The Pro Bono Program of the Legal Aid Society of the Orange County Bar Association.

• Author: Tucker, Catherine A.
• Position: Florida

Since its creation in 1924 the Orange County Bar Association has been active in meeting the legal needs of the poor in the Orlando area. All members of the association also agree to serve as members of the Legal Aid Society, and to provide pro bono services as required by the society's board of trustees. The board now asks that each member accept two case referrals annually, contribute $350, or participate in one of 12 approved projects.

During 1998, 2,400 attorneys including about 150 non-Orange County Bar Association members, handled over 2,000 new case referrals, contributed over $350,000, and provided special services through various projects such as the Aids Special Will Project, Attorneys Fighting for Seriously Ill Children Project, Drug Awareness Project, Homeless Advocacy Project, Citizen Dispute Settlement and Family Mediation Program, Community Education Program, Teen Court, Earned Income Tax Credit Clinic, Telephone Screening Project, Judicial Pro Bono, Children's SSI Panel and the Guardian ad Litem Program for Orange County. The GAL program currently assists over 5000 children in juvenile, domestic relations, and criminal cases.

How a mandatory program was begun and why it has flourished are questions that are frequently asked. The creation was modest and the growth was incremental. The result is a source of pride for bar members. An analysis of a survey of OCBA members concluded that the structure, administration, and longevity of the pro bono program probably account for the positive attitude that bar members have toward the mandatory program. Steven Wechsler, Attorneys' Attitude Toward Mandatory Pro Bono, 41 SYRACUSE L. REV. 3,950 (1990). The history within the local legal community of performing pro bono work as part of one's profession is the basis for the continued support of the program. As noted by the Joint Commission on the Delivery of Legal Services to the Indigent in Florida in its February 1991 report, "While it is mandatory for its voluntary members, its success seems to be built more on its underlying acceptance as a law practice norm or expectation rather than its mandatory nature."

Attorneys who speak about their support for the pro bono program have personal stories about their involvement with pro bono work and their role in the development of the Legal Aid Society.

Heskin Whittaker served as president of OCBA in 1953 and for three terms on The Florida Bar Board of Governors. He recalls the transition from small bar association with informal referrals to a more organized program. Mr. Whittaker, who at 88 years old describes himself as the oldest living practicing lawyer in Orange County, saw the practice of law and the bar change dramatically. "When there were two two-week civil jury trial periods each year, the bar could use a volunteer to call attorneys about cases. When federal funds were available for legal services, it was the consensus of the local bar that we should handle our own Legal Aid. Making participation compulsory wasn't too difficult." says Whittaker. "A lot of members were willing."

The attorneys who obtained the special legislative act to fund a Legal Aid bureau with filing fees and who incorporated the Legal Aid Society remember the creation of an organization as personal and special.

"I served as the Legal Aid secretary to the executive council of the Orange County Bar Association in the early 60s," said Egerton K. van den Berg. "I was given a book that looked like a ledger with script entries of the names of every bar member. There were about 160 to 180 names. We had different criteria that were...