Academy adopts signature pro bono project
By Katherine E. Stout
For The Lawyers Journal
Oct. 13, 2006—The Academy of Trial Lawyers recently adopted a new signature project that could affect the livelihood of many a student. At the Academy’s September board meeting, a new proposal was adopted that will provide lawyers to students at school board expulsion hearings.
This proposal is the result of the combined efforts of the Allegheny County Bar Foundation’s Pro Bono Center, the Neighborhood Legal Services Association, the Education Law Center, and the Academy of Trial Lawyers. The Education Law Center is the newest member of the Pro Bono Center.
Earlier this year Judge Judith L.A. Friedman contacted the Allegheny County Bar Foundation’s Pro Bono Center, as well as the Neighborhood Legal Services Association, regarding the statutory appeals that were being taken from decisions in school board expulsion hearings. Friedman was concerned because in many of these cases, students were unrepresented at their hearings and therefore, no record was established. Without such a record courts had nothing to review, and the outcomes were having devastating consequences on students’ educational careers.
Shari Mamas, a staff attorney at the Education Law Center, agreed that representation at expulsion hearings would be valuable to students, met with Lorrie Albert, Allegheny County Bar Foundation Pro Bono Coordinator, and Barbara Kern of the Neighborhood Legal Services Association, and developed the new signature project to address this issue.
“We proposed it at the Pro Bono Partnership annual breakfast meeting on May 11, 2006,” Albert said, “and I met with the Academy of Trial Lawyers pro bono committee and proposed it to them to take it on as a signature project. This means that the project will be exclusively the Academy's project, and they will supply all of the volunteers from their association.”
The Pro Bono Partnership is a 25-member collaboration consisting of legal departments, law firms, and the Allegheny County Bar Foundation.
“The Academy will be a unique member (of the Pro Bono Partnership) because all of the other members are law firms or corporate legal departments,” Albert said. “But it is exciting because the pro bono project fits the skills of the Academy members so well that everyone agreed that it would be a good fit.”
Under this new arrangement, the Education Law Center, a non-profit, public interest law center that provides free legal advice and technical assistance to children and families on issues of public education, will screen expulsion cases that come into its office for income eligibility.
“The ELC can use the 2006 Health and Human Services Poverty Guidelines to screen clients for income eligibility for this particular project,” Mamas said.
Then, cases that qualify will be referred to a panel of participating attorneys comprised of members of the Academy of Trial Lawyers, an organization that fosters the development, improvement, and accomplishment of advocacy before the courts. If the participating attorney determines to proceed with the representation, he will represent the student at the expulsion hearing and file a statutory appeal if the hearing panel finds against the student.
"Given a lawyer's duty to undertake pro bono work and given the Academy's commitment to improving the administration of justice, we are excited about adopting this signature pro bono project," said Michael Louik, Academy President. "Many of our members are already providing pro bono services in a variety of areas. However, assisting students, their families and the court in this new way will provide another opportunity for members to make a public service contribution."
Attorneys from the Education Law Center will provide introductory training for which participating attorneys will receive CLE credit. Attorneys from the Education Law Center will also act as mentors to participating attorneys throughout the project. The Allegheny County Bar Association will provide malpractice insurance for attorneys participating in the project.
“If we are successful in meeting our initial representation goals, then we will consider expanding the project to include representation of students at truancy hearings before local magistrates,” Mamas said.