Posted 2:12 am Friday, July 30, 2010
Smith County Bar Association Honored
Group Receives Pro Bono Service Award
By DAYNA WORCHEL
Staff Writer
The Smith County Bar Association's reference attorney program landed the organization a Pro Bono service award in the small bar association category on Saturday.
Staff Writer
The Smith County Bar Association's reference attorney program landed the organization a Pro Bono service award in the small bar association category on Saturday.
The Texas Access to Justice Commission presented the award, given to three organizations based on size. Each honoree gets a $1,000 stipend to invest in its winning program.
"We're very honored to be recognized in the small bar category for this program," Cristy Keul, executive director of the Smith County Bar Association, said Thursday. Keul said the stipend will be applied toward the cost of the reference attorney program, which assists self-represented litigants in family law cases.
Smith County's Reference Attorney Program is a joint effort of the Smith County Bar Foundation and the Smith County Law Library to assist self-represented clients in family law cases.
"The Smith County program is innovative because it really improves courtroom efficiency, and I think we will begin to see more programs of this type for self-represented clients," Elma Garcia, executive director for the Texas Access to Justice Commission said.
The Texas Access to Justice Commission works to increase resources for legal aid and encourages the pro bono involvement of Texas lawyers in its efforts to expand access to justice. More than 5.3 million Texans qualify for legal aid, yet there is only one legal aid lawyer for every 11,512 Texans who qualify. Legal aid organizations help more than 100,000 low-income Texas families each year with their civil legal needs.
For each individual helped by legal aid, one qualified individual is turned away, according to a news release.
