable resilience by turning their lives around and seeking expungement for a fresh start. One client wanted an expungement to erase a decades old conviction that prevented him from volunteering in a hospital in his retirement. It felt great to know that my pro bono work helped him and those he went on to help. Paulette Dodson Sara Lee Corporation

9 Change the Course of Human Events... Are there too many lawyers? Certainly not for those in poor, segregated, and marginalized communities. The best thing about being a lawyer is the opportunity to help someone in crisis change their life for the better and at the same time help change the course of human events. As important, working with the locked up, the locked out, and the left behind can help make you a better lawyer and a better person. Randolph N. Stone Edwin F. Mandel Legal Aid Clinic University of Chicago Law School

Bring Balance to Your Work... As a young lawyer striving to find balance between an enormous caseload, countless hours and pressure to make a good impression at your office, who has time for pro bono?

10 Bring Balance to Your Work... As a young lawyer striving to find balance between an enormous caseload, countless hours and pressure to make a good impression at your office, who has time for pro bono? The reality is that these cases demand only as much time as your schedule permits. I am privileged to work for a firm that encourages pro bono work. I have been personally enriched by it and value the opportunity to serve the community through my work. Young lawyers should embrace pro bono as an opportunity to use their talents to navigate the legal system and better another individual s life. Kimberly M. Halvorsen Clifford Law Offices

11 Partner to Ensure Justice in Our Community... As the Cook County State s Attorney and a career prosecutor, I know firsthand that pro bono lawyers are critical partners with government and legal aid in the larger efforts to ensure access to justice in our community. In domestic violence cases, for example, the government can prosecute an alleged abuser, but we cannot represent the victim in the civil proceedings that often are necessary to ensure her long-term protection. In this important way, pro bono and legal aid attorneys are essential partners with our office in breaking the cycle of violence because they can represent victims in these other critical proceedings. This is just one of many examples where pro bono lawyers are able to make a real difference, and I encourage you to get involved! Anita M. Alvarez Cook County State s Attorney CBA President

My Deeds Determine Me...

My Deeds Determine Me... My first meaningful client contact came as a first or second year associate when I organized and obtained IRS tax exempt status for a not-forprofit client. Also, thanks to my participation in a Chicago