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NCBA President Urges Support of Legal Aid Providers

Article Date: Monday, February 01, 2010

Written By: John R. Wester

On Friday, March 5, approximately 500 lawyers throughout North Carolina will come together at seven locations to volunteer their time during one or more three-hour shifts running from 7 in the morning until 7 at night. On the other end of each line placing each call will be a citizen of our state seeking legal information.

What unfolds on March 5 will be the most visible fulfillment of the participatory goals of our 4ALL Campaign - lawyers, paralegals and law students comprising membership of the North Carolina Bar Association will be fulfilling our mission of serving the public.

For those of you who have participated in this event before, I feel confident that you are looking forward to doing so again. For those who are volunteering for the first time, you are joining an effort that will bring home the reality that many North Carolina citizens have needs that only a lawyer can answer.

As I thank you in advance for stepping forward on March 5, I feel a stronger need than ever to reflect on our professional obligation to support the legal aid community. This community carries the burden, on the 364 days surrounding March 5, of providing legal assistance for the poor.

In North Carolina, our legal aid community is composed of: Legal Aid of North Carolina, which provides legal assistance through a statewide network of 24 offices serving all 100 counties: Legal Services of Southern Piedmont, which legal aid to the poor in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg area and west-central North Carolina; and Pisgah Legal Services, which serves low-income individuals and families in Western North Carolina.

I don't intend to presume anything. We are laboring through a rough time for our profession. I am sure there are many causes that all of us must consider for our financial support, and I respect the difficult choices to be made. For my part, nonetheless, I suggest that no cause has a closer bond to members of our profession -- or a greater need -- than the legal aid community.

So as we celebrate the good works and deeds of lawyers on March 5 - and that is worthy of real celebration - I urge you to consider a financial gift as well. Long after the glow of the TV cameras fades to black and the accomplishments of this great 4ALL Service Day have been chronicled in print and photo, the painstaking task of our legal aid offices will continue. As will their ever-growing needs for financial support to meet even their modest operating expenses and modest salaries. Please help them if you can.

It is well and good that the Revised Rules of Professional Conduct spell this out for us - and in terms that are straight on: CFR .1 [9] The basic responsibility for providing legal services for those unable to pay ultimately rests upon the individual lawyer. Personal involvement in the problems of the disadvantaged can be one of the most rewarding experiences in the life of a lawyer. (Can I get a witness? Yes, many of them.) Every lawyer, regardless of professional prominence or professional workload, should find time to participate in, or otherwise support, the provision of legal services to the disadvantaged.

With utmost appreciation for your service and commitment,

John R. Wester
President, North Carolina Bar Association

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