Civil Law

November 2010 marked the beginning of the tenth year of operation for the Pennsylvania Bar Association’s Pro Bono Office.

During the past 10 years some impressive numbers have been posted through the PBA’s in-house pro bono efforts, including outreach that has touched almost 50,000 people with legal aid issues; more than 300 individuals and organizations being honored with pro bono awards; nearly 200 CLE programs having been conducted locally, regionally and across the state; and the securing of $114,050 in IOLTA grant funding and more than $200,000 in direct and in-kind donations. Add in more than half a million miles of travel and there has been a lot of activity out of an office that is staffed by a single full-time attorney and a half-time administrative assistant.

Although there was pro bono activity sponsored by the PBA prior to the October 2001 hiring of attorney David Keller Trevaskis as the PBA’s first full-time pro bono coordinator, pro bono received an increased emphasis at the PBA with the formal creation, staffing and budgeting of a Pro Bono Office.

The office was created to meet the crisis of unmet civil legal needs among the poor in Pennsylvania and throughout the nation. The defining principle of our legal system is the promise of equal justice under law for all, yet, despite all of the efforts of the PBA and the thousands of lawyers and judges statewide who take pro bono cases and support legal aid, far too many of the poor and near poor never have the opportunity even to talk to an attorney while handling legal concerns.

There is some type of pro bono activity in every county in the state and each county’s approach to pro bono is unique. The PBA Pro Bono Office maintains a County Pro Bono Activities and Other Pro Bono Resources area highlighting the various types of activities taking place across Pennsylvania.

For general pro bono questions, e-mail PBA Pro Bono Coordinator David Keller Trevaskis at david.trevaskis@pabar.org.