december 2012 - Hillsborough County Bar Association

E D I T O R ’ S M E S S A G E
Amy R. Nath, BayCare Health System, Inc.
An Inspiring Afternoon with
(Some of) the BALS Attorneys
Jim Hengelbrok, Carol Moody, and Linda Breen have each been with
BALS for decades, choosing to spend their careers serving some of
the most marginalized and in-need members of our community.
(Editor’s Note: On October 10, 2012, Bob Nader and I visited
the offices of Bay Area Legal Services, resulting in two different
feature articles for this edition of the LAWYER. This is my story.)
On Wednesday, October 10, HCBA
President Bob Nader and I had the
distinct pleasure of spending an
afternoon with some of the most
inspiring attorneys either of us had ever
met. We traveled to the offices of Bay Area Legal Services
(“BALS”) to interview BALS attorneys Jim Hengelbrok,
Jr., Carol Moody, and Linda Breen. Bob’s President’s
Message on page 5 is also about these exceptional
attorneys. Our articles, along with Rory Weiner’s article
on page 16 on the merits of pro bono service, were written
to encourage voluntary pro bono work and contributions
to BALS’s Sustaining Law Firm Campaign, both during
the holiday season and through out the year.
It is hard not to be moved when speaking with BALS
attorneys about their work. In regard to Jim, Carol, and
Linda, their passion and dedication are evident; they have
each been with BALS for decades, choosing to spend their
careers serving some of the most marginalized and inneed
members of
our community.
Their humility is
also clear. Each
of them was
uncomfortable
with the idea that
they might be “singled out” from among dozens of their
BALS colleagues to participate in our interview, and
they each made a point of recognizing the hard work
and exceptional skills of the other attorneys in their
departments. Finally, I was struck by the stories of the
services they provide to their clients. Here are a few
of them.
Jim has been with BALS since 1980, and leads its
Tampa Family Law Team. 1 He and his team recently
helped procure an injunction against the abusive
husband of a client. Shortly thereafter, they helped the
same client obtain a divorce and sole responsibility of
her two children. Though Jim has worked on behalf of
domestic violence victims for decades, he explained that
he is consistently moved by the effect legal work can
have on the emotional health of an entire family.
Confidence improves, children’s grades go up, and there
is a discernible increase in overall happiness.
Carol manages the BALS Senior Advocacy Unit, 2 and
has been with the organization since 1991. She recently
worked on behalf of an elderly couple about to lose their
home to foreclosure. The couple had little income, and
were raising young grand children. Through advocacy
from Carol and
her team, the
couple adopted
their grand -
Continued on
page 4
DEC 2012 - JAN 2013 | HCBA LAWYER
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