Faces of Pro Bono Part 1 of 6
| Jurisdiction | Alabama,United States,Federal |
| Citation | Vol. 82 No. 1 Pg. 0057 |
| Pages | 0057 |
| Publication year | 2021 |
This year marks the 30th anniversary of the Alabama State Bar's Volunteer Lawyers Program. As a way to thank all of our volunteers, we have selected 30 representatives and will be sharing their stories over the coming year. Each volunteer represents hundreds of others who have made the program successful. That success is not confined to the program, but is shared with every volunteer and every client that received assistance.
W. Harold Albritton, III, United States District Judge, Montgomery
Senior United States District Judge Harold Albritton is no stranger to public service. Before his appointment to the federal bench in 1991, Judge Albritton served as president of the Alabama State Bar. Along with the Board of Bar Commissioners, Judge Albritton championed the formation of the Volunteer Lawyers Program-the statewide program that provides a vehicle for lawyers to volunteer their services to low-income clients on a pro bono basis. Recognizing that requiring lawyers to perform pro bono services was unmanageable and could compromise the quality of representation given, Judge Albritton supported the establishment of a system that encouraged lawyers to render legal services voluntarily to economically disadvantaged citizens whose voices might otherwise go unheard. The VLP now meets the legal needs of thousands of indigent Alabamians in civil matters each year through the service and generosity of countless lawyers across the state.
For Judge Albritton, providing pro bono services is a lawyer's ethical responsibility, the rewards of which far exceed any burden imposed. During his judicial confirmation hearing before the United States Senate Judiciary Committee, Judge Albritton was asked what advice he would give to young attorneys concerning the responsibility of providing pro bono services. He said, "I would tell them and have told them that the delivery of pro bono services to the poor is the highest calling of the lawyer, something that should not be done grudgingly, but should be embraced willingly." He added, "I would say to them that they will never receive a fee during their entire career that will make them feel more pride in being a lawyer than they will by the grateful tears on the cheek of someone who cannot afford legal services benefiting from their help."
Cassandra W. Adams, Assistant Dean, Public Interest Program and Externships; Director of...
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