Section of Litigation Pro Bono Activities
Children's Rights Litigation Committee
Chairs:
Marguerite C. Gualtieri
Geoffrey Vitt
Staff:
Catherine Krebs
(202) 547-3060 FAX: (202) 547-3064
138 Massachusetts Ave SE Washington, DC 20003
LINK: http://www.abanet.org/litigation/committee/childrens_l/home.html
Description:
The Children's Rights Litigation Committee (formerly the Children's Law Committee) was created by the Section of Litigation to address the vast under representation of children in all aspects of the legal system. The Committee endeavors to increase the number of children's legal projects and pro bono attorneys to represent children, along with providing training materials and programs in order to assist advocates in providing the highest quality of representation for children.
Volunteers and Cases:
The Committee does not seek to provide direct services or create local projects.
Committee on Corporate Counsel Subcommittee on Pro Bono
Chairs:
Lisa C. Wood
Stephen D. Bolerjack
William H. Hoch
Staff:
Christina Mai-Takahashi
(312) 988-6245
Description:
This subcommittee provides member information about existing pro bono resources and opportunities for lawyers working in corporate legal departments.
Volunteers and Cases:
The subcommittee is not designed to involve lawyers or members in direct delivery of services or create local projects.
Death Penalty Representation Project
Staff:
Robin Maher, Director
Phone:(202) 662-1734
Fax:(202) 662-8649
maherr@staff.abanet.org.
ABA Death Penalty Representation Project
740 15th Street N.W., 9th Floor,
Washington, D.C. 20005
Michele Bisaccia
Phone:(202) 662-1735
Fax: (202) 662-8649
BisacciM@staff.abanet.org
ABA Death Penalty Representation Project
740 15th Street N.W., 9th Floor,
Washington, D.C. 20005
Description:
The Project's goals are to better inform the bar and the public about the lack of representation available to death row inmates, to address this urgent need by recruiting competent, volunteer attorneys and to offer counsel training and assistance. The Project also aims to propose systemic changes that would assure those facing death are represented at all stages of the proceedings -from trial through clemency- by qualified, adequately compensated counsel.
Volunteers and Cases:
TBD
Legal Services Project
Chairs:
Linda Zazove
Staff:
Burt Blanchard
(312) 988-6066
LINK: http://www.abanet.org/litigation/committee/probono/legalservices.html
Description:
The work of the project has been to concretely move forward the Section's goal of fostering relationships between the Section's members and the legal services community. They do this by coordinating a Private Bar Fundraising Training to train legal services lawyers to fundraise; oversee the fundraising grants program which seeks to help legal service programs establish private bar fundraising campaigns as well as coordinate other Section legal service efforts.
Volunteers and Cases:
Most of these efforts are coordinated under the chair who solicits help of other legal service lawyers in areas like the Private Bar Fundraising Training.
Legal Services Training
Chairs:
Laurence Marc Rose
Staff:
Burt Blanchard
(312) 988-6066
LINK: http://www.abanet.org/litigation/committee/training/home.html
Description:
This project focuses on training, technology, and fundraising issues facing legal services offices.
Volunteers and Cases:
Through its local training programs, the Committee has helped many legal services lawyers receive training.
Litigation Assistance Partnership Project (LAPP)
Staff:
Burt Blanchard
(312) 988-6066
LINK: http://www.abanet.org/litigation/lapp/
Description:
The ABA Section of Litigation created the Litigation Assistance Project (LAPP) in 1989, to collaborate with the National Legal Aid and Defenders Association (NLADA) and link pro bono resources of private firms with legal service and public interest programs across the country. LAPP's core function is to identify and staff significant pro bono litigation. These are major, complex and often time-consuming cases that require resources unavailable to public interest programs. LAPP works with programs and issues that involve subject areas not handled by other national public interest programs and clearinghouses. LAPP also serves rural programs without local pro bono resources for major litigation and finds out-of-state attorneys when necessary because of local programs. LAPP is meant to complement, not replace, other pro bono resources.
Volunteers and Cases:
Eight cases referred.
Pro Bono and Public Interest Practice
Chairs:
Robert C. Sohns, Jr.
Ester F. Lardent
Steve Schulman
Staff:
Burt Blanchard
(312) 988-6066
LINK: http://www.abanet.org/litigation/committee/probono/home.html
Description:
The Committee coordinates the Section's pro bono programs and has the responsibility of nominating candidates for the John Minor Wisdom Awards, which are given annually by the Section.
Volunteers and Cases:
The Committee has 204 members, but the Committee does not seek to involve lawyers in direct projects or create local projects.
Awards
John Minor Wisdom Awards
