Jon McCurley
Volunteer of the Month – June 2023 Jon McCurley is a sole practitioner. How did you first get involved with pro bono? I went to UNT Dallas College of Law, and they had a pro bono hour requirement for graduation. DVAP has a “Pro Bono Spring Break” that would allow me to get 40 pro bono hours in one week. I jumped at the opportunity and still work with DVAP years later. Describe your most compelling pro bono case. During COVID, Dallas had several rent relief programs. My client was not sophisticated and had not…
Jenae Ward
Volunteer of the Month – May 2023 Jenae Ward is an Associate at Weil, Gotshal, & Manges LLP. She also served as a Lend-a-Lawyer for two months in early 2023 at DVAP. How did you first get involved with pro bono? I first got involved with pro bono work while I was still in law school. As a member of the Law Students for Social Justice group at Vanderbilt Law School, I participated in and organized pro bono spring break trips where students worked at various non-profit, legal organizations under the supervision of licensed attorneys….
Sushil Iyer
Volunteer of the Month – April 2023 Sushil Iyer is a Principal at Fish & Richardson, P.C. How did you first get involved with pro bono? I came across my very first (unofficial) pro bono case on Facebook. The town in which I live has a Facebook page. Another resident had posted that she and her husband had been separated for over a decade, and wanted to get a divorce. She could not afford an attorney. She was terrified of filling out the paperwork for fear that she may make some fatal mistake. She asked…
Yubin Ding
Volunteer of the Month – March 2023 Yubin Ding is a sole practitioner. How did you first get involved with pro bono? I got involved in pro bono cases when I was in school. I once took a clinic class which was held in a community lawyering center, and the supervising attorney assigned each student a few pro bono cases. What types of cases have you accepted? I have accepted pro bono cases related to estate planning, probate, and family law. Describe your most compelling pro bono case. I accepted a divorce case, with no…
Morgan Armbrust
Volunteer of the Month – February 2023 Morgan Armbrust is a sole practitioner. How did you first get involved with pro bono? After moving to Texas, I wanted to get involved in the legal community in Dallas. I also really missed the work I did as a public defender, and working with pro bono clients helped me to acclimate to Dallas, and fill the void after no longer working in a public defenders office. Describe your most compelling pro bono case So far, I have really enjoyed working with a client who wants to get…
Jaha Thomas
Volunteer of the Month – January 2023 Jaha Thomas is a sole pracitioner. How did you first get involved with pro bono? The initial reason that I got involved in pro bono was that it was a requirement for a group that I am a member of, the Texas Opportunity & Justice Incubator (TOJI). However, during the last six months, my reasoning has become personal, focused, and more purposeful. I realized that so many people have had to live with injustice because they did not have access to justice. I recognized early on that justice…
Joanna Grossman
Volunteer of the Month – December 2022 Joanna L. Grossman is the Ellen K. Solender Endowed Chair in Women and the Law at the SMU Dedman School of Law. How did you first get involved in pro bono? I have been a law professor for 24 years and always written a lot of pro bono amicus briefs in areas related to my research and teaching. It wasn’t until I moved to Dallas in 2016 that I started to get involved in pro bono representation of individual clients. It is an honor and a privilege to…
Kristian McCray
Volunteer of the Month – November 2022 Kristian McCray is a sole practitioner. How did you first get involved in pro bono? After relocating to Texas, I desired to find a way to give back and serve the community. I found out about DVAP and the program provided all the opportunities needed for me to do just that. Describe your most compelling pro bono case. The most compelling case to date would be an estate planning case for a lady who had recently lost her mother. She decided to get her affairs in order because…
Charles Truslow
Volunteer of the Month – October 2022 Charles Truslow is an associate with Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP. Which clinics have you assisted with? I have mostly accepted cases that come through DVAP’s Eviction Defense Clinic. Describe your most compelling pro bono case. Many of the eviction cases I see through the Eviction Defense Clinic are compelling, but most recently I was able to represent an elderly woman who dealt with serious, ongoing health problems due to complications from COVID-19 that affected her ability to pay rent. She did everything in her power to get rental…
Melissa Thrailkill
Volunteer of the Month – September 2022 Melissa Thrailkill is an associate at the Law Office of Brandy Wingate Voss, PLLC. How did you first get involved in pro bono? I began my legal career working with a legal aid organization and that passion for serving those who need legal help but cannot afford it has followed me into private practice. Describe your most compelling pro bono case. This is a hard one, because I find all of them compelling. People need our help. I was thrilled to win an appeal for a client who…
