Annual Pro Bono Conference and CLE Program, May 13, 2014
At the PBA�s annual Pro Bono Conference, the legal community�s foremost pro bono event, Chief Justice of Pennsylvania Ronald D. Castille, state Sen. Stewart J. Greenleaf and other distinguished faculty participated in the May 13 gathering titled �Making a Difference 2014.� The event was co-sponsored by the PBA�s Legal Services to the Public Committee and the Pennsylvania Bar Institute. See the event brochure and the program for the session in Philadelphia. View course descriptions and photos from the session in Mechanicsburg.

Pro Bono Celebrated During PLAN Reception at 2014 CCBL
Each year for the past seven years, the Pennsylvania Legal Services Network (PLAN) and the PBA Pro Bono Office have sponsored a celebration of the partnership between local bars and local legal aid offices prior to the start of the annual Conference of County Bar Leaders (CCBL). Prior to CCBL 2014, Feb. 27-March 1, in State College, this event was held at the Lewis Katz Building, the Penn State University law facility in University Park. A $60 million, LEED-certified building completed in 2009, it features a glass-walled library with spectacular views of the Penn State Arboretum, Beaver Stadium and Mount Nittany, a courtroom equipped to display evidence electronically, a caf�, comfortable classrooms, and student meeting and study spaces. Shown below, PBA President Forest N. Myers addresses the nearly 100 bar and legal aid leaders at the event, with PLAN Executive Director Samuel W. Milkes at right; and PBA Pro Bono Coordinator David K. Trevaskis is assisted by Milkes with the annual raffle of Phillies-Pirates baseball tickets.
  

Castille, Myers Speak at PBA/PBI 'Spring into Pro Bono Action' CLE Program, May 14, 2013
Chief Justice of Pennsylvania Ronald D. Castille (below left) participated in the statewide pro bono conference and CLE program sponsored by the PBA Legal Services to the Public Committee and the Pennsylvania Bar Institute (PBI) at the PBI Conference Center, May 14. Also during the event, newly installed PBA President Forest N. Myers (below right) said that pro bono and access to justice are top priorities during his one-year term. See the event brochure. Read the conference program. Read more about the PBA pro bono program.

'Pro Bono from Your Desk': An Introduction for Volunteer Attorneys on Providing Pro Bono Legal Services through the Pennsylvania SeniorLAW HelpLine, July 13, 2012
Pennsylvania SeniorLAW HelpLine, in partnership with the Pennsylvania Bar Association and Pennsylvania Legal Aid Network, Inc., will be sponsoring a free CLE volunteer attorney training on July 13. Titled "Pro Bono from Your Desk," it will be held at Arcadia University, King of Prussia. Click here for details.

Pro Bono Conference and CLE Program, May 21, 2012
Join co-sponsors the PBA's Legal Services to the Public Committee and PBI for "Making a Difference: How to do pro bono without it taking over your life (and practice)" to learn a variety of ways you can answer the pro bono call to service. Click here for information posted on the PBI website.

2011 PLAN Conference Supplemental Handouts (includes links to handouts not on the CD distributed during the conference, May 11-12, 2011)

2011 PBA Pro Bono Conference Held March 7

PBA Pro Bono Office Joins MCAP in Series of Trainings Beginning Feb. 16
The PBA Pro Bono Office is joining the Montgomery Child Advocacy Project (MCAP) in presenting across Pennsylvania a series of free half-day seminars. The program begins by outlining the history of the MCAP as an educational model for counties to address the need of representing children in certain legal matters. Please check out both the MCAP website at http://www.mcapkids.org/ and http://www.pabar.org/public/committees/childini/summit.asp. On the second site, there are two PowerPoint presentations under the heading Children's Advocates Program Presentations by Wendy Demchick-Alloy and Mary Pugh, Montgomery County Advocacy Project

The IOLTA-supported program is designed to help counties serve children. In the seminar, MCAP and PBA Pro Bono presenters will review other ways to serve children either by court appointment or through a county office. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court is currently contemplating that all lawyers who represent children in these situations must attend pre-approved training seminars, so the seminar will also address and model the ways to train lawyers to serve as counsel for children.

In light of the developments in Luzerne County, as well as the mandate in the Juvenile Act requiring counsel for children, this seminar serves as a review of the various ways counties appoint counsel and guardians ad litem for children. Each program will be tailored with local Bar and pro bono leaders to both address the needs and the ways to address these serious and fundamental needs.

Check the PBA Pro Bono Calendar for dates and locations for the trainings. The first event is Feb. 16 in Williamsport!

Pro Bono and Child Advocacy: the MCAP Model for Helping Counties Serve Children (Accredited for 2 Substantive and 1 Integrated Ethics credits)

First Hour

Welcome; Mary Pugh, Executive Director of Montgomery County Child Advocates Program;
David Trevaskis, Pro Bono Coordinator, Pennsylvania Bar Association; Representatives of local District Attorney and local Bar Association

Overview of Pro Bono Ethic/Rule of Professional Responsibility 6.1/PALawhelp.org and PAprobono.net, Trevaskis

History of the MCAP; What a Model Child Representation Program Looks Like, Pugh

Second Hour

Overview of Children in the System; Dependency vs. Delinquency; Children in Criminal Court not as Delinquents; Juvenile Act Review, Pugh and Trevaskis

Third Hour

Local Practice with Children; What Can Be Done Locally in the Future, Pugh and others

Wrap Up/Evaluation/Where We Go From Here?, Trevaskis

Monroe County Bar Association Second Annual Pro Bono Conference April 20, 2011
The Second Annual Pro Bono Conference sponsored by the Monroe County Bar Association is rescheduled for Wednesday, April 20, due to bad weather on the original Jan. 12 date and the rescheduled Feb. 2 date. All else remains the same--the event is still at The Cramer Room, Burnley Employment and Rehabilitation Services in Stroudsburg, Pa. The Monroe County Bar Association Pro Bono Conference agenda begins with a buffet lunch at 11:30 AM. The following four sessions will be conducted by local presenters. The sessions include �Act 91 and Home Loan Modification�, �Home Mortgage Foreclosure Defense�, Mortgage Foreclosure Mediation�, and �Bankruptcy�. Victoria Coyle, Executive Director from North Penn Legal Services (NPLS) will close the conference with remarks on pro bono services.

"We�re pleased to be able to present a program of legal education in an area of the law that impacts so many members of our community and to do so using the food services of a program as worthwhile as Burnley Employment and Rehabilitation Services," said Jeffrey J. Kash, Esq., Chair of the MCBA Pro Bono Committee. The Monroe County Bar Association Pro Bono Conference is free to those attorneys who agree to accept two pro bono cases during the year 2011. The referrals for the pro bono cases will be made through North Penn Legal Services. Cost to attend the Pro Bono Conference (to those who do not want to accept two pro bono cases) is $250.00. This program has been approved for 3 Substantive CLE credits.

To register for the Monroe County Bar Association Pro Bono Conference, call Susan Kenny at 570-242-7288.

Pro Bono Conference Set for March 7, 2011
Chief Justice of Pennsylvania Ronald D. Castille and PBA President Gretchen Mundorff have called for the expansion of pro bono legal services to the poor. Come March 7 to one of more than 20 locations around the state to join in the statewide pro bono conference and CLE program sponsored by the PBA�s Legal Services to the Public Committee in conjunction with PBI. See a variety of ways you might answer the call to service and fulfill your aspirational duty. This program has been approved by the Pennsylvania Continuing Legal Education Board for 5 hours of CLE credit in substantive law and 1 hour in ethics.�Click here for information and to register on the PBI website.

Intelligent Design Case Reviewed in Philadelphia
U.S. Middle District Judge John Jones, the presiding judge in the Dover intelligent design case, joined PBA Pro Bono Coordinator David Trevaskis for a series of undergraduate class visits and an open, school-wide forum in Philadelphia on Nov. 20. Jones (shown below speaking to students) emphasized the rule of law and the importance of the independence of the judiciary in a day-long visit that was organized by Temple history professor Ralph Young.�Trevaskis noted that the Dover case is a �wonderful example of pro bono representation, though the publicity of a big case reminds us of the real importance of the day-to-day work done by thousands of pro bono lawyers on matters that never make the news.�

2009 Pro Bono Conference
Every year, as part of the PBA Annual Meeting, the PBA Pro Bono Office and the PBA Legal Services to the Public Committee hold an annual CLE event both to promote and to celebrate new developments in the statewide pro bono effort. The first annual PBA Pro Bono Conference was held in Hershey in May 2002. In 2009, the program was made a part of the Pennsylvania Legal Aid Network's (PLAN) statewide training conference, which was held in Harrisburg, Sept. 22-23, with the Pro Bono Office and Legal Services to the Public Committee participating in ethics and substantive law presentations open to civil legal aid and private practice attorneys alike. The highlight of the program was the Civil Legal Aid and Pro Bono Awards Reception on Sept. 22. During the reception, which was jointly sponsored by PLAN, the PBA and the Pennsylvania Bar Foundation, the following awards were presented by the Legal Services to the Public Committee:
      Judge�s Award: Presented to a Pennsylvania jurist who has made exceptional contributions to the improvement of civil legal aid.
      Civil Legal Aid Attorney of the Year Awards: Presented to a legal services or other public interest lawyer; recognizes exceptional contributions to the improvement of civil legal aid.
      Pro Bono Awards: Recognizing the direct legal services and exceptional public service of pro bono attorneys.
For more information on the ceremony and for pictures of the event, please go to http://www.pabar.org/site/Probono/awards.

2008 PBA Pro Bono Conference and Pro Bono Awardees
The 2008 PBA Pro Bono Conference, funded by a generous grant from the Pennsylvania Bar Foundation, was held in tandem with the PBA on the Hill program, Monday, May 5, at the Capitol, Harrisburg. Pro Bono Award winners were honored by YLD Chair Bill Higgins and Pro Bono Coordinator David Trevaskis as part of the Pro Bono Conference that afternoon. A highlight of the PBA on the Hill event was the reception in the Capitol Rotunda, during which PBA Pro Bono Award winners were again honored. Use the links below to reach photos, conference materials and other pro bono-related information.
Central Penn Business Journal Article, May 23, 2008
Conference Agenda
Conference Photos
"On the Hill" Column, March/April 2008 Lawyer Magazine
"On the Hill" Column, May/June 2008 Lawyer Magazine
PBA Legal Services to the Public Committee Resolution, Increased Funding for Civil Legal Aid
PBA Legal Services to the Public Committee Resolution, Right to Counsel
PBA on the Hill Brochure
PLAN 2008-09 Budget Request
PLAN Postcards
Pennsylvania Bar News Article, June 2, 2008
Reception Photos
Registration Form
Sen. Greenleaf Letter, April 30, 2008
"Side Bar" Column, May/June 2008 Lawyer Magazine
"Side Bar" Column, July/August 2007 Lawyer Magazine
Talking Points
The Need for Student Loan Repayment Assistance for Public Service Lawyers in Pennsylvania

2007 Pro Bono Conference/Children's Summit a Huge Success

From left, Dauphin County District Attorney Ed Marsico, PCADV Pennsylvania Managing Attorney Ellen Kramer Adler, PBA Pro Bono Coordinator David Trevaskis and Office of Inspector General Chief Counsel Steve Turner at Protection from Abuse CLE training, April 19, 2007.

2006 Pro Bono Conference Included Learning and Celebration

PBA and Pennsylvania Coalition Against Domestic Violence Joint CLE Seminar, April 2006

2006 Pro Bono Conference in Hershey
- Brochure and registration information
- 2006 Conference Agenda

2005 Pro Bono Conference
2004 Pro Bono Conference
2003 Pro Bono Conference
- Situations
- Hypotheticals