Vol. 10, No. 4, Pg. 14. Practical Pro Bono: How Public Service Can Enhance Your Practice.

• Author: By Talcott J. Franklin

South Carolina Lawyer

1999.

Vol. 10, No. 4, Pg. 14.

Practical Pro Bono: How Public Service Can Enhance Your Practice

14Practical Pro Bono: How Public Service Can Enhance Your PracticeBy Talcott J. FranklinAs a lawyer, you probably pay money to attend seminars that teach you new areas of the law, give you mock trial experience or enhance your professional growth. For a small commitment of your time, however, you can obtain all these things for free by simply helping needy people. This article discusses how you can use pro bono as a practical element in your career. Pro bono work can-and should-be viewed as a critical investment both in your career and in the community.

PRO BONO PROVIDES TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES

One of the drawbacks of working in a large law firm can be the firm's inability to provide simple projects to young associates that the associate can supervise. Often, the firm's rate structure precludes accepting such cases. As a consequence, associates rarely get the opportunity to oversee a complete transaction or go to court.

Pro bono work can give associates in large firms exposure to courtroom practice. A domestic violence or child custody case will result in courtroom appearances, generally with short exposure and controlled hours.

The Hon. R. Kinard Johnson Jr., Family Court Judge of the Thirteenth Judicial Circuit, said he often sees family court matters handled by pro bono lawyers. These cases are "an excellent way to gain trial experience without the pressures of a jury trial," he says.

The Hon. John Kittredge, Judge for the Court of Common Pleas for the Thirteenth Judicial Circuit who sat in family court for five years, concurs that pro bono family court representations are excellent training for general civil trial work. These representations "give you a trial experience while at the same time helping someone who would otherwise not have representation," he adds.

George Cauthen, recipient of the South Carolina Bar 1993 Pro Bono Lawyer of the Year award, says that his team "handles bankruptcies that generally involve over $1 million. As a result, it can be four to five years before an associate gets to court on a matter like that.

"I try to give associates pro bono Chapter 7 cases so they can say with a straight face that they have handled a bankruptcy." Cauthen said. "Sometimes I work with them on these cases, and if they do a good job for their pro bono clients, I put them in court sooner for paying clients."

PRO BONO IS A BUILDING BLOCK

If you want to learn residential real estate, performing closings for Habitat for Humanity would be a good place to start. If you want to learn to draft wills, simple wills for the indigent provide the foundation to move into more complex matters.

Trefor Thomas, winner of the South Carolina Bar's 1995 Pro Bono Lawyer of the Year award, cites pro bono Chapter 7 bankruptcies as a way to build a foundation for debtor-creditor practice.

"Pro bono Chapter 7s provide training and skills used in bankruptcy, in controlled situations with finite hours necessary for seeing the case through," Thomas said. "In addition, you become known to the other attorneys practicing in that area."

Cauthen cites the example of an older lawyer on his team that wanted to move from bankruptcy

16 to family law. The lawyer attended every family law seminar in South Carolina. The lawyer then requested several pro bono cases, and after seeing those cases through and learning from each, made the jump from bankruptcy court to divorce court. The pro bono cases allowed the lawyer to tell potential clients that he had handled family court matters, as well as gain the hands-on experience no seminar could provide.

PRO BONO IMPROVES LAWYER CONFIDENCE

For young lawyers, pro bono has the obvious advantage of providing the experience that inherently increases confidence. But even experienced lawyers can gain confidence through pro bono work, as Taylor Reveley, Dean of the William & Mary School of Law and former managing partner of Hunton & Williams, describes: "Before the era of intense specialization, lawyers were more like country doctors, willing to...