Civil Law

Nominations for the 20th Annual Pro Bono Awards of the PA Bar Association Legal Services to the Public Committee are now open.

In addition to honoring pro bono counsel, nominations are also being accepted for the "Judges Award" and the"Civil Legal Aid Attorney of the Year Award." These awards are presented to a judge and a legal services attorney in recognition of their exceptional contributions to improving civil legal aid in the commonwealth.

The 2007 Pro Bono Awards will be presented at the PBA Children's Summit, which is being held in conjunction with the PA Legal Aid Network Statewide Conference, at the Harrisburg Hilton and Towers on Thursday, May 24, 2007.

The PBA is especially interested, this year, in nominating and recognizing attorneys and judges whose work has a special focus on helping children and families that touch the system.

The May 24th Summit, at which these winners will be honored at lunch, is entitled Children & Families in the System: Protect, Educate and Motivate. It is a joint program of the PBA's Outreach to Children Committee, the Legal Services to the Public Committee, the Pennsylvania Bar Foundation and the Pennsylvania Legal Aid Network.

These awards are your chance to recognize and thank those attorneys and judges who have used their talents to help needy children and families in your county. As you select your nominees for the awards, please keep in mind the following criteria:

• The lawyer or judge practices in Pennsylvania.
  
  
• The lawyer, other than the Civil Legal Aid Attorney of the Year nominees, is not employed by an organization that has, as its primary purpose, the provision of free legal services to the poor.
  
  
• The lawyer or judge has provided direct delivery of legal services in civil matters, with no expectation of receiving a fee, to a client or client group that does not have the resources to employ compensated counsel or has worked to facilitate such effort by other attorneys.
  
  
• The lawyer or judge has made an outstanding contribution to the provision of legal services to the indigent without charge.
  
  
• The lawyer or judge has made such contributions primarily through organized pro bono programs, lawyer referral service no-fee panels and legal services programs, or has worked with such organizations to improve the delivery of legal services to the poor.
  
  
• The lawyer's or judge's efforts have resulted in the increased access to legal services for low-income people.

This year's nomination form is located on the PBA Pro Bono web page and can be accessed through the link below. If there are any questions regarding the Pro Bono awards, please contact Pro Bono Coordinator David Keller Trevaskis at 1-800-932-0311, Ext. 2236 or david.trevaskis@pabar.org.

The deadline for nominations is April 20, 2007 so award recipients can be notified and invited to attend the May 24th Summit.

2007 Pro Bono Award Nomination Form [PDF]