Vermont Bar Journal, Vol. 40, No. 2 Vermont Bar Journal, Fall 2016, Vol. 42, No. 3 | Page 32

by Mary C. Ashcroft, Esq.

Pro Bono Profile:
Attorney Kevin Lumpkin
When Attorney Kevin Lumpkin interviewed for a position at Sheehey Furlong
and Behm, he didn’t ask about doing pro
bono work. And the firm didn’t mention it.
But it wasn’t long after Kevin started as the
firm’s litigation association that a partner
asked if he would be willing to volunteer.
Judge Helen Toor was starting a rent escrow clinic, and was calling on Burlington’s
larger law firms to send pro bono attorneys. Kevin said yes, became a regular volunteer attorney, and a year later won recognition as the 2016 recipient of the VBA’s
Pro Bono Service Award.
We talked about his pro bono work recently at his firm in downtown Burlington.
“I really enjoy doing the pro bono work,
but the opportunity to do it comes from
the other folks on this floor,” Kevin said.
“My time as an associate is really dependent on how supportive the firm is. They
are incredibly supportive, and I’m really
grateful that they have given me this opportunity. “
The Sheehey firm has a history of pro
bono service; Lumpkin cited the work of
Ian Carleton who represented John Grega
in many years of post-conviction proceedings. Grega was wrongfully convicted of
murdering his wife, was later cleared, and
his estate ultimately received a $1.55 million settlement from the State of Vermont.
Said Kevin of Carleton’s work: “Ian is certainly one of the folks here to have done
tremendous pro bono work and tremendous good. I like to think that I am continuing that legacy.”
Kevin Lumpkin grew up in upstate New
York to parents who were both doctors. He
thought he would pursue that profession as
well, and enrolled at UVM to study biology.
Then, as he got more active in politics, he
added political science as a second major
and started thinking about the law.
This was no real surprise to his parents.
His dad tells the story of 6 year-old Kevin arguing with his parents, and then announcing that he would be a lawyer so he
could make a living arguing. Kevin agrees
that he enjoys the gladiatorial arena, and,
yes, arguing for a living.
After graduating from UVM, Kevin spent
the better part of a year at the Vermont
Teddy Bear company as a marketing analyst. He also taught the LSAT course and
applied for law school himself. He selected
Vanderbuilt because of its high academic
standing, good financial aid packet and an
atmosphere he could excel in. “I liked the
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work hard/play hard atmosphere,” he explained.
Lumpkin came back to Vermont after law
school because he had fallen in love with
the state. He was accepted as a judicial
clerk for the state court system, starting in
Bennington County. His work was mostly
in the civil docket. “I got to see lawyers
practice in person and through their writing,” Kevin noted. He also got to know the
judges, and was impressed by the quality
of the bench and the bar.
Attorney Lumpkin also had the chance
to see unrepresented litigants—he prefers
that term to self-represented as the latter implies that they had a choice to hire a
lawyer or not. Most don’t have the money
or the choice, Lumpkin pointed out. He
watched as they struggled to represent
themselves before his judges. The unrepresented were often tackling complicated
problems, had difficulty grasping the issues
and lacked any legal training. Kevin was
tasked with reading their pleadings carefully--some were handwritten. He had to spot
issues and make recommendations to the
judge. Often he thought “Gee, I wish this
person had a lawyer.”
Lumpkin’s second year of clerkship was
in Chittenden and Addison Counties. He
decided to look for a firm in the Burlington
area, wrote to many, and was called in to
visit with the Sheehey firm. “I was struck
by everyone here –it’s a team of attorneys,
absurdly smart, and the firm culture is collaborative. “ “Everyone knows what