Anne Arundel County Local Pro Bono Committee
Annual Report
July 2015 – June 2016
Submitted by: Michelle Moodispaw
Chair, July 2015 – June 2016
with Tasnima Apol,
Interim and Incoming Chair, June 2016.
Contact information: c/o Joan Bellistri, Anne Arundel County Public Law Library, Anne Arundel County Circuit Court
Committee Information
Chairs are selected via committee vote.
There is one local committee. The previous Anne Arundel Bar Association committee has been discontinued.
The composition of the committee complies with Rule 16-902.
Roster:
Roster for reporting period is attached and can be found here: http://aacpll.pbworks.com/w/file/110290576/2015-2016%20Roster.pdf
Meeting schedule: 4thMonday of the month at 12:15
Most significant activities:
Expungement Clinic on 2/23/2016 at the Anne Arundel County Public Library, Glen Burnie Regional Library: https://aacpll.org/2016/03/04/expungement-shielding-clinic-wrap-up/
MVLS provided expungement training on 1/5/2016 at the site
Homeless Resource Day (4/9/2016) https://aacpll.org/2016/04/18/homeless-resource-day-2016/
Lawyer in the Library - for more information see Blog posts: https://aacpll.org/?s=lawyer+in+the+library and statistics: http://aacpll.pbworks.com/w/page/107013711/Homeless%20Resource%20Day%202016%3A%20Statistics
Weekly program in the Anne Arundel County Public Law Library
Monthly program in the Anne Arundel County Public Library Glen Burnie Regional Library
Program expansion monthly at the Eastport Annapolis Neck Community Library of the Anne Arundel County Public Library as of June 28, 2016.
MVLS sponsored programs
Monthly Foreclosure Clinic (3rdWednesday of the month)
Bankruptcy Workshop in the Anne Arundel County Public Law Library (April 2015 and June 2016)
Pro Bono Outreach and Recruitment:
Anne Arundel Bar Association Pro Bono Award reinstated – Award given to Jim Sauer at the annual AABA meeting on 6/27/2016.
Annual Pro Bono Recognition Lunch (2/11/2016) https://aacpll.org/2016/02/29/recognizing-anne-arundel-county-pro-bono-volunteers-2/
Program: http://aacpll.pbworks.com/w/file/107130363/Program%202016.pdf
Pro Bono Directory – ongoing revision of print and online access http://aacpll.pbworks.com/w/page/69410664/Pro%20Bono%20(Free)%20and%20Reduced%20Fee%20Civil%20Legal%20Services
Inns of Court
Information to Inn sponsored monthly chamber chats
Judge Silkworth, Circuit Court Judicial member, spoke with the incoming President who has agreed to make pro bono a concern of the Inns next year
Anne Arundel Bar Association
AABA Barrister’s Ball
Pro Bono handouts, postcards, with pro bono opportunity information were scattered on each table.
http://aacpll.pbworks.com/w/file/107120976/pro%20bono%20postcard%20side%201.docx
http://aacpll.pbworks.com/w/file/107120979/pro%20bono%20postcard%20side%202.docx
AABA Comuncations
Listserv/email blasts
Barrister articles
Judicial Participation
There are judicial members on the committee. Anne Arundel County judges and magistrates from the Circuit Court, District Court, Court of Special Appeals and Court of Appeals attended the Pro Bono Recognition Lunch.
Government Attorneys
Attorneys from the Office of the Public Defender and the Office of the State’s Attorney participated in Homeless Resource Day and one of the bar appointed attorney Committee members works for the County Office of Law.
Legal Needs
The 2003 surveys are updated with data from the report of the Community Foundation of Anne Arundel County “Poverty Amidst Plenty V, 2015”
http://aacpll.pbworks.com/w/file/fetch/104564119/2015-Needs-Assessmet-Final-for-Printer.pdf
Local Bar Association
Bar President, Dave Putzi, attended a committee meeting for discussion of opportunities and how he could help promote pro bono. The Bar President detailed pro bono opportunities in President’s message in the January 2016 issue of the Barrister. The bar president appoints attorney members to the committee.
Challenges
The most significant challenges are getting the support of the bar in changing the culture of local attorneys in accepting pro bono and getting more attorneys to volunteer for full representation programs.
Improvements
There seems to be more awareness of pro bono. However, Anne Arundel County is back at the bottom per report on the year 2014 issued November 2015
Standing Committee Support
Joint meeting with local committees and regional meetings are helpful for sharing ideas. Online access to the Best Practices Manual is appreciated.
Standing Committee suggested support
Educational programs for the bench on promoting pro bono.
Programs for bench and bar on incorporating LSR with pro bono.
Court Support of Pro Bono
Judicial involvement and promotion of pro bono could make pro bono more desirable for attorneys. Judicial recognition can be a great way to encourage pro bono.