Pennsylvania Bar Association President Cliff Haines asks all Pennsylvanians to celebrate the work of volunteer lawyers helping the poor during pro bono week October 25-31, 2009!

Having spearheaded this past summer’s Get Help Now PA program at more than 20 sites across the Commonwealth where nearly 1000 pro bono lawyers joined local bankers in helping Pennsylvanians with legal matters rooted in the financial crisis, Haines knows first hand the importance of attorneys lending a hand to those in need.

Citing the PBA policy that all Pennsylvania lawyers should render public service, including supporting direct legal representation of the poor by either performing pro bono service or supporting such service financially, Haines thanks those lawyers who fulfill this obligation and perform pro bono service. He notes that every lawyer on the PBA Board of Governors performs pro bono service and reports on that service as part of its leadership in this area.

Joining the American Bar Association Standing Committee on Pro Bono and Public Service, the PBA and local bars across the Commonwealth are hosting events during the first ever National Pro Bono Celebration, scheduled for October 25-31, 2009.

The National Pro Bono Celebration is an opportunity to celebrate the difference lawyers make in communities, to recruit and train more pro bono volunteers, and to acknowledge the partnerships that form the basis for so many of the private bar's successful pro bono efforts.

PBA Pro Bono Coordinator David Trevaskis shares “It makes me proud of the profession that so many attorneys give so freely of their time and energy to the neediest among us who have nowhere else to turn.”

Vicki Coyle, Co-Chair of the PBA’s Legal Services to the Public Committee, adds: "The attorneys who perform pro bono service are stand-outs in every way--through their generosity, compassion, and dedication to providing access to justice to people who would otherwise be left without legal guidance. The comfort most of us have with the justice system often makes us blind to the needs of those who become lost in that same system. Thanks to the work of pro bono attorneys, many find their way through the system."

Pennsylvania Legal Aid Network head Sam Milkes states, “Pro Bono attorneys, working in partnership with local legal aid programs, perform a vital duty for the administration of justice in Pennsylvania.”

PBA President Cliff Haines adds his praise: “There are always a select few willing to go above and beyond the call of duty. They are the true heroes of our profession and represent the finest tradition of Pennsylvania lawyers.”

Among the many events scheduled in Pennsylvania:

• Washington County Bar Association will present Certificates of Appreciation to attorneys who volunteer with its organized pro bono programs at the Bar meeting on Monday, October 26th.
   
• Lebanon County is hosting a breakfast to celebrate its pro bono efforts on the 26th as well.
   
• Attorneys in Chester County can attend CLE training on the 26th to learn about the various types of cases handled by Chester County Bar volunteer attorneys with both Legal Aid and the CCBA’s "Access to Justice" program. Free CLE credits are obtained for attending with the stipulation that the attorney take one pro bono case.
  
  On Wednesday, October 28th, all Chester County Bar Association attorneys that participate with either Legal Aid of Southeastern PA or CCBA’s "Access to Justice" program are invited to an annual reception at a local Judge’s home as the Bar’s way of saying THANK YOU for all the pro bono efforts of its attorneys.
  
  This year also marks the 5 year anniversary of CCBA’s "Access to Justice" program and CCBA will honor those that were instrumental in the development of this unique and highly successful program that serves the working poor in Chester County, PA.
   
• The Berks County Bar has scheduled a special luncheon and an afternoon of seminars on pro bono service and judicial independence for October 27 to celebrate 40 years of legal services in Berks County and to honor its pro bono program participants.
  
  Senior Judge Wettick will be the keynote speaker and Federal Middle District Judge John Jones will be helping with a seminar. Also Lancaster Mayor Rick Gray (one of the first Executive Directors of the local program) will be attending the program to which all of the Berks alumni of Tri-County, Central Penn and MidPenn Legal Services have been invited.
   
• In tandem with the National Pro Bono Celebration, on October 28th the Bucks County Bar Association's (BCBA) Pro Bono Committee hosts its annual reception to honor attorneys who have provided pro bono legal assistance to the residents of the county.
   
• Philadelphia plans a full week of activities. The Public Interest Section's delivery of Legal Services Committee, Law School Outreach Committee and Law Firm Pro Bono Committee will present a variety of educational forums, pro bono recruitment events, legal clinics, and CLE training programs in collaboration with the 2009 National Pro Bono Celebration.
  
  These celebrations commemorate the pro bono contribution of Philadelphia's lawyers and provide an opportunity for the recruitment and training of new volunteers to meet the increased demand for pro bono services.
   
• As part of the ABA National Pro Bono Celebration, the Dauphin County Bar Association is reminding its attorneys of the DCBA’s pro bono leadership and the various pro bono opportunities available, ranging from the Pro Se Custody and Divorce Clinics to the Courthouse Self Help Center among more than a dozen active DCBA programs.
   
• The Allegheny County Bar Association has taken the celebration from a one week highlighting of pro bono to a month full of meetings, trainings and events, all designed to encourage, increase and support attorney participation in the provision of free legal services to low-income individuals and families.
  
  To add to the fun, several firms are hosting "dress-down days," when attorneys and staff members may make a donation to the Allegheny County Bar Foundation and wear jeans or other casual attire to work. Then the ACBA will wrap up the month with Pro Bono Rocks! on November 6th at the Hard Rock Cafe.

There are even more events going on across the Commonwealth, part of more than 500 events scheduled nationally during this first ever pro bono week celebration.

For more details on Pro Bono week, please check out http://www.pabar.org/public/probono/natpbceleb.asp.