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Access To Justice Commission Update

National Pro Bono Week Celebration
By:  Catherine Nahay

The Texas Access to Justice Commission, the Texas Access to Justice Foundation, and the State Bar of Texas will join the ABA Standing Committee on Pro Bono and Public Service in celebrating its third annual National Pro Bono Celebration October 24th through October 30th. This nationwide event showcases the extraordinary impact pro bono attorneys can have on a person’s life, their community, their state, and the entire justice system. The celebration also aims to recruit additional pro bono volunteers to serve the legal needs of the nation’s indigent population by increasing awareness of the tremendous need for civil legal aid.

Texas is fortunate to have a large attorney population, a great percentage of whom donate their time and expertise to helping those in need. During the week’s celebration, profiles of active pro bono attorneys will be spotlighted on the State Bar’s website, http://blog.texasbar.com. The Foundation will kick off the week of celebration by hosting a luncheon for the Supreme Court of Texas and Access to Justice partners to provide an update on the status of civil legal aid in Texas. At the luncheon, members of the Pro Bono College, those who have contributed at least 75 hours each year for at least 10 years doing pro bono work or offering reduced fee services to poor and low-income Texans, will also be recognized. On Wednesday, October 27th at the Texas RioGrande Legal Aid Office in Edinburg, Senator Juan “Chuy” Hinojosa, of Mission, Texas, will be awarded the Texas Access to Justice Legislative Hero award for his support of legal services to the poor. On that same day, Texas Lawyers Care (TLC), in conjunction with the State Bar of Texas and TexasBarCLE, will sponsor a webcast to support the Texas Lawyers for Texas Veterans Initiative (TLTV). The TLTV initiative was developed by State Bar President Terry Tottenham to assist pro bono legal clinics throughout the state in assisting military veterans who otherwise cannot afford or do not have access to the legal services they need. In an attempt to increase volunteer participation in the veterans legal advice clinics planned during the week of Veterans Day and beyond, the CLE specifically focuses on military issues in civil law. Thanks to the generosity of TexasBarCLE, the webcast will be free to all attorneys who agree to volunteer at an upcoming TLTV clinic or who agree to take a pro bono case for a veteran if there are no clinics scheduled in their community.

Local bar associations, including the Jefferson County and Dallas Bar associations, law firms across the state, and Texas law schools, including the University of Texas School of Law and Texas Wesleyan School of Law, as well as legal services programs, including Advocacy, Inc., Catholic Charities of Dallas, Inc., Legal Aid of NorthWest Texas, Lone Star Legal Aid, and the Dallas Volunteer Attorney Program, have already scheduled events for the celebration.  To see a list of events in Texas or for more information, please visit http://www.probono.net/celebrateprobono/events/location.2010-10-01.Texas.  To volunteer with your local program, visit http://www.teajf.org/donate/volunteer.aspx. While the national celebration places the great work of attorneys currently providing pro bono services on center stage for one week, these efforts are needed year-round. We salute you for your current and continued support.