State Bar Honors the Profession's Best

• Jurisdiction: California,United States
• Citation: Vol. 10 No. 2011 Pg. 06
• Publication year: 2011
• Pages: 06
• Year: 2011

California Bar Journal 2011.

CBJ - October 2011 #06. State Bar honors the profession's best

The California Lawyer
October 2011

State Bar honors the profession's best

A retired administrative law judge joins the State Bar's Pro Bono Practice program and helps the homeless. A law student starts an innocence project. A solo practitioner creates a system of legal help for veterans.

These are just a few of the services donated by lawyers and lawyers-to-be who received the 2011 President's Pro Bono Service Awards, which recognize California attorneys and law students who provide free legal services to those who cannot afford to pay for them.

"The recipients of the State Bar's 2011 President's Pro Bono Service Awards represent the very best of our legal profession," said former State Bar President Bill Hebert. "When we look in our professional mirror, these are the men and women we want to see in our reflection."

Ronald Blubaugh is one of those people. After retiring from the Public Employment Relations Board as chief administrative law judge, Blubaugh joined the bar's Emeritus Attorney Pro Bono Program, which since has been named the Pro Bono Practice Program. He received the award in the limited practice category for regularly helping between 25 and 50 homeless people each week with legal issues at the Tommy Clinkenbeard Legal Clinic in Sacramento, which is sponsored by Legal Services of Northern California. He followed up at the monthly public defender clinic to prepare the clients for their court appearances and then attended the "Loaves and Fishes" court to assist the public defender with the veterans' court appearances. Because of the trust the veterans have in him, Blubaugh also has become a liaison between attorneys representing the interests of the homeless and possible witnesses in a Sacramento case challenging the seizure of items owned by the homeless.

Attorneys from the Los Angeles...