Volunteer Of The Month

Volunteer of the Month – June 2019 Julia Pendery is Of Counsel with Cowles & Thompson. 1. How did you first get involved in pro bono? When I rejoined Cowles & Thompson in 2016, they regularly forwarded the DVAP list of available pro bono cases. I was interested, but my areas of expertise are civil appeals and eminent domain, so those were not likely to be needed by DVAP.  I thought I could pick something fairly simple and learn it from the DVAP attorneys, which I have. 2. Describe your most compelling pro bono case?…

Volunteer of the Month – May 2019 Eric Pfeifle is a partner at Holland & Knight. 1. How did you first get involved in pro bono? I first became involved when I was a young associate and took on a no kids/no property divorce through DVAP after a visit from Chris Reed-Brown to our office.  As a baby transactional lawyer, I was nervous to take that case on, but I loved it and it proved to be a great springboard into doing more cases. 2. What types of cases have you accepted? I’ve been very…

Volunteer of the Month – April 2019 Rob Anderson is a sole practitioner. 1. How did you first get involved in pro bono? I pursued pro bono work to jump-start my work as a lawyer, which is actually my second career. After graduating from Pitt Law School 1990, I went on to get my CFA charter and spent 27 years as a wealth management advisor and private banker. After retiring from banking in 2017, I was looking for a new challenge, and I decided to return to my roots in the law. I was admitted…

Volunteer of the Month – March 2019 Aaron Cartwright is a sole practitioner who became licensed in November 2017. 1. How did you first get involved in pro bono? A friend knew that I was a newly licensed and setting up my practice, and recommended I connect with DVAP to help the community and gain more experience at the same time. 2. What types of cases have you accepted? I proudly accept consumer law cases from the DVAP case list. I love them and it lines up directly with my practice area and my interests…

Volunteer of the Month – February 2019 Firm: Patnaik Law Office, PLLC. 1. What types of pro bono cases have you accepted? I’m currently handling wills and other probate matters for DVAP, and in the past I have accepted bankruptcy cases. DVAP runs a great program and provides a lot of support for their volunteer attorneys. 2. Describe the most compelling pro bono case. I helped a single mom of two teenagers, whose husband passed away unexpectedly a few years ago, recover money in a bank account. It was only about two thousand dollars, but…

Volunteer of the Month – January 2019 1. How did you get involved in pro bono? UNT Dallas College of Law is committed to community engagement, so they invited Chris Reed-Brown from DVAP to the law school to give some of the students an orientation. Ten days after starting law school, I assisted at my first DVAP legal intake clinic, and I was hooked.  I helped with 31 DVAP clinics in my 1L year. During law school, I completed 800 pro bono hours, and the one place I kept returning to was DVAP. 2. Describe…

Volunteer of the Month – December 2018 Martha Johnson is a sole practitioner and mediator. 1. How did you get involved in pro bono? After I passed the Iowa Bar in January 1994, I started volunteering at our local legal services office.  The Executive Director, Robert Oberbillig, had been a long-time friend and he encouraged me to sign up.  I worked two or three times a month on their intake call line and clinics.  I handled intakes on cases ranging from landlord-tenant law to bankruptcy law to family law to whatever else came to me….

Volunteer of the Month – November 2018 Firm: Bracewell LLP Clark Donat is a commercial litigation associate at Bracewell LLP. 1. Describe your most compelling pro bono case initiative. One of the first pro bono matters I assisted with was to help a veteran from Iraq with his Permanent Physical Disability Retirement after said solider received a number of combat injuries.  After almost four years, with constant communications with the pro bono client and the Department of the Army, my client was officially retired due to his permanent physical disability in 2014.  After his retirement…

Volunteer of the Month – October 2018 Firm: Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP Fawaz A. Bham is an associate with Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP. His practice focuses on the acquisition, development, leasing, and disposition of real estate nationwide. 1. What types of pro bono cases have you accepted? As a transactional attorney, I have tried not to shy away from pro bono work that I am not too familiar with, which has allowed me to work on cases with Mosaic Family Services, answer calls at Dallas Legal Lines, discuss solutions for clients at the Housing Crisis…

Volunteer of the Month – September 2018 1. How did you first get involved in pro bono? Once I was admitted to the Puerto Rico Bar and began to practice law as a solo practitioner, one of the first things I did was to let know Puerto Rico Legal Services, Inc. of my availability to accept pro bono cases. After resigning as an Assistant State Attorney in Puerto Rico to come live in Texas, I attended a Pro Bono Orientation Luncheon and got involved with the DVAP’s pro bono cases with enthusiasm and commitment. 2. Why do you do…