October 21 through 27, 2012 is Celebrate Pro Bono Week. Lawyers have a long tradition of providing pro bono services to Americans in need of legal assistance. Pro bono has been a part of our legal culture for a long time. Yet, despite our efforts, many of the civil legal needs of the poor are not being met and we must continue to expand our efforts in this area. Since 2009, the ABA Standing Committee on Pro Bono and Public Service has sponsored Celebrate Pro Bono Week and does so again this week. The Celebration is a coordinated national effort to meet the ever-growing needs of this country’s most vulnerable citizens by encouraging and supporting local efforts to expand the delivery of pro bono legal services, and by showcasing the great difference that pro bono lawyers make to the nation, its system of justice, its communities and, most of all, to the clients they serve. More information is available on the ABA’s website: http://www.probono.net/celebrateprobono/
“A legal system isn’t just or fair if it is not accessible to the most vulnerable in society,” William Robinson, former ABA President.