By Stacy Rupprecht Butler

 

Darren Clausen has been selected as

the Outstanding Pro Bono Attorney of

the Month for February.  Darren is a member of Goldberg & Osborne and

has been a VLP volunteer since 2002. 

Darren volunteers by representing

clients faced with contract, debt

collection and landlord/tenant issues.

Recently Darren worked on a case for a client who had been sued in Justice

Court.  The basis of the suit was a debt that did not belong to the client.  Darren

met with the client and then filed a motion to dismiss the action.  The case was

eventually dismissed by the court.  Darren dedicated 20 hours to the matter and

achieved a wonderful result for the client.  In addition, the client reported that he

was so inspired by Darren's willingness to volunteer to help him that the client

himself has now become a volunteer at the Veterans Hospital .  The VLP's

monthly award is a distinct honor: of the 1220 attorneys who volunteer their

time with VLP, only 12 receive the VLP's Outstanding Pro Bono Attorney

award each year. 

 

Q & A with Darren Clausen:

 

Where are you from?

I was born and raised in Tucson..

 

Where did you attend college and law school?

I went to college in West Virginia and law school at the U of A.

 

What is the history of your practice of law?

When I began practicing law, I represented the interests of plaintiffs in class

actions and defended health care providers in medical negligence cases.  My

current practice focuses on representing victims of medical negligence as well

as other significant injury cases. 

 

What inspired you to become a lawyer?

I became a lawyer because I like helping people

 

Anyone you would like to acknowledge for contributing to your legal

career / pro bono service?

My father, an attorney here in town, showed me you can be a gentleman and

an excellent lawyer.  He inspires me.  I've also learned from each of my

mentors.  Whether it be Tony Payson, Barry MacBan, or Dan Shelton, I

have been fortunate to work with and learn from each of these fine attorneys

in my career.

 

Life-lesson learned from your experiences with VLP?

As a VLP lawyer, I have learned every case is the most important case to

my clients. 

 

Best thing about being an attorney in Tucson?

The best thing about being a lawyer in Tucson is that there are so many fine

people practicing law in our community.  It makes me proud to call Tucson

home.

 

Things you do when not working or volunteering your legal services?

When I'm not working, I spend time with my wife and three wonderful children,

coach my kids' sports teams, and if time allows, go fishing in Mexico.