Judges and lawyers participating in the Judicially Led Appellate District Pro Bono Project kicked off Ohio’s Pro Bono Week on Friday, October 21 with a Pro Bono Convention at the Grange Insurance Audubon Center in Columbus. Supreme Court of Ohio Chief Justice Maureen O’Connor, the luncheon speaker, told the participants that pro bono service has a spiritual dimension to it and, as an example, the Jewish holiday of Simchat Torah being celebrated that day translates to “rejoice in the law”.
O’Connor also expressed concern for the numbers of low income people who are turned away from legal services providers because of inadequate resources, and the strains those persons place upon the court systems and other litigants when they must then represent themselves.
She commended the judges in the audience for their participation, and noted that judicial leadership has a tendency to motivate service.
The attendees also worked in sessions facilitated by American Bar Association Pro Bono Publico Award winner J. Philip Burt of Fort Wayne, Indiana, and by the project’s chair, Tenth District Court of Appeals judge William A. Klatt.
Pro Bono Week is part of the National Pro Bono Celebration, taking place October 23 through 29 across the country with events and activities to recognize and thank pro bono volunteers, to train volunteers to accept pro bono cases, and to provide free legal help at brief advice clinics to people unable to pay for a lawyer. For a complete listing of events taking place in Ohio, please click here.