In 1996, the Allegheny County Bar Foundation established the Fellows program as a formal means to:
- Recognize and honor attorneys who have shown a commitment to excellence in charitable, community, professional, and/or public service activities.
- Recognize a level of professional distinction in the legal community based on significant contributions.
- Create an endowment for bar foundation programs and foster new and innovative programs.
- Create an organization of members who recognize and accept the bar's ongoing challenge to fund public service activities.
Fellow pledges support the foundation in two important ways.
- Fifty percent of each pledge helps build the endowment.
- Interest income from the endowment will support the foundation’s initiatives to enhance the delivery of pro bono legal services to low-income clients in Allegheny County.
- Through its public service initiatives, the foundation works with legal-related organizations to reduce the gap between those in need and those who receive legal services.
- The other fifty percent of each pledge helps the Grants program to grow.
The Fellows Committees reviews and extends invitations to approved Fellow nominees. New Fellows are inducted into the Fellows program at the annual Fellows reception and dinner.