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John Barrett
August 2008
By Stacy Ruprrecht Butler
The Attorney of the Month for August
is
John Barrett. John has been with the
VLP for just a little more than a year.
In
that time he has volunteered for
the VLP's Child Support Project at
Superior Court. He has also actively
recruited his friends and co-workers
to
join the program. Most recently
John became the first attorney to
participate in the VLP's HIV/Aids
pilot project. The project searches
for volunteers to assist clients with
wills and advance
directives. John agreed to assist a client with a will and
a
living will. After John completed the work on the case the client
sent a
glowing letter about John to his firm and to the VLP. The letter
included
the following: "good fortune possessed me by being placed in the
capable
hands of John Barrett, who has counseled me in the development of a
Last
Will & Testament, as well as a Living Will, both of which have
provided me
with comfort and confidence as I face the uncertainties of the
future course
of
my illness." The VLP's monthly award is a distinct honor: of the
1100
attorneys who volunteer their time with VLP, only 12 receive the
VLP's
Outstanding Pro Bono Attorney award each year.
Q&A with John Barrett:
Where are you from? Where did you
go to college? Where did you go to
law school? How long have you lived in
Tucson?
I
was born and raised here in Tucson; went to college in
Portland, OR;
and
law school in Vermont. I moved back to Tucson in 2003 after living
in
Atlanta for about a year.
What are your current practice areas?
I
haven't really focused my practice on one or two particular areas of
law,
though nearly all of my experience has been in a litigation rather
than
transactional context. That said, I do enjoy the slower, more
deliberate
aspects of appellate practice. And I think writing a successful
appellate
brief is one of the most rewarding experiences I've had as a new
attorney.
What drives you to volunteer with VLP?
At
the risk of sounding naive and idealistic, I think justice requires
every
attorney to contribute some of their time and efforts to VLP or a
similar
program. And because VLP does all the initial work of finding
clients,
screening their cases, and sometimes making the initial contact with
opposing counsel, there is no reason not to take advantage of the
VLP.
Things you do when not working or
volunteering your legal services?
My
wife and I have two small children so most of my time is spent with
them.
I
also enjoy taking advantage of all the mountain bike trails in the
Tucson
area, especially in the spring and fall mornings when the weather is
just
perfect.
If you ever retire from private
practice, it will be to start a new
career as a ______?
Professional Home Gardener . . . if there is such a career. Or maybe
a
landscape designer. I'd like to go
back to school and learn about
landscape design. I love gardening
and working in the yard, but I'm
reminded every month when I flip through Sunset Magazine that I
haven't
even gotten close to mastering the art. And if
landscape design
is too
ambitious, I'd like to be one of the guys who works at a nursery and
wanders around talking to customers about plants.
Things that you wish were closer to
your office?
The ocean. A walk on the beach during lunch would be really nice now
and then.
Favorite song?
An
impossible question! But, proverbial gun to my head, Dylan's "Simple
Twist of Fate." Ask me again next
month, and I'm sure I'll have a different
answer.
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Past Pima
County Monthly Award Winners
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