Even though it's only April, the Justice For All Ball Committee, headed up by Mindy Brickman Patron of McGlinchey Stafford PLLC, has been working hard since the beginning of the year on JFAB 2012.  All of their hard work to date has paid off.  

 

     The Board, staff and JFAB Committee invite you to please mark your calendar for Friday, September 28, 2012 from 8 pm to midnight to spend the evening celebrating at the 2012 Justice For All Ball. This year's Ball will be held at the Audubon Tea Room.  

 

     As well, we are pleased to announce that sisters Deirdre McGlinchey and Fionuala McGlinchey-Monsted have agreed to serve as Honorary-Co Chairpersons in honor of their late father, Dermot McGlinchey, Esq. 

 

     For those who may not remember, Dermot was instrumental in the founding and development of The Pro Bono Project back in the 1980s. We owe a debt of gratitude to him for his vision and are thrilled to have Deirdre and Fionuala working on our behalf for this year's JFAB.

 

     We also want to remind everyone that the Gulf Justice Consortium, of which The Project is a member, is the recipient of the ABA Litigation Section's prestigious John Minor Wisdom Award.

 

     The Award will be presented at the ABA Litigation Section's Annual CLE Conference in Washington, DC on Friday, April 20th at the Awards Luncheon. If you are planning to attend, please find information on the conference at: ABA Litigation

 

     Finally, you can also read about the free CLE we have for you in April, the Drake Law students, who have come and gone, and how's about being the Volunteer Lawyer of the Day? 

 

     Welcome to Spring and looking forward to a month of festivals.  

 

All the best,

Rachel  

Rachel Piercey  

Executive Director 

  

PS -- Spread the word about The Pro Bono Project by using the new social media buttons and connect this newsletter to your Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn or other social media page. Thanks!     

     Law students from around the country have been a part of The Project since Katrina and they continue to come to The Project on a regular basis. We haven't talked about it much recently but Drake Law School joined us once again earlier this month. As always, the students give a lot and learn a lot when they're here.

 

Spring Break: Drake Law Student at The Project

 

     Eleven 1L students arrived from Drake's hometown of Des Moines over Spring Break, the week of March 19th. The Project's Linton Carney was in charge of making certain they had plenty to do and assigned them to staff.  

 

     "They helped the staff with virtually everything and got their first taste of pro bono work in the process," explained Linton.

 

     Several of them concentrated on succession work with Chris Coty for The Project's title clearing program, ultimately helping Chris with over 20 files. Others did just as much work on our divorce cases, helping our paralegal Zakiya Lagrange finish more than 20 cases while they were here.  

 

     The students also helped consumer attorney Jesse George with projects for his clients, including amassing information for a desk book to use at clinics.  

 

     In spite of all the hard work, the students seemed to enjoy their time here and we wish them continued good luck in their studies.  We were happy to hear that all of them said their week at The Project made them more likely to do pro bono work in the future, and that bodes well for us and for everyone involved in pro bono. 

     Ever wonder how cases get placed with volunteer attorneys?  While Chief Legal Officer Linton Carney and staff do a lot of the placement, once every week a Board member or a volunteer attorney spend part of the day at The Project's office to help with this enormous task.

     For the month of March, Board member, and Liskow & Lewis attorney, Kenneth Polite and several of his Liskow & Lewis colleagues have taken turns each Tuesday from either 9:30 am to noon, or 1:30 to 4:00 pm to work with Linton and the staff to recruit volunteer attorneys for specific cases.

VLOD Kenneth Polite,  Liskow & Lewis

     "The Volunteer Lawyer of the Day (VLOD) is essential to The Project's mission of providing competent legal assistance to the indigent," explains Linton.

    After receiving a list of attorneys who have expressed an interest in a particular practice area, the VLOD calls the attorneys and attempts to place various pro bono matters. Without the added effort of the VLOD, many cases might go unplaced.

     "Since joining the The Project's Board, I have served as VLOD on two occasions," explains Kenneth.

     "The task itself is straightforward, with Linton doing most of the heavy-lifting of summarizing the potential cases and providing lists of potential pro bono counsel.

     "Nonetheless, the process of soliciting pro bono attorneys for these matters provided a unique opportunity to meet many service-minded attorneys in the New Orleans area. 

    "In addition, it gave me a glimpse into the proverbial "gaps in the system," i.e., those areas where our indigent population often find themselves navigating difficult and tedious legal circumstances without the assistance of counsel.  Fortunately, The Project - through its VLOD program - plays a vital role in bridging those gaps."

    Based on Kenneth's experience and recommendation, his law firm, Liskow & Lewis, agreed to sponsor the VLOD program during March. This past month several attorneys in addition to Kenneth served as VLOD, and their collective experiences were just as rewarding as Kenneth's. 

     "I would encourage other law firms in the New Orleans area to do the same. The work is not time- or labor-intensive, yet many attorneys will find their involvement to be a truly fulfilling aspect of their legal practice," said Kenneth.

     If you are interested in being the Volunteer Lawyer of the Day or if your law firm wants to sponsor a month of volunteers, please contact Linton Carney via email or at 504.581.4043. The VLOD program is scheduled every Tuesday from 9:30 am to noon or 1:30 pm to 4:00 pm.