PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE
Do You Really Know What
Pro Bono Is?
“
By Jacquelyn H. Saylor
The Saylor Law Firm LLP
“... a lawyer can choose to
provide additional services
by doing legal work for a
substantially reduced price
or through, “participation in
activities for improving the law,
the legal system or the legal
profession.”
A
ccording to Georgia Bar Rule 6.1, a Georgia lawyer is
encouraged to, “provide at least fifty (50) hours of pro
bono services each year and contribute financially to
legal aid and pro bono programs.” 1 This expectation can be
met in two ways. On the one hand, a lawyer can provide legal
work to the less fortunate on a volunteer basis. Alternatively,
a lawyer can choose to provide additional services by doing
legal work for a substantially reduced price or through,
“participation in activities for improving the law, the legal
system or the legal profession.” 2
Some actions that qualify as profession improvement
activities include, serving on boards of pro bono or legal
services programs, sitting on bar association committees,
and volunteering for bar association activities. Therefore,
anytime you volunteer for the Atlanta Bar Association, you
are working towards your suggested goal for pro bono public
service.
With that in mind, March is a wonderful time to start fulfilling
this annual expectation, if you have not begun to do so already.
4 THE ATLANTA LAWYER
March 2015
There are plenty of opportunities to get involved with the
Atlanta Bar Association’s Pro Bono March Madness, which
offers fourteen (14) Continuing Legal Education (CLE) courses
to prepare you for involvement in various pro bono projects.
You can use your $75 coupon for March Madness courses.
See the atlantabar.org website for more details about the
variety of CLE’s offered.
Additionally, consider getting involved with the Atlanta Bar
Association’s Lawyer Referral and Information Service
(LRIS) Modest Means Program to offer low cost legal
services in your area of expertise. The program “is designed
to assist Georgia residents who are not financially eligible for
Legal Aid, but who also do not have the resources to retain a
private attorney at the standard market rate. Potential clients
who qualify for the Modest Means Program are referred to
a private attorney who has agreed to the specific terms of
the program, including an initial retainer fee of no more than
$600, or billable hours of $75 an hour maximum.” 3 Since
these attorneys are providing legal services at substantially
reduced rates, their work qualifies as pro bono service.
The Official News Publication of the Atlanta Bar Association