Pro Bono Corner: Philadelphia Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts

As young attorneys, we don't always get to choose our cases or clients. Volunteer organizations for lawyers provide perfect outlets for young lawyers to exercise their skills in an industry or area of law that, although they might enjoy, may not always cross their desks. Whether it is an interest in finance, elder law, immigration, or child advocacy, there is a volunteer organization with a mission suited for every affinity.

But beyond the personal fulfillment that comes with volunteering, there is the simple fact that these organizations need lawyers with diverse skills and expertise to assist their clients.

Last spring, Philadelphia Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts (PVLA) referred Betsy,* a Philadelphia artist, to Tricia Desmarais Clark for litigation advice. Betsy had been receiving harassing emails and text messages from a former art school classmate containing outrageous accusations about her character and artistic integrity. Betsy had subsequently learned the classmate had created a website publicizing these slanderous communications and he was submitting the website to many prominent galleries and museums - some of which Betsy did business with - as a work of art. Knowing full-blown litigation was not in Betsy's best interests, Clark was able to negotiate a resolution with the classmate that allayed Betsy's concerns and protected her professional interests.

Also a volunteer for PVLA, Gregory Baroni provides transactional legal services for area artists. In one such case, Baroni assisted a non-profit art gallery with advice related to the gallery's nationally recognized creative talent competition, which exhibits the paintings, illustrations, photography, and other works of local artists. The works are evaluated by a jury comprised of artists knowledgeable and active within an artistic discipline. The gallery's stated challenge was to maintain the reputation of the competition and provide a fair jury process. In concert with gallery representatives, Baroni developed a jury process and drafted corresponding guidelines, including a juror code of ethics, which would provide the standards for juror conduct throughout the competition and minimize or eliminate the potential for bias.

Helping a low-income client resolve an issue is often one of the most rewarding things we can do as young attorneys. Whatever our practices, whatever our interests, there is an affinity volunteer organization with clients who need our help. For us, it is PVLA -- for you?

Tricia Desmarais Clark is a litigation associate at Bochetto & Lentz, P.C. She can be reached at tdesmarais@bochettoandlentz.com.

Gregory A. Baroni is a trusts and estates attorney at Connor, Weber & Oberlies. He can be reached at gbaroni@cwolaw.com.

*All client names have been changed to protect their privacy.

CNN's John King to Speak at March 17 Quarterly Meeting

John King, most recently the host of CNN's "State of the Union with John King," will be the keynote speaker at the Association's Quarterly Meeting and Luncheon on Wednesday, March 17.

At the event, Immediate-Past Chancellor Sayde J. Ladov will be presented with a gold box, an exact replica of the one presented to Andrew Hamilton for his defense of John Peter Zenger in 1735. The gold box is presented annually to the immediate-past Chancellor and is inscribed with the message "acquired not by money, but by character."

The Quarterly Meeting begins at 12 p.m. at the Hyatt at The Bellevue, Broad and Walnut streets. Tickets are $55 and are available HERE.

King joined CNN in May 1997 and was appointed chief national correspondent in April 2005. He served as CNN's senior White House correspondent from 1999 to 2005. He is well known for his use of CNN's "multi-touch" board, which allows him to delve into data on election nights.

Attorneys Needed to Judge National Moot Court Competition

The Marshall-Brennan Project in Constitutional Literacy will hold its Second Annual National Moot Court Competition on March 20 and 21.

Hosted by the Earle Mack School of Law at Drexel University, the competition will bring together urban high school students from 11 U.S. cities, all of whom made it to the final rounds in local meets. All of these teens have been learning about the U.S. Constitution and the American legal system from law students who teach special classes in their schools.

This year, three students from the Earle Mack School of Law wrote the competition problem, which focuses on an exceedingly timely Fourth Amendment issue involving students’ privacy when using their computers.

Sought are volunteers to judge the competition throughout the weekend. The shifts are March 20 from 9:30 a.m. to noon or from 1:30 to 3 p.m. Volunteers are also needed on Sunday, March 21 from 9:30 to 11:05 a.m.

If you are available, please e-mail Shira Katz and let her know which shift you would like to judge.

Two Special Law School Conferences of Note

On Mar. 19, the 29th Annual Edward V. Sparer Symposium will be held from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., followed by a Reception from 4:00 to 6:00 p.m., at the Paul Levy Conference Center, University of Pennsylvania Law School, 3400 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia.

The Symposium, Expanding Access to Justice in Times of Crisis, will focus on the challenges of expanding legal services and explore innovative strategies to deal with the economic downturn and any crisis.

Panels will include: Fulfilling Gideon's Promise: Expanding Access to Criminal Legal Services in Times of Crisis; Justice for Some? Challenging Limited Access to Civil Legal Services; and a Best Practices Breakout Session. There will be a keynote luncheon presentation by Professor Peter B. Edelman.

Panelists include: Jonathan Rapping, Abbe Smith, Robin Dahlberg, Lara Abel, and Alan Houseman, with more to come. CLE credit will be available. For more information and to register, contact Tory Messina.

On Thursday, April 8, Rutgers University Law School-Camden will hold a conference, Back to the Community: Making Systems Work for Reentry, from 8:00 a.m. to 3:45 p.m., at Rutgers University Law School, 217 North 5th St., Camden, N.J.

Join local, regional and national leaders for a discussion on how government agencies and not-for-profit programs can better serve those on parole or probation as well as the communities and families to which they return. Panels of practitioners, policy makers, and researchers will tackle the challenges of systemic coordination and partnership from sentencing through incarceration and release, with particular emphasis on how reentry impacts our urban centers.

RSVP by April 5 to Kristin Walker at 856-225-6325 or krwalker@camden.rutgers.edu. Parking arrangements will be provided.

Applicants Sought for Judge William M. Marutani Fellowship, Due Feb. 26

The Philadelphia Bar Foundation, in partnership with Asian Pacific American Bar Association of Pennsylvania (APABA-PA), is seeking applicants from first-year Asian Pacific students from local law schools for the Judge William M. Marutani Fellowship. Applications are due Feb. 26.

Judge Marutani was the first Asian American judge in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and a distinguished member of the judiciary who served the Asiam American community and the community at large for many years. Judge Muratani's exemplary career is a model for current students who are committed to public service.

The Fellowship is offered to Asian Pacific American first-year law students at Dickinson School of Law, Rutgers University School of Law-Camden, Temple University James E. Beasley School of Law, University of Pennsylvania School of Law, Villanova University School of Law, Drexel University School of Law, and Widener University School of Law.

The Fellowship will provide a stipend for a first-year Asian American law student (up to $5,000) to subsidize a full-time summer internship position (of at least 10 weeks) with a non-profit public interest organization or with a federal, state or municipal government entity (including the judiciary) in the greater Philadelphia area. Applicants are eligible even if they seek or receive other sources of summer funding.

After completing the internship, the Fellowship recipient will be required to complete a two-page report summarizing his/her experience. The report shall be submitted in a finished form appropriate for publication in APABA-PA's newsletter. The recipient will also be recognized at the APABA-PA's annual banquet in the Fall.

All applications must be postmarked by Feb. 26, 2010 and received by 4 p.m. that same date. Mail or hand-deliver materials to Lynne Brown at the Bar Foundation offices, 1101 Market St., 11th Floor, Philadelphia, PA 19107.