Pro Bono Day

IN CHAMBERS WITH THE HON. JUDITH C. ENSOR: LIVING IN THE MOMENT By Matt M. Paavola

Earth]. (At this point the Judge shared a profound but personal supernatural experience involving family and asked that the details not be published). [But I can share] the event of my father’s funeral on our old family farm. On the day we held his [processional] on the farm, the livestock [without prompting] made their way from the usual back of the farm to the front of the farm in an orderly line, and then watched, as if to pay homage to the passing away and funeral gathering of their [ beloved caretaker]. It is not my way to tell people that this was a miracle, or even telling others about God’s will, but . . .[generally] I do not spend a lot of time on things that are unanswerable. I do not spend a lot of time wondering about possibilities. I prefer to live in the moment.”

PRO BONO DAY By Tommy Tompsett

The term "pro bono" comes from the Latin pro bono publico, which means "for the public good." The American Bar Association’s Standing Committee on Pro Bono and Public Service best framed an attorney's inherent obligation to strive to perform such good when it noted, “When society confers the privilege to practice law on an individual, he or she accepts the responsibility to promote justice and to make justice equally accessible to all people. Thus, all lawyers should aspire to render some legal services without fee or expectation of fee for the good of the public.” On Saturday, June 12th, six attorney volunteers on behalf of the Pro Bono Committee of the Baltimore County Bar Association (BCBA), in conjunction with Maryland Legal Aid (MLA), hosted a Pro Bono Day at the North Point Public Library in Dundalk. After navigating a line that stretched out the library entrance and across the front of the building, those seeking free legal civil aid talked one-on-one with a lawyer. During the four-hour event, the BCBA and MLA assisted 57 clients on 69 legal issues, including bankruptcy, trust & estates, consumer protection, family law, expungements, landlord-tenant, and landlord-tenant and public benefits. The event was quite successful. So successful, in fact, that the BCBA Pro Bono Committee will be joining once again with MLA to host a similar event in early October, taking their goodwill to the west side of Baltimore County this time. Should you like to participate in the fall event, please reach out to Aaron Parker, Chair of the Pro Bono Committee, at aparker@lawpga.com