I recently heard a commentator discuss how impressed he was at the basic civility of people. It made
me wonder how he would react to the immense generosity and compassion of so many lawyers in our
community who give of themselves to help strangers in need.
Each year the Pro Bono Resource Center of Maryland honors outstanding volunteer lawyers and
law firms from across the state who provide pro bono legal help to those without the means to afford
legal counsel. Several members of the Prince George's County bar have earned that distinction and the
Law Foundation of Prince George's County's pro bono program received the Pro Bono Program
Service Award in 1996. What is striking, however, is what motivates lawyers to become involved.
Time and again volunteers emphatically state that they do pro bono work because it is simply the right
thing to do and that they want to give back to the community in some meaningful way.
PBRC is the statewide clearinghouse and support center for pro bono legal services. For over ten
years the Center has successfully recruited, trained and matched thousands of volunteer lawyers with
legal services providers across Maryland. PBRC believes it is important for pro bono lawyers to be
given cases or work on issues that matter to them and that will have some tangible benefit to the client.
By promoting a wide variety of pro bono opportunities, PBRC can help lawyers find something that is
relevant to their practice area or is especially rewarding to them. PBRC provides support services and
technical assistance to the diverse group of pro bono programs that exist as well as to the volunteers,
including free or discount MICPEL seminars, free access to LEXIS/NEXIS services, and volunteer
court reporting services.
Part of the Center's mission is to advocate for policy changes to improve the effectiveness of the
volunteer effort and increase access to justice. PBRC is constantly looking for opportunities and
incentives for partnering volunteers with providers and stimulating collaboration within the legal
community. Members of the bar and bench from Prince George's county have been an integral and
effective part of several initiatives that have strengthened the pro bono and legal services network,
including PBRC's Board of Directors, the PBRC-sponsored statewide Legal Services Partnership
Conference, and the Maryland Judicial Commission on Pro Bono. Such collaboration has made a true
difference to the legal services community and those residents relying on a system of equal justice.
For information on interesting and diverse pro bono opportunities or assistance in starting a pro
bono project, contact the Pro Bono Resource Center of Maryland at: (800) 492-1964; (410) 837-9379;
pbrc@probonomd.org .
By Sharon E. Goldsmith, Esq.
Executive Director, Pro Bono
Resource Center of Maryland, Inc.
