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Helping out can seem like an overwhelm-ing task.

Our family, our friends, our jobs andourselves give us more than enough toworry about. As it is, there already seemsto be too little of those resources thatmake up life—time and money. The ideaof helping out or giving back to the com-munity can seem impossible, a task bestleft to others.

Despite this, some Arizona attorneysdevote themselves to community organi-zations and volunteer lawyer programsthat change lives. These attorneys havelearned to balance their pro bono endeav-ors with their work and personal lives.

It is not because they are superhuman.It is because their pro bono work ener-gizes them. That work can be the reality-based reminder that democratic law existsto help people. It is an area of law whereindividuals can positively affect the lives ofthose in need.

RELATING TO CLIENT NEEDS“You have to redefine victory in this area

of law,” says Alyce Pennington, domesticrelations attorney with DeConcini,McDonald Yetwin & Lacy, PC. This pastpresident of the Pima County BarAssociation finds victory and vitality in hervoluminous volunteer work: coordinatorand speaker for the program ConsideringDivorce, judge pro tem, guardian ad litemand a pro bono lawyer for SouthernArizona Legal Aid and Pima County.

“I remember as a little kid reading to alittle old lady in our neighborhood,” shesays. “I think I have always done some ofthat. Through the years, it has just kind ofgrown to be a bigger part of my life.”

But is a volunteer or community servicebackground necessary to be an effectivepro bono lawyer? No, believesPennington, who recruits for the PCBAand other community boards: “Some peo-ple have always been doing volunteerthings all their lives, and some people needto be asked. We see a lot of ‘Oh gosh, Ididn’t think you would want me.’”

Besides the benefits of giving back toyour community and changing lives, doing

pro bono work can greatly benefit yourpractice, says Pennington.

“I have gotten referrals because you aretheir lawyer, whether you see them at aclinic, or whether you are giving a publictalk. You often can’t remember what theconnection is to that person who referredyou, but you know that it is through beingout in the community that your name isknown to somebody who trusted you forsome reason.”

Her firm also has seen the benefits ofpromoting pro bono work. “Many firmsare starting to recognize that it is not justaspirational but it is important,” she says.“It is a must for our profession to give backto the community in one way or another.Our firm encourages volunteerism andcommunity involvement. Just being out inthe community, we have a lot of connec-tions with people who may need a lawyer.”

Pennington leads courses at Casa DeLos Niños, a “temporary foster care forkids who are experiencing a crisis in theirfamily situation,” to help families whomight be at risk. The course, which is 8 to

Let’s face it.

LENDING A HAND: PRACTICAL PRO BONO BY LESLIE ROSSPHOTOGRAPHY BY MICHAEL MERTZ

10 weeks long, provides valuable legalinformation on how to stay out of the sys-tem. The series also has been adapted forat-risk categories, such as prisoners whoare returning to the family setting andhigh school students who may be dealingwith family issues. Preventative law in thearea of domestic relations saves moneyand time.

“The reality is that we lawyers are veryexpensive, and when people are getting adivorce they have half as much as they usedto have. Many people cannot afford the lux-ury of a lawyer from beginning to end.” Bysitting as a judge pro tem, Pennington canbe part of an intermediary court systemproviding family law clients with a lessexpensive and time-consuming option:“One of my fears,” says Pennington, “isthat some people think that family law, elderlaw, and juvenile law should not be real lawand does not deserve a day in court. Thereare those cases where you cannot reach aresolution. … On Mondays, we have settle-ment conferences before every divorce trialtakes place. A huge number of cases are set-

DESHON PULLEN

tled there. A lot of them are pro pers whojust needed to have their stories heard.”

MAKING FAMILIES WHOLEThe expense of hiring a lawyer also trou-bles Lisa Bibbens, a domestic rela-tions attorney at Liberty,O’Neill & Bibbens in Tucson.

“In some of the cases, Ihave met a client and maybewe quote them a $3,000retainer to take the case,”recalls Bibbens. “I havesome people just breakdown in tears. They real-ize they can’t afford anattorney and their onlyother option is torepresent them-selves.”

When she isable to take on acase pro bono,she can reversethat trend.

“I had a case where a woman came inand she had horrible life circumstances. Achild had died; her marriage had fallenapart. It was very sad, but it felt good to beable to address the issues that we needed toaddress to keep her and her remaining

child safe—to award herchild support and a

property division thatcould allow them,given the circum-stances, to go on ina positive way inlife. When I thinkabout it, ittouches me.”

12 A R I Z O N A AT T O R N E Y J U N E 2 0 0 2 W W W. A Z B A R . O R G

Cases like that have altered the way inwhich Bibbens views her day-to-day life.“Ever since I have had kids, it’s really mademe realize how much of an impact theseissues can have. I have seen horrible caseswhere the parents use their children aspawns and really don’t care about them;they are primarily concerned with theirown interests.”

Her concern for the welfare of children

doesn’t end with her pro bono cases. She isalso involved with Wingspan, a Tucsongay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender com-munity center, and she is the director ofRainbow Families, a group for GLBT fam-ilies. “The idea behind the group is prima-rily to assist the children in meeting fami-lies that have parents like theirs.”

Bibbens’ determination to help GLBTfamilies led her to a custody case involvinga gay father. “We were quite concernedthat the judge might view his sexual orien-tation negatively.” However, at least in thatcase, the court’s understanding of GLBTfamilies is evolving. Bibbens feels that theemphasis should be put on a healthy fami-ly rather than a traditional one. “What achild needs is a loving, concerned parent. Iguess too often you see cases where par-ents have other issues going on, substanceabuse, alcoholism or domestic violence. …It reinforced my belief that children needquality parents, instead of a certain tradi-tional family unit.”

With her partners Nancy O’Neill andPam Liberty, Bibbens takes on many probono cases. The firm was doing work withthe Navajo Reservation and SouthernArizona Legal Aid before Lisa joined thefirm. “When I came along, I just kind ofjoined into the program with them. I have

been doing it ever since.” As a small firm,balancing pro bono cases and pay cases canbe a struggle. However, Lisa says, “For meit has been a life-changing and such anenriching experience to help other people.To realize that you are making this verysmall difference in the world, but you aremaking a real difference in the person andthe family’s life. For me that has been anincredible motivator.”

KEEPING THE HOME SAFE“The cases that I think are memorable arelandlord–tenant,” says DeShon Pullen.“It is just because the issues are yourhome; you are going to lose your home. Thepeople almost always have kids and theyare not making a lot of money. It is not likethe person who gets evicted can afford togo to another apartment. They can’t affordanother deposit.”

This attorney at Pullen Law Group PCrecalls her start in pro bono work: “Thefirst case I took was a lady who lived in amobile home that she was trying to pur-chase. … They were evicting her not forlate payments, but because she hadn’ttrimmed her trees in a timely matter. In hercase she couldn’t afford to move hermobile home. She had tried to purchase it,put all this money into it. She didn’t haveextra money. She was living on public assis-tance.”

“If she would have been evicted, thelandlord essentially just keeps her trailer.The money she put into it and everything,she gets none of it back.” That was the casethat got Pullen involved in thelandlord–tenant clinic at CommunityLegal Services. After receiving an e-mailfrom Michael Rafford of Snell & Wilmer,Pullen’s former employer, she decided to

PRO BONO WORK CAN BE THE REALITY-BASED REMINDER THAT

DEMOCRATIC LAW EXISTS TO HELP PEOPLE.

13J U N E 2 0 0 2 A R I Z O N A AT T O R N E YW W W. A Z B A R . O R G

delve into the clinic. Although this was nother practice area, she learned what sheneeded to know from Rafford and CLS. Ifnothing else, she felt more confidentknowing that CLS has malpractice insur-ance.

Pullen discovered that the timeinvolved in landlord–tenant disputes dif-fers from other cases. Before a case, theattorney’s preparation is minimal.However, it may be an entire day in courtbefore the case is heard. “The client does-n’t have a car to meet you at your office,so they just meet you at the courthouse ahalf hour before their trial. They don’thave the resources to fax you back andforth, so your preparation time is actuallysmall, but if you do take a case, you don’texpect to be back in an hour. You have togive up the afternoon and just accept thatyou are not going to be back to workbefore five.” Once, she acquired a secondcase while she was waiting for her first oneto be seen. She sympathized with awoman waiting with a small child. Thewoman had seen the judge already andseemed confused. She was being evicteddue to a domestic violence issue. Pullenspoke with the opposing attorney andworked out a deal.

“I haven’t seen anything that really sur-prises me. I think I just knew that was howit was. I grew up in a family where therewas domestic violence. My mom was a sin-gle mom with three kids. We didn’t have alot of money. I knew sometimes what itwas like to be poor, what it was like not tohave resources.”

Her personal experiences have led herto community service work. Along withher mother, Pullen has spoken to groupsabout the dynamics of domestic violencefor the Arizona Coalition AgainstDomestic Violence. “I don’t think youhave to grow up poor to want to help peo-ple who really need your help. It justturned out that that is how it was with me.I think there are a lot of people who grewup and had money and didn’t have thetypes of issues that these people have, butthey can still relate to the problems theyare going through. There are as passionateabout it as I am.”

CESAR TERNIEDEN

GROOMING PRO BONO LAWYERSAndy Silverman, a Professor and Directorof Clinical Programs at the University ofArizona is energized by his pro bono work.

“I consider it part of my responsibilityboth as a professor and as a lawyer. I alsolike to think that I don’t do it out of justresponsibility, but I do it because I likedoing it. I get gratification from doing it,and maybe along the way I can help some-one or some organization or some cause.”

He brings his passion for pro bono tohis work with U of A law students: “I thinkwe are exposing our students to doing probono work and the responsibility thatlawyers have in doing such work. Rightfrom the beginning of their law schoolcareer, what I really like to think of as theirlegal career, they’re being exposed to suchwork. I would assume that students nowgraduating from law school are going to bemuch more inclined and oriented to doingpro bono work.”

When he was a law student, Silvermanbecame involved in the Post ConvictionLegal Assistance Clinic, a program thatrepresented inmates in state prison. Now,as a professor and Director of ClinicalPrograms, he again is working on one ofhis previous cases; this time, however, he isthe professor working with a group of stu-dents.

“The case is one in which we representa woman who has been in the ArizonaState Prison since 1963, I think longerprobably than any woman has been in thestate prison. We are trying to assist her tobecome eligible for parole.” That case, likeothers, is under the banner of the JusticeProject, a volunteer project within thestatewide organization Arizona Attorneysfor Criminal Justice. Headed by LarryHammond, a private attorney in Phoenix,the Justice Project has volunteer lawyers aswell as students and professors from boththe University of Arizona and ArizonaState University working on cases.

Like his father who was involved incommunity organizations, Silverman ispassing down his legacy of pro bono andpolitical activism. He feels positive aboutthe future of pro bono work for the grad-

15J U N E 2 0 0 2 A R I Z O N A AT T O R N E Y

uating students.“I think with the emphasis put on pro

bono within the law school setting andonce one graduates law school, if law stu-dents are not born with it, they’re surelyindoctrinated and influenced by whatother lawyers are doing. Hopefully if theyare not born with it, at least we are makingthem into people who see pro bono as partof their responsibility as a lawyer.”

IMMIGRATION ARIZONA-STYLECesar Ternieden’s tenacity for pro bonoimmigration law may look like an expectedresult. Although he moved from Brazil tothe United States with his family when hewas a high school senior, he had ampleopportunities to walk a different path. Inhis first year as a law student at BostonUniversity, Ternieden realized that hiscoursework didn’t satisfy his need to helpothers. To compensate for this, he set outto find an internship.

With his desire for pro bono along with

his knowledge of multiple languages, Cesarobtained a translator position with theBoston Political Asylum/ImmigrationRepresentation Project. During his firstsummer as a law student, Cesar applied forthe civil clinic. With his ability to translate,as well as his past experiences doing probono, Cesar was an asset to the program.“We handled a number of cases of all sortsof stories of torture and persecution. It wasjust too compelling. Each one of the caseswas so compelling that I loved doing thework. It was too beautiful to see how peo-ple are glad when you give them the timeand if ultimately you win, you are able tochange their lives completely.”

Though he was offered opportunities towork in large Boston firms, he decided topartner with Anthony Pelino in a law firmbased in Florence, specializing in immigra-tion law. “It is so different. … Generally inBoston the individuals were releasedalready. The cases have a different dimen-sion. Here, we have individuals in prison.

They call it detention; whatever you wantto call it—there are bars. That just throws awhole new dimension into it that I don’tthink I was prepared for.”

Recently the two lawyers worked on acase involving a man from Mozambiquewho as a child was forced to be a soldier.His parents were tortured and killed. Hefled Mozambique and lived in Tanzania.He then left Tanzania for Mexico andcrossed over the border into the UnitedStates. He sat in jail for years before thelawyers heard about the case.

The project was a daunting task. Theman spoke only Swahili and some English.He also suffered from post-traumatic stressdisorder. After having been detained for sixyears, the man was reluctant to speak incourt. “Even in the court, the client toldthe judge that he had lost trust in the sys-tem. So this is the system that we have. It isa system that puts someone who is comingin and asking for help in jail. This is thekind of system that tells me that I have todo pro bono because there are these peopleout there, people who have never had achance in life. They deserve some of mytime to at least have the bare minimum. Allhe wanted was the opportunity to work andlive when someone would not be harassinghim.”

“Just seeing the plight of those in deten-tion makes you appreciate your libertymore,” says Ternieden. “I think that goeswithout saying. But my view of this coun-try as a country being open to immigrantsdefinitely has changed.”

Although they won the Mozambiquecase, there was still much to be done. Like

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Arizona Coalition AgainstDomestic Violence100 W. Camelback,

Suite 109Phoenix, AZ 85013

Phone: 602-279-2900Fax: 602-279-2980

The Justice ProjectLarry Hammond

lahammond@omlaw.com

Casa De Los Ninos1101 N. 4th Ave.Tucson, AZ 85705

Phone: 520-624-5600Fax: 520-623-2443

Web: www.casadelosninos.org

Wingspan300 E. Sixth StreetTucson, AZ 85705

Phone: 520-624-1779Fax: 520-624-0364

Web: www.wingspanaz.org

FYIFor more

informationabout the

organizationsmentioned

in thisarticle,

contact themdirectly:

Community Legal ServicesPat (Brown) Gerrich

P.O. Box 21538Phoenix, AZ 85036-1538

Phone: 602-254-4714Fax: 602-254-9059TTY: 602-254-9852

E-mail: Pbrown@clsaz.orgWeb: www.vlpmaricopa.org

DNA People’s Legal ServicesBarbara Benavidez222 E. Birch StreetFlagstaff, AZ 86001

Phone: 928-774-0653Fax: 928-774-9452E-mail: bbenavidez@dnalegalservices.com

Florence Immigration &Refugee Rights Project

Andrea Black300 S. Main Street

P.O. Box 654Florence, AZ 85232

Phone: 520-868-0191 ext.101

Fax: 520-868-0192E-mail: firrp@primenet.com

Southern Arizona Legal Aid

Michele Mirto64 E. Broadway Blvd.

Tucson, AZ 85701-1720

Phone: 520-623-9465Fax: 520-620-0443

E-mail:michele@sazlegalaid.org

For more information on volunteer opportunities, contact the Arizona Volunteer Lawyers Programs.The Arizona Bar Foundation, through funding from IOLTA and the State Bar of Arizona, is proud to sup-port the following four VLPs.

ANDY SILVERMAN

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most pro bono cases, the verdict may be in,but the case isn’t over. How would thisman now survive in the United States?How would he find a place to live and foodto eat? What would prevent him fromreturning to jail and having his asylumrevoked? These are questions that must beresolved.

“We tried to put together a program thatwas able to receive this person and help thisperson develop,” Ternieden says. “In thiscase we had the Lutheran social ministriesorganization here in Phoenix that workedwith us down to the details of ‘This is theday when he is coming out so they have tomake a rental agreement, and buy food thatyou put in the refrigerator, and have potsand pans so that the day he gets there hewill have something to eat, because once heis released he has nothing.’”

The importance of having a social work-er involved is unquestionable. “It turns outthat pro bono work is also dealing with thefamilies, dealing with the individuals, deal-ing with the law, but also following up onsocial care—making sure that once they getout they are not going to be back in thesame situation that caused them to act inthat way.”

Many attorneys hesitate to becomeinvolved in pro bono work. It is difficult tofind balance between money and time allot-ted to paying clients, firms, families andoneself. But Ternieden rejects that calcula-tion.

“If I have a lot of paying clients, I am sobusy that I can always explain myself thatthe reason I am not doing pro bono todayis because I am so busy. I might be able todonate some money to a local nonprofitorganization. On the other hand, if I havevery few paying clients then it is very diffi-cult for me to financially afford to go outand spend so much time, while I could beusing the time to develop other clients.There is always an excuse for not doing probono.

“So it turns out, I believe, that practic-ing pro bono has no relationship to howyour firm is doing, how many paying clientsyou have or have not. The bottom line is itis a direct reflection of how you view your-self as a professional and whether or notyou are willing to help and give.”