Full Report - the Missouri Bar

Access to Justice
Pro Bono
The Missouri Bar has a long history of supporting initiatives,
programs and funding to help those who need access
to justice, but cannot afford to pay for legal counsel. That
commitment and support was enhanced with several new
initiatives during the past two years.
A new pro bono website tops the list. This stand-alone
pro bono focused site is intended to serve as a central location
to link lawyers interested in doing pro bono work with
organizations that serve the needs of low-income individuals
who have legal problems and need a lawyer’s help. The
site also lists training opportunities available to lawyers
who perform pro bono work, along with news and resources
related to pro bono efforts within the state and nationally.
The site can be found at www.mobarprobono.org.
New and newly-expanded lawyer recognition efforts
were also instituted. These recognition enhancements are
designed to draw attention to and reward more lawyers
for making pro bono an integral part of their practice and,
through their example, encourage other lawyers to volunteer
their legal skills to help make access to justice a reality
for the low-income population.
A recognition program – the Pro Bono Wall of Fame
– is a new program implemented to recognize lawyers
who voluntarily report at least 40 hours of pro bono work
during a calendar year. Starting last year, 120 lawyers
were added to the inaugural “Wall of Fame” permanently
located on the pro bono website.
Each lawyer whose name appears on the “Wall of
Fame” also receives: a letter of appreciation from the
president of The Missouri Bar and Chief Justice of the
Supreme Court of Missouri; a certificate of appreciation
suitable for framing; a “40” Wall of Fame lapel pin; and
special recognition through the display of the Wall of
Fame at prominent venues such as the Annual Meeting and
Spring and Fall Committee Meetings. And, beginning in
2012, those lawyers who attend the Annual Meeting will
have a commemorative ribbon affixed to their badge calling
attention to their achievement.
The “Wall of Fame” program was created in conjunction
with a newly-launched initiative asking lawyers to
voluntarily report their pro bono hours each year. An
online reporting tool was developed to make it easy for
attorneys to share the number of hours they committed to
pro bono work in a given year, as well as the type of work
they performed. The voluntary reporting initiative not only
provides a means to identify the lawyers who have reached
the 40-hour milestone making them eligible for recognition
on the Pro Bono Wall of Fame, but it also is intended to
provide a measure of the amount of work lawyers in Missouri
do to provide access to justice for the less fortunate.
In 2011, The Missouri Bar expanded its longstanding
Pro Bono Publico Award program. A fourth award was
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added to recognize a second outstate lawyer every year.
These awards, which are presented at the Annual Meeting
Awards Banquet, now recognize one lawyer from the
Kansas City area, one lawyer from the St. Louis area, and
two lawyers from outstate Missouri.
In addition to the enhanced recognition efforts of The
Missouri Bar, the Young Lawyers’ Section (YLS) also
developed new recognition initiatives during the past
two years. Starting in 2011, the YLS created three new
pro bono awards, which are also presented at the Annual
Meeting. One award is given to a member of The Missouri
Bar in practice less than four years, and a second award
is presented to a member of the Young Lawyers’ Section
of the Missouri Bar in practice more than four years. The
third award is given to an organization or firm that actively
encourages its employees and/or members, particularly
its young or newly admitted lawyers, to provide pro bono
services.
The YLS also developed an incentive to encourage lawyers
to voluntarily report their pro bono hours, providing
lawyers who reach the pro bono hour milestone during a
calendar year with a commemorative gift.
In addition to providing information to lawyers about
opportunities available at organizations throughout the
state via the pro bono website, The Missouri Bar and YLS
assist in recruiting lawyers for pro bono activities through:
• Ongoing recruitment promotional appeals involving
the pro bono website in Missouri Bar communication
vehicles, such as the ESQ weekly electronic newsletter
and Precedent.
• Coordination of disaster relief efforts in the aftermath
of the Joplin tornado and flooding in other areas of
Missouri in cooperation with the ABA and other bar
associations.
• Maintaining a toll-free telephone access line for victims
and coordinating assistance from calls received.
• Producing CLE programs that highlight work of attorney
pro bono services to call attention to the need, and
to encourage others to contribute time and skills.
• Publicizing requests for pro bono attorney assistance
from other organizations in ESQ.
• Prominently listing pro bono links on The Missouri
Bar website and maintaining a page on the bar’s
website with information and access to key pro bono
resources.
• The addition of a full pro bono/access to justice CLE
track (five programs) at the 2012 Annual Meeting,
providing substantive training to attendees in areas