PRO BONO WEEK 2012 IS HERE
San Francisco, Oct. 19, 2012 - The last week of October is “Celebrate Pro Bono Week.” The State Bar of California proudly supports Pro Bono Week (Oct. 21-27, 2012) and encourages its members to support pro bono efforts at the local level, both next week and every day of the year. Here are some key resources and information:
- If you are interested in what is happening during Pro Bono Week, please review the pro bono events scheduled to be held throughout California.
- To locate a pro bono program in your community, please go to www.CaliforniaProBono.org, California’s online statewide pro bono opportunities network. Pro bono programs generally provide training, support, client screening, malpractice coverage and more to help meet your needs and interests.
- Any attorney who is retired from the active practice of law, in a transition period, or taking a temporary break in his or her legal career and wants to do pro bono work exclusively, may be eligible for the State Bar’s Pro Bono Practice Program and receive a waiver of the active State Bar membership fee.
- Read about outstanding pro bono contributions made by California lawyers who recently received a 2012 President’s Pro Bono Service Award from the State Bar.
- For more information about pro bono, please go to the State Bar’s Pro Bono Resources web page.
In addition, the State Bar Board of Trustees has declared October as Campaign for Justice Month. The campaign raises money for the important statewide network of legal aid organizations. A key component of the campaign is using pro bono services to help leverage legal aid resources. For more information, visit the campaign’s website.
To cap off a month of activities, retired California Supreme Court Justice Carlos R. Moreno will speak at an Oct. 30 reception in Los Angeles recognizing the contributions of large law firms in donating to the campaign’s Justice Gap Fund through their annual bar dues statements. While only 4.3 percent of California’s attorneys made a gift to the fund this year, the rate of giving by big firm attorneys was 11 percent. The 10 firms identified as the biggest supporters are Bingham McCutchen; Farella Braun + Martel; Fenwick & West; Gibson Dunn & Crutcher; Kirkland & Ellis; Latham & Watkins; Morrison & Foerster; Munger, Tolles & Olson; Pillsbury Winthrop; and Sidley Austin.
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The State Bar of California is an administrative arm of the California Supreme Court, serving the public and seeking to improve the justice system for more than 80 years. All lawyers practicing law in California must be members of the State Bar. By October 2012, membership reached 238,000.