Weeklong pro bono celebration includes pledges, panels and a Justice Bus
Lawyers in Pennsylvania’s Allegheny County are being asked this week to make a “pro bono pledge” to commit to at least one pro bono case next year. In Los Angeles, lawyers who commit to take on a pro bono matter before the end of the year will be entered in a raffle for Dodgers tickets. In Chicago, Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan will appear on a panel discussing To Kill a Mockingbird after a special screening of the film.
The events are part of the National Pro Bono Celebration, a weeklong event sponsored by the Standing Committee on Pro Bono and Public Service. During the week, lawyers will volunteer legal services and receive pro bono training, according to an ABA press release. Fundraisers and award ceremonies are also featured in the celebrations.
The Dodgers raffle and the screening of To Kill a Mockingbird are among the featured pro bono events on the celebration website. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette covered the “pro bono pledge” being sought by the Pro Bono Center of the Allegheny County Bar Foundation.
Florida lawyers in the St. Petersburg area will mark the week by educating librarians about free, online access to legal resources, the TBN Weekly reports. In Alabama, the state bar’s Justice Bus will travel to several communities, where lawyers and law students will help people needing legal help, the Selma Times Journal reports.
“The National Pro Bono Celebration is a coordinated effort to meet the ever-growing needs of America’s most vulnerable citizens,” ABA President James R. Silkenat said in the press release. “The legal profession is proud to showcase the great difference pro bono lawyers make to the clients they serve and to our communities. I urge all lawyers to participate in this year’s celebration by volunteering their services and providing greater access to justice for all.”
