Serving the Public Good

• Author: Bob Carlson
• Pages: 8-8

8 || ABA JOURNAL OCTOBER 2018

PHOTO BY TOM SALYER PHOTOGRAPHY

President’s Message || By Bob Carlson

Follow President Carlson on Twitter @ABAPresident or email abapresident@americanbar.org.

Serving the Public Good

Pro Bono Celebration 2018 highlights disaster resiliency e orts

Pro bono work, fr om the short-

ened version of the Latin phrase

pro bono publico —for the public

good—is the responsibility that

lawyers accept when the y enter

the profession. As o cers of the

court sworn to uphold justice,

we must ensure that justice is

available to all.

Former U.S. Supreme Cou rt

Justice Sandra Day O’Connor

addressed the impor tance of pro

bono in the legal profession in

1999. “While a business ca n a ord

to focus solely on profi ts, a profes-

sion cannot,” she wrote. “It must

devote itself fi rst to the commu-

nity it is responsible to ser ve. I can

imagine no great er duty than ful-

fi lling thi s obligation. And I can

imagine no greater pleasure.”

Oct. 21-27 is the 10th anni-

versary of the An nual National

Celebration of Pro Bono—a nation-

wide opportunity for law yers to

honor our respons ibility to the pro-

fession and our communities by volunteeri ng to serve

those who cannot a ord legal services.

This year’s Pro Bono Celebrat ion will showcase

disaster resi liency activities. United States Supreme

Court Justice Elena K agan will serve as honorar y chair.

Last year wa s a record-breaking year for disaster s

across the United State s. Hurricanes Harvey in

Houston, Irma in Florida and Mar ia in Puerto Rico

and the Virgin Isla nds left paths of devastation in their

wakes. Wi ldfi res in Califor nia and throughout the

Western states and fl o oding in Oklahoma, Missouri

and Arkansa s, as well as other disasters, have a ected

millions of Americ ans. In my home state of Montana,

2017 was considered the state’s worst fi re sea son in

more than 100 years, and the fl ames destroyed homes

and damaged far ms, equipment and crops.

Nationwide, millions of people saw their homes

ruined, their busines ses destroyed, their lives uprooted.

Requests for federal disa ster aid jumped tenfold in 2017

compared to 2016, with 4.7 million people regis tering

with the Federal Emergency Ma nagement Agency.

But many people don’t realize that af ter the hurri-

canes pass, the fl oods recede and the fi res are ex tin-

guished, disa ster survivors still str uggle with countless

problems that involve legal issues. Homeowners tr y

to cope with the documenta tion

demands of FEMA cla ims and

claim appeals. Some la ndlords

seek to force tenants to pay rent

for ruined dw ellings. Contrac tors

scam desperate owner s of damaged

dwellings and businesses. A ccess

to health a nd education benefi ts

can disappear i n the chaos of the

disaster af termath. All these situ-

ations—and more—re quire legal

assistance so t hat a disaster survi-

vor can get back on their feet .

And even before a disast er

strikes, law yers can provide impor-

tant assista nce to help people pre-

pare with business -continuity

planning, securing title documents

and obtaining adequat e insurance.

This is where you come in.

We are asking lawyers thi s year

to assist wit h disaster resiliency

e orts. O er pro bono assistance

to survivors or ev acuees of disas-

ters. Help your community prepare

for a disaster. There are so many ways you c an help. All

kinds of pro bono activ ities are encouraged.

We are also asking all ba r associations, law fi rms,

corporate legal depar tments, law schools, courts, legal

aid and pro bono programs and others t o organize pro-

grams during the c elebration that address the critical

value of pro bono to our communities.

If you need help or ideas to plan your National

Celebration event , please go to celebrate probono.org.

It has all the resources you nee d.

And please share your events on Faceb ook, Tw itter

and Instagra m using the hashtag #celebrateprobono.

That way, your events will be posted on t he National

Celebration website and map, and your valuable

contributions will a lso be recognized in our pro bono

honor roll.

“Lawyers have a license to pra ctice law, a monopoly

on certain ser vices,” Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader

Ginsburg said in 2014. “But for that privilege and st a-

tus, lawyers have an obligat ion to provide legal services

to those without the wherew ithal to pay, to respond to

needs outside themselves, to help repair t ears in their

communities.”

Together, we can all help repair tears in our com mu-

nities and make a di erence for disaster survivors a nd

all others in need acro ss America.Q