ISBA Development Site
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This website is for ISBA staff use only. All visitors should return to the main ISBA website.
by Mike Fiello
Encouraging lawyers to engage in pro bono work continues to occupy the time and energy of so many state bar associations and other organizations across the country. Why? Because there is no disputing that there is a lack of legal assistance available to the poor. Legal needs studies from across the country, including here in Illinois, consistently find that less than 20 percent of the legal needs of the poor are addressed by direct legal representation by a lawyer. Despite the efforts of many skilled and dedicated people, participation by attorneys as a whole in pro bono activity is still quite low.
Ronald Langacker first provided volunteer legal services through Land of Lincoln Legal Assistance when he was an attorney in Danville. He took one or two cases at a time, which he felt was not burdensome, and received the Pro Bono Attorney of the Year award for Vermilion County in 1999.
For members of the Illinois legal profession, pro bono practice support resources are as easy as a click away, at www.IllinoisProBono.org. That website, which is hosted by Illinois Legal Aid Online, now offers web pages with resources targeted at specific types of pro bono practitioners, including senior attorneys, federal government attorneys, corporate counsel, paralegals, and law students.