Annual Report 2015-2016


Anne Arundel County Local Pro Bono Committee

Annual Report

July 2015 – June 2016

 

Annual Report 2015-2016.docx

2015-2016 Roster.pdf

 

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:

Current: http://aacpll.pbworks.com/w/page/44464630/Anne%20Arundel%20County%20Local%20Pro%20Bono%20Committee%3A%20Roster

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

 

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

 

Anne Arundel Bar Association

 

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

 

 

 

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.