Every lawyer, regardless of professional prominence or professional workload, has a responsibility to those unable to pay, and personal involvement in the problems of the disadvantaged can be one of the most rewarding experiences in the life a lawyer.
Model Rule 6.1 of Professional Conduct, ABA Comment 1
Bar Associations support the profession of law and promote public service among their members. Bar associations provide opportunities for service to the profession through membership on numerous committees or sections, as well as opportunities to serve the common good through governmental, pro-bono and public service programs.
Bar Associations help to foster the notion that lawyers serve to advance justice in their community of practice. Provided below are links to several prominent bar organizations and their programs supporting pro-bono legal services:
- American Bar Association
- ABA Division for Public Services
- ABA Standing Committee on Pro Bono and Public Service and the Center for Pro Bono
- National Legal Aid and Defender's Association
- National Lawyers Guild
- National Lawyers Association
- Federalist Society Pro Bono Center
- Wisconsin Bar Association
- Wisconsin State Bar Pro Bono Office
- Milwaukee Bar Association
- Milwaukee Young Lawyers
- Association for Women Lawyers
Consider joining the efforts of one of these associations of lawyers to further your interest in public service.