Alabama's Pro Bono Lawyers Provide a Face of Hope

"To the Editor:

October is recognized as Pro Bono Month in the State of Alabama. Monday, Sept. 16, Governor Kay Ivey will sign a proclamation recognizing its significance.

Sponsored by the Alabama State Bar, the 11th annual celebration is a statewide effort to showcase the impact Alabama's pro bono lawyers make on the state, its system of justice, and most of all, to the clients they serve. Additionally, it's an important vehicle for deepening services to Alabamians who desperately need free legal services, many of whom don’t even know that help is there.

There are volunteer lawyer services available in all of Alabama’s 67 counties, and these programs have delivered free legal services to low-income residents for more than 25 years. In 2018, volunteer lawyers managed 11,113 cases for Alabamians living below the poverty line, donating more than 13,500 hours of legal assistance.

Nearly half of low-income households in Alabama experience one or more legal problems in a year. At times, pro bono clients are dealing with the worst crisis of their lives. On any given day in Alabama, a volunteer lawyer might assist an elderly couple threatened with eviction from their apartment, a young woman with small children seeking protection from an abusive husband, or a terminally ill veteran trying to prepare for his children's future..."

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