Pro bono and beyond: lawyers lead the way in public service.

• Author: Coker, Howard C.
• Position: Editorial

I was pleased to see the American Bar Association and National Legal Aid and Defender Association had selected our state to host the 1999 Equal Justice Conference. The annual conclave -- set for Innisbrook May 6-8 -- is an important forum for exchanging ideas on programs demonstrating our profession's longstanding commitment to public service.

I also was pleased to see Judge Tom Freeman of Sanford working with the Journal Editorial Board to organize this special issue highlighting the efforts of Florida's lawyers to ensure equal justice to all citizens regardless of their economic status. Judge Freeman is a former member of our Board of Governors who has been very supportive of the Bar's public service programs.

We are distributing this issue as a way of saying "welcome" to all Equal Justice Conference participants, and I would add a personal welcome and note of thanks to all of you whose hard work reflects so favorably upon all lawyers.

As is amply illustrated in the pages that follow, our state has been the bellwether for many years on access issues: The interest on trust accounts program that now augments Legal Services Corporation funding and supports innovative access programs nationwide was pioneered here. Florida was the first state to have its Supreme Court and state Bar recognize and honor lawyers' outstanding pro bono contributions. The three ABA presidents from Florida during the past quarter-century -- Wm. Reece Smith, Chesterfield Smith, and Sandy D'Alemberte -- were strong champions of the creation and preservation of the Legal Services Corporation, as is Tallahassee's Martha Barnett, who will lead the ABA in 2000. And we were the state that opened the debate on how to appropriately recognize and codify the professional obligation each of us has to help ensure the courthouse doors are open to all. That debate culminated in the Supreme Court's adoption of our comprehensive pro bono plan, with programs tailored to and administered by lawyers and clients in local communities.

Beyond Pro Bono

I believe we can be proud of the progress our...