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Patrick Farrell
May 2007
The
Outstanding Pro Bono Attorney of
the Month
for May is Patrick Farrell.
An active
member of Southern Arizona
Legal
Aid’s (SALA) Volunteer Lawyers
Program
(VLP) for sixteen years, Pat
assists
clients with wills and small
estate
issues. In addition he helps
clients
with real property matters.
Pat
recently completed a real property
case for
VLP clients that took more
than three
years to resolve. The issue
centered
on the closing date for a home
sold by
the clients. The case began in
Justice
Court when the buyer filed an action
against the clients because the title
company
involved delayed the closing date on the property. Pat stepped in
to
defend the
clients and filed a counterclaim. The case was then transferred to
Superior
Court and moved through Arbitration. An Arbitration Award was
entered
in favor
of the VLP clients. However, it was then appealed by one of the
other
parties.
The case was finally resolved after a settlement conference. Pat
dedicated
fifty hours to the matter and achieved a wonderful result for the
clients.
Q&A with Patrick
Farrell:
Where are you from?
Tucson
Where did you go to
college?
I attended
the University of Arizona for both undergrad and law school. I
graduated
from undergrad in 1973 and law school in 1976. I’ve been in private
practice
in Tucson ever since.
What are your
current practice areas?
Real
estate, business law and probate and estate planning
What drives you to
volunteer with VLP?
I just
think it’s something that I should do as an attorney. I think it’s a
personal
decision
as to whether people want to do it but I think is important to help
people
who cannot
afford legal services, and VLP does a great job in determining who
those
people are. I would encourage other attorneys to volunteer with VLP
because
it’s the right thing to do and there are a lot of people who need
help.
The people
I have worked with are always very appreciative. It helps me feel
better and
it helps the clients to feel better and it’s usually not too time
consuming
(although this particular case ended up taking quite a bit of
time!).
Anyone you would
like to acknowledge for contributing to your legal
career / pro bono
service?
I’d like
to recognize the VLP staff. They do a tremendous job and have
always
been
incredibly helpful in every VLP case I’ve worked on.
Favorite Tucson
restaurant?
Kingfisher
Best thing about
being an attorney in Tucson ?
I enjoy
the camaraderie of the attorneys who practice here. They are
generally
nice to
practice with: by and large they are friendly, trustworthy and very
professional. You can still have a relatively informal practice
here: you don’t
have to
write letters back and forth, people cooperate with each other.
Any hidden talents?
I have no
talents at all, hidden or otherwise.
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Past Pima
County Monthly Award Winners
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