Career Break Yields Professional Rewards, Bar Dues Waiver

• Jurisdiction: California,United States
• Citation: Vol. 12 No. 2012 Pg. 03
• Date: 01 December 2012
• Publication year: 2012
• Pages: 03
• Year: 2012
• topic: Business of Law

California Bar Journal 2012.

CBJ - December 2012 #03. Career break yields professional rewards, bar dues waiver

The California Lawyer
December 2012

Career break yields professional rewards, bar dues waiver

By Amy Yarbrough
Staff Writer

When Susan Nelson finally made up her mind to retire, she was tired and eager to say goodbye to the stress of her job with the California Department of Justice. But she wasn't ready to leave the law behind.

That first year, Nelson paid her bar dues to keep up her law license but didn't do anything with it. Then, a good friend told her about the State Bar's decades-old Pro Bono Practice Program, which gives retired attorneys and those just taking a break from the law the opportunity to put their skills to work for low-income Californians, getting a dues waiver and other benefits in return.

"If it weren't for this program, I probably wouldn't be practicing. For me it's an easy way to practice and it definitely benefits people." - Susan Nelson

The program, which has typically involved between 80 to 100 attorneys a year, was initially envisioned as a way to encourage retirees to keep using their skills by volunteering for legal service programs funded by Interest on Lawyers' Trust...