Anne Arundel County Local Pro Bono Committee

Annual Report

July 2016 – December 2017

Submitted by Tasnima Apol, Chair

Contact information: Apol Law LLC
443-333-9230 (office), 443-333-5438 (fax), tapol@apollaw.com

Mailing Address: P.O. Box 172 Riva, MD 21140

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.  The Committee has developed procedures for terms and selection of members. http://aacpll.pbworks.com/w/page/95785079/Local%20Pro%20Bono%20Membership%20Procedures

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

Roster for reporting period is here.

Meeting schedule:  4^th Monday at 12:15 every other month, The schedule can be found here: http://aacpll.pbworks.com/w/page/36397010/Meetings

Most significant activities:

Free Legal Fair and Expungement Clinic  https://aacpll.org/2017/11/09/pro-bono-celebration-free-legal-fair-and-expungement-clinic/  

Homeless Resource Day https://aacpll.org/2017/11/10/pro-bono-celebration-homeless-resource-day/

Lawyer in the Library https://aacpll.org/tag/lawyer-in-the-library/

http://circuitcourt.org/legal-help/lawyer-in-the-library

• ·       Weekly program in the Anne Arundel County Public Law Library
• ·       Monthly program in the Anne Arundel County Public Library Glen Burnie Regional Library  and at the Eastport Annapolis Neck Community Library of the Anne Arundel County Public Library 

MVLS sponsored program

            Monthly Foreclosure Clinic (3^rd Wednesday of the month) http://aacpll.pbworks.com/w/page/99877141/Foreclosure%20Clinic

            Pro Bono Outreach and Recruitment:

2016 Pro Bono Week Celebration – Committee volunteers provided information and treats at information tables at the district and circuit courts with the theme “Pro Bono is not so scary”

https://aacpll.org/2016/10/24/pro-bono-is-not-so-scary/

Annual Pro Bono Recognition Lunch 2/28/2017 https://aacpll.org/2017/03/09/recognizing-anne-arundel-county-pro-bono-volunteers-3/

Pro Bono Directory – ongoing revision 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 and dinner meetings http://aacpll.pbworks.com/w/page/123187176/Pro%20Bono%20Opportunity%20Handouts

Pro Bono hours reporting tool http://aacpll.pbworks.com/w/page/114743525/Pro%20Bono%20Reporting%20Tool

Pro Bono survey (paper surveys distributed at December 2017 Inns of Court Meeting and will continue online in 2018) http://aacpll.pbworks.com/w/page/123196818/Pro%20Bono%20Survey

Anne Arundel Bar Association

AABA President’s Pro Bono Award http://aacpll.pbworks.com/w/page/118647180/AABA%20Pro%20Bono%20Award

Presented to Carole Brown at AABA and Inns of Court Joint meeting 10/05/2017

 https://aacpll.org/2017/10/10/national-pro-bono-celebration-has-begun/

AABA Comuncations

• ·       Listserv/email blasts – periodic notices sent by bar to all members
• ·       Barrister articles – 8 articles on pro bono were included in the Barrister through 2017 including the Dec/Jan President’s message, “

Judicial Participation

There are judicial members on the committee and members from all levels of the Anne Arundel County judiciary attended the Pro Bono Recognition Lunch.

Government Attorneys

One committee member is a government attorney.

Legal Needs

The 2003 surveys are updated with YWCA Domestic Violence Statistics, Legal Aid statistics and the Anne Arundel County report “Poverty Amidst Plenty”   Needs assessment update: Poverty Amidst Plenty V report of the Community Foundation Anne Arundel County -  2015-Needs-Assessmet-Final-for-Printer.pdf

Local Bar Association

Support of AABA – Presidents met with the Committee

Challenges

Low participation numbers of Anne Arundel attorneys.

Improvements

There seems to be more awareness of pro bono and yet Anne Arundel has ranked at the bottom per reports for 2015 and 2016

Standing Committee Support

Help with increasing judicial support would be appreciated.

Court Support of Pro Bono

Work of Judge Silkworth is greatly appreciated especially in incorporating the pro bono message at all Inns of Court events.