Young Lawyers: Why You Should Take a Pro Bono Appeal. Pro bono appeals are often overlooked as a way to give back to the community, but are worth considering for a number of reasons

• Author: Lara Escobio O'Donnell
• Pages: 24-26

Appellate Practice

American Bar Association Litigation Section

Winter 2022, Vol. 41No. 2

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August 24, 2018

Young Lawyers: Why You Should Take a

Pro Bono Appeal

Pro bono appeals are often overlooked as a way to give back

to the community, but are worth considering for a number of

reasons.

By Lara Escobio O'Donnell

As authors in this journal have previously noted, pro bono work is a great way for lawyers

to gain experience and to give back to the community. Pro bono appeals programs are often

overlooked in this regard. However, such appeals are worth considering for a number of

reasons. They provide lawyers—especially younger lawyers in private practice—with

experience they would not otherwise receive. Even in jurisdictions that require a certain

level of experience or supervision by a more experienced attorney, less experienced

attorneys are still generally permitted to handle all aspects of the case, including

researching and writing briefs and presenting oral argument.

Courts make particular efforts to grant, or in some cases even guarantee, oral argument in a

pro bono appeal. For instance, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals’ pro bono program has

been established since 1993, having grown from about 12 cases per year to 160. The Ninth

Circuit notes in its Pro Bono Program handbook that, with the exception ofappointments

that are for mediation purposes only or as amicus curiae, the court has committed to

hearing oral argument in all cases in which pro bono counsel is appointed through the

program.SeeNinth Circuit Pro Bono Program, handbook at 7 (citing 9th Cir. Gen. Order

3.8). The Second Circuit has adopted a pro bono plan for pro se appellants with meritorious

or complex appeals who are ineligible for representation under the Criminal Justice Act, 18

U.S.C. § 3006A, and to assist the court in processing pro se civil appeals.SeeSecond Circuit

Pro Bono Counsel Plan. The plan provides pro bono counsel to pro se litigants in civil

appeals in which briefing and oral argument by counsel would benefit the court’s review.

Similarly, the Arizona Court of Appeals recently launched a pro bono representation

program allowing the court to appoint pro bono counsel to pro se parties in selected civil

and juvenile appeals identified by the court, in which briefing and argument by pro bono

counsel would benefit the court.SeeAdministrative Order No. 2014-1(Dec. 5, 2014). The