Allegheny County Bar Association
Project: The Lawyers Journal
The ACBA created the biweekly �The Lawyers Journal� in 1999 to offer its members, free of charge, timely court opinions and summaries, CLE and committee/section information and feature articles on legislation, law office management and technology. This journal has saved the ACBA approximately $102,000 in publication costs.

Beaver County Bar Association
Project: Desktop Publishing
For the first time in 60 years of publishing the Beaver County Legal Journal, the BCBA now is producing the publication in-house with its new desktop publishing system. The system has produced a significant cost savings for the association and has enabled it to redirect funds toward membership and community outreach expansion efforts.

Project: Girls Hope
Participating in a benefit polo match for the Beaver County Chapter of Girls Hope, the BCBA donated $500 to the event and helped to organize the match with seven of its members serving on the 12-person planning committee. Girls Hope is a national organization that provides a nurturing environment/home and a quality education for girls, ages of 10 and 18, who demonstrate leadership potential, but due to poverty, abuse and neglect, cannot remain in their own homes.

Berks County Bar Association
Project: Bahama Bench-Bar Retreat
The BCBA held its Bench-Bar Retreat for this first time outside of the United States in the Bahamas. Over the course of the four-day retreat, members socialized attended seminars and explored the beautiful Bahamas. Outside sponsorship made it possible to offer this trip at a very reasonable price and to stay within the association�s budget.

Chester County Bar Association
Project: Pro Bono Seminar
Each year, the CCBA Pro Bono Committee sponsors free CLE training to attorneys in exchange for their participation in the Volunteer Attorney Program. Attended by 40 attorneys, this year�s seminar was on family law and featured all of the county�s family law judges and masters.

Project: Sexual Harassment Unit
In its efforts to offer instructional units on various law-related subjects to area students, the CCBA Law Related Education Committee this year sponsored an educational unit on sexual harassment for high school seniors. The unit assists in advising potential victims of their rights, potential aggressors on their obligations and both individuals on how to avoid sexual harassment.

Columbia/Montour Bar Association
Project: Annual Scholarship Program
Each year, two high schools are selected to each receive $1,000 college scholarships. The two students, selected by the schools� guidance counselor, are invited to the general bar association luncheon meeting.

Project: I Signed the Constitution
In conjunction with the PBA�s statewide effort, the CMBA sponsored a two-day �I Signed the Constitution Program� for 8th grade students at the Central Columbia Middle School. The program included the Columbia County District Attorney, a former police officer, a Common Pleas Judge, a newspaper editor and a State Representative.

Project: Stepping Out Program
Paired with local high schools by the CMBA, volunteer attorneys presented the law-related Stepping Out Booklet to graduating high school seniors during school assemblies.

Cumberland County Bar Association
Project: ABA Partners Program
The goal of the Partners Program is to raise awareness of the issues that lead to marital discord in the hopes of easing the pressures that lead to the dissolution of marriage. In 1999, the CCBA had 42 of its members introduce the program to four schools.

Project: Stepping Out Program
Coordinated by the Cumberland County Young Lawyers, the Stepping Out Program enables attorneys and students to discuss four distinct legal relationships that may pertain to graduating high school seniors. The YLD, which has been involved in this community service effort since 1996, produces the booklet in conjunction with the PBA.

Project: YLD: Casino Night
Donating this year�s proceeds to the Carlisle Hospital�s Pre-Natal and Child Health clinics, the YLD each year sponsors a �Casino Night� to provide guests with an opportunity to wine and dine with colleagues and friends and then gamble with Monopoly money at Vegas-style games, including blackjack, roulette, poker and craps. In addition, local vendors and contributors donate such raffle prizes as airline tickets to anywhere in the continental United States.

Dauphin County Bar Association
Project: Leadership Retreat
The Dering Consulting Group facilitated a day-long strategic planning retreat for the board and staff of the DCBA. The program included an analysis of the DCBA�s strengths and weaknesses, a re-commitment to the DCBA�s purposes, identification of this year�s priorities and the development of strategies for accomplishing key goals.

Project: Baltimore Bench/Bar Conference
This year, the DCBA held its Biennial Bench/Bar Conference in Baltimore�s Inner Harbor. Activities included a welcome reception with the Chief Judge of the Maryland Court of Appeals, and ethics panel CLE and a judicial panel discussion, a Strolling Dinner and a Commodores� Party aboard DCBA members� sailboats.

Project: Diversity Workshop
The DCBA Equal Opportunity Committee sponsored a half-day diversity training workshop that featured speaker Dr. Terrell Jones, Vice Provost for Educational Equity of Penn State University. Approximately 40 participants completed this first of two sessions devoted to awareness, sensitivity, values, opportunities for inclusion and the future of the legal profession.

Delaware County Bar Association
Project: Reading is Fundamental
This program celebrates books, encourages literacy and distributes books to students who might otherwise lack access to such materials. Lawyers travel to local schools to read to elementary school students and then meet with the students individually to help them select books to take home.

Project: Town Hall Line
During Law Day Week, a panel of attorneys makes itself available in the town�s government hall for a few hours each day to provide free legal advice. The program is helpful to the public and is a good public relations tool for the DCBA.

Project: Child Custody Mediation
This project is a proposal for a DCBA-sponsored custody mediation program, which would be used in cases where the litigants and their counsel believe that mediation may be successful in resolving the custody dispute. The program would work in partnership with the courts.

Erie County Bar Association
Project: Revision & Implementation of New Judicial Plebiscite Procedures
Judicial Election and Retention procedures were revised and implemented to confirm compliance with the Election Code, especially in the area of expenditures for such items as postage for mailing ballots, paper to print ballots and the publication of results in the newspaper.

Project: Acquisition of Courthouse Arbitration Rooms
Erie County had been without decent arbitration rooms in the courthouse for many years. The ECBA was concerned that clients were not feeling they truly were being given their day in court. As such, the President Judge, the ECBA and the County Executive worked together to find two appropriate rooms in the courthouse to be dedicated to arbitration.

Franklin County Bar Association

Project:

Project: The Franklin County Bar Association 100th Anniversary Video
The Franklin County Bar Association 100th Anniversary Video, prepared as part of the FCBA�s centennial celebration, premiered during the member�s centennial gala. The professionally-produced video highlights the FCBA�s history, interviews with officers and members and the important role attorneys have played in Franklin County during the last century.

Project: Celebrating a Century of Service
�Celebrating a Century of Service,� a booklet prepared in conjunction with the FCBA�s centennial celebration, spotlights the FCBA�s history, includes rosters of all members and presidents and gives accounts of members� memories in the legal profession. The booklet was distributed to the community during the public centennial celebration at the courthouse.

Lackawanna Bar Association
Project: People�s Law School �99
The LBA�s seventh annual People�s Law School is an educational service for the community to learn first-hand about the law. The three-day program included sessions on estate planning, the civil trial process and education law. This positive public relations event has become a vital project of the LBA.

Project: Lawyers in the Classroom
This YLD-sponsored program works to educate elementary school students about the American justice system. During the second annual Lawyers in the Classroom program, 60 LBA members visited 30 Lackawanna County schools and spoke to over 2,000 fifth-grade students about the law.

Project: YLD Project KidCare
A free public service to provide local families the opportunity to have their children photographed and fingerprinted for their safety and personal identification, KidCare was sponsored on a community wide level by the YLD. Members of the LBA and Lackawanna Lawyers Auxiliary helped to process 150 children during the three-hour clinic.

Lancaster Bar Association
Project: Association Management Software
Being able to track involvement in activities is a vital part of encouraging inclusion and �growing� leaders. As such, the LBA developed association management software to accomplish this task and also provide more efficient ways to track membership information, CLE records, LRS panel involvement, etc., enabling staff to act as resources for information.

Project: Arbitration Fee Check-Off
Working with the Court Administrator�s Office, the LBA has instituted a program that encourages attorneys on the county�s arbitration panel to donate 100% or 50% of their arbitrator�s fees to Central Pennsylvania Legal Services. It is anticipated that funds will top $18,000 annually, which is above the contribution made by the LBA ($40,000 in 1999) and funds collected as part of the LBA�s �Buy-In� option of its Volunteer Attorney Program.

The Bar Association of Lehigh County
Project: Adopt-A-Highway
Joining with a PennDOT program to keep a portion of a local roadway beautiful, the BALC Community Services Committee adopted a large highway interchange to keep it clean of litter. The project fosters camaraderie among project participants and demonstrates the BALC�s concern for the community.

Project: Holiday Assistance Millennium Program
To mark the year 2000, the BALC set a millennium goal for its Holiday Assistance Program of donating $2000 to each of three charities. Administered through the BALC Community Services Committee, the program has raised nearly $40,000 from members and their staffs for charities that feed the needy and homeless in Lehigh County.

Lycoming Law Association
Project: Red Cross Bloodmobile
The LLA sponsored a blood drive through the American Red Cross Bloodmobile. With the help of the LLA, the bloodmobile collected 170 pints, doubling the goal of eighty-five pints.

Project: Heart Walk
In memory of attorney Richard Roesgen, the LLA participated in the American Heart Association Heart Walk. The LLA President acted as the designated walker for any law firms unable to participate. The walk raised $18,000 for the American Heart Association.

Project: Legal Assistance for Victims of Hurricane Floyd
In the aftermath of Hurricane Floyd, the LLA worked with PEMA/FEMA to have seven local attorneys volunteer their time to answer legal questions for hurricane victims at the Emergency Disaster Relief Center. The center provided relief for victims in Lycoming, Northumberland, Snyder and Union counties.

Montgomery Bar Association
Project: Elder Law Handbook
Growing out of discussions with community groups that work with senior citizens, the Elder Law Handbook is designed to empower and educate seniors and their caregivers to make more informed life decisions and access reliable and timely legal information. The handbook is written and produced by bar members and the MBA Community Outreach Committee.

Project: Student Mentoring Program
This program was designed by the MBA Community Outreach Committee to provide economically disadvantaged students in seventh and eighth grades with mentors. The mentors, who provide informal guidance and companionship, meet with their mentees twice a month and even more frequently on their own time. The program works to encourage the students to strive for their full potential in living their lives and being productive members of society.

Project: The Coming Crisis: Potential Assaults on the Practice of Law Luncheon Meetings
The MBA President held a series of luncheon presentations at eight locations across the county to educate MBA members about changes in the practice of law. The interactive presentations addressed such topics as tort reform and multidisciplinary practice. The presentations offered MBA members the opportunity to meet with the president at convenient locations.

Monroe County Bar Association
Project: Lawyer Referral Service
Started in June of 1999, the MCBA lawyer referral service works to help members of the public who are having legal difficulties find lawyers knowledgeable in those areas of the law. In its first seven months of operations, approximately 1300 referrals have been made to the 48 lawyers who have joined the service.

Project: Bench Bar Conference
The Bench Bar Conference provides a setting, away from the courtroom, in which members of the Bench and Bar can discuss problems and initiate solutions to improve their communication.

Northampton County Bar Association
Project: Law Explorer Program
The Law Explorer Program encourages students to explore the law as a possible career by exposing them to people working within the legal system. The NCBA has had juvenile probation officers, state representatives and district justices talk with students. Parents also are invited to attend.

Project: I Signed the Constitution
In conjunction with the PBA, the National Constitution Center and the national celebration of Constitution Day, the NCBA hosted a mock signing of the Constitution at the Shawnee Middle School. The students dressed in colonial garb and discussed the importance of the Constitution. The students then presented the signed scroll to the NCBA president.

Project: Northampton County 250th Anniversary
To help celebrate the 250th anniversary of Northampton County, the NCBA paid to have the county�s flag replicated and displayed at the Northampton County Government Center. The flag represents the county�s history, service, family and legal experience in its formative years.

Schuylkill County Bar Association
Project: Pro Bono Program
In cooperation with Central Pennsylvania Legal Services, the SCBA began its first formal pro bono legal services program this year. More than 90% of the bar�s members have volunteered either to provide direct legal services in civil matters to eligible individuals or to make a financial contribution in lieu of such service.

Project: Scholarship Fund
Through a contribution by the SCBA, memorial contributions made by members, family and friends and a recent generous bequest, the SCBA awarded $9,200 to 18 county residents attending approved law schools. Due to the growing interest in the fund, the fund directors expect more financial assistance in the future.

Project: Give a Family Christmas
Utilizing local churches and community agencies, the Women�s Law Caucus was able to provide a Christmas to three �working poor� families. Gifts for the children and grocery certificates were purchased through member donations. The caucus shopped, wrapped and delivered the items.

Snyder County Bar Association
Project: Annual Law Day Essay Contest
Students from two Snyder county high schools competed in the SCBA�s annual essay contest, submitting 24 essays on a topic relating to impeachment. The four winning students were awarded $450 U.S. Savings Bonds.

Susquehanna County Bar Association
Project: I Signed the Constitution
Participating with the PBA in the I Signed the Constitution Program, the SCBA provided speakers and materials for a local high school on the day of the signing.

Project: Jonathon Jasper Wright Portrait
The SCBA participated in and provided materials for the framing of a portrait of Jonathon Jasper Wright, a Susquehanna County native and former South Carolina Supreme Court Justice who was the first black attorney admitted to the Bar in Pennsylvania. The portrait hangs in the Susquehanna Courthouse.

Union County Bar Association
Project: Pro Bono Custody Hearing Officer Program
Enabling hundreds of low-income individuals involved in custody disputes to have access to the justice system, this program engages attorneys to donate one day a month to work on four to eight custody cases.

Washington County Bar Association
Project: People�s Law School
The WCBA People�s Law School was held on four consecutive evenings with an average of 20 members of the public attending the two-hour sessions. The topics ranged from real estate, to wills to family and criminal law. Attendees paid a $10 registration fee to cover printing of materials.

Project: Bench Bar Conference
The WCBA held two Bench Bar Conference in 1999. The winter conference focused on technology and offered members computer training seminars on such topics as desktop publishing, word processing, specific software products and Internet legal research. It also featured a Computer Expo. The summer conference offered a full schedule of CLE seminars and networking opportunities.

Project: Mentor Program
Pairing young lawyers with senior attorneys, the Mentoring Program was developed to provide new lawyers with an opportunity to consult and develop relationships with more experienced attorneys. For the first year of the program, the WCBA subsidizes a monthly lunch meeting for the mentees and mentors.

Westmoreland Bar Association
Project: Candidates� Night
The WBA partnered with the NAACP, League of Women Voters and Business and Professionalism Women to sponsor a candidates night for those running for county commissioner and the Westmoreland County Court of Common Pleas. The WBA�s videotape of the program aired on all local cable stations.

Project: Working Women�s Closet
Partnering with the YWCA, the WBA launched the Women�s Closet program, which collects gently worn suits and business clothing for women entering or reentering the job market. In addition to ongoing clothing collection, the WBA hosted a luncheon to which the entrance fee was one suit.

Project: YL District Justice Dinner
The Young Lawyers of the WBA held a dinner with the District Justices to provide both groups with an opportunity to meet and talk with one another. The dinner led to the YL scheduling of a CLE seminar with the District Justices.

Wilkes-Barre Law & Library Association
Project: Food for Filing
Sponsored by the W-BLLA YLD, this program begins before Thanksgiving in an effort to collect can goods and other non-perishable foods for distribution over the holidays to families in need. Receptacles were placed in various Courthouse offices to collect donations. The YLD also made a monetary contribution.

Project: Mentor Program
The Mentor Program works to provide newly admitted lawyers with practical knowledge and guidance by pairing them with seasoned, experienced attorneys. The W-BLLA expects this program to have positive long-term effect on the rejuvenation of the organized bar.

Project: Speakers Bureau
Aimed at educating the public about the role of attorneys and services they provide, the W-BLLA Speakers Bureau provides volunteer attorney-speakers to civic groups, schools and social organizations in Luzerne County. The attorneys speak on a variety of law-related topics.

York County Bar Association
Project: Behind the Courthouse Doors
Written and performed by members of the YCBA, �Behind the Courthouse Doors� is a musical production that provides humorous insight into life at the York County Courthouse and the practice of law in general. Proceeds of the sold-out show went to the York Little Theater and the York County Bar Foundation.

Project: Legalines T.V. Program
�Legalines,� a public service television program, was established by the YCBA to inform and educate the York County community on law-related issues. Covering such topics as family law, real estate and bankruptcy, the programs are taped every over month and aired on the first Wednesday on every month.

Project: Mediation Program
The YCBA and the York County Chamber of Commerce established a mediation program to resolve business and commercial disputes between members of the chamber. The program, which involves mediators from both the YCBA and the chamber, offers chamber members a swift, affordable and less conventional way to resolve differences.