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Awarded to
recognize extraordinary contributions by an Arizona Attorney in
making legal services available to persons who otherwise could not
afford them,
and thereby to focus public awareness on the
substantial voluntary services by
Arizona attorneys in this area.
Renamed in 2000 to honor the memory of William
E. Morris, a
long-time attorney for the poor in Arizona.
Cary
Inabinet
2007
The
Arizona Foundation for
Legal Services and
Education
honored
Cary
Inabinet
(pictured at right
with Chief
Justice McGregor),
a SALA
VLP attorney, as
the recipient
of the 2007
William E. Morris
Pro Bono Service
Award.
Cary was selected
for this
award because of
his career-
long commitment
and devotion to advancing the delivery of legal services to the
poor.
Cary ’s
involvement in pro bono work spans more than 20 years and two
Arizona
counties.
Originally volunteering with Community Legal Services’ VLP program
in
Maricopa County,
Cary moved to Cochise County in 2001, and began to work for
SALA’s VLP. He
has launched several clinics meant to assist domestic violence
victims and the
elders. Two of Cary ’s piloted programs have assisted 432 rural
clients over the
last six years.
In addition to
directly serving indigent clients, Cary has volunteered for the past
six
years as a member
of the VLP Advisory Board in Cochise County. Cary ’s service to
the Board has
ranged from participating in new volunteer attorney recruitment to
training other
volunteer lawyers. Jeanne Benda Whitney, who has served with Cary
on the VLP
Advisory Board, commended Cary’s efforts, saying, “He brings a
sincere
concern for those
in need of court services, a willingness to address people as
individuals with
individual needs, and a breadth of experience in a variety of civil
matters.”
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Tom Roberts
2006
Tom Roberts was
honored as the recipient of the
2006 William E.
Morris Pro Bono Service Award.
Tom was selected
for this award because of his
career-long
commitment and devotion to
advancing delivery
of legal services to the
poor. Tom has
been a member of the
Volunteer Lawyers
Program (VLP) for
twenty years.
In addition to
serving indigent clients, Tom
has volunteered
for the past nine years as
a member and
Co-Chair of the VLP Advisory
Board. Tom’s
service to the Board has
ranged from
participating in new volunteer
attorney
recruitment to fundraising assistance to training other volunteer
lawyers.
United States
Judge Bernardo P. Velasco, who has served with Tom on the VLP
Advisory Board,
commended Tom’s efforts, saying, “He is committed, not only to
being a Board
member, but to being an active participant in all of the activities
of
the Volunteer
Lawyers Program.”
Tom’s enthusiasm
for pro bono legal service has inspired many attorneys to join
VLP and donate
their legal services to those who otherwise could not afford legal
assistance. Tom
was nominated for this award by his peers, who admire his
compassion and
commitment to equal access to justice. Dwight Whitley, an
attorney who
shared offices with William E. Morris during the last years of Mr.
Morris’ life, said
of Tom, “I am not personally acquainted with any other lawyer
who, by their
commitment to providing legal services to the disadvantaged, are
more deserving of
the William E. Morris Pro Bono Service Award.”
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Scott Gan
2005
By all accounts Scott Gan is an
excellent lawyer, recognized as such
by his peers and members of his
community. His vast legal expertise,
coupled with his generous nature,
has allowed him to serve one hundred
and seventeen Volunteer Lawyer
Program (VLP) clients and their
families. What sets Scott apart from
other lawyers and even other volunteer
lawyers is the opportunity and hope
Joe Kreamer & Scott Gan
that he affords each of his pro bono
clients: the opportunity for a fresh
start, to maintain financial independence, and
to lift themselves out of poverty. Although
legal resources for the poor are
scarce, opportunity and hope are perhaps even
more rare.
Scott has been a member of the VLP
since 1986. The legal assistance that he
provides to the VLP and its clients
takes many forms. He has provided
direct representation to VLP clients
in some of the most complex and
challenging bankruptcy cases seen by
the program. Scott sets the clients
at ease and explains the impact of
their decisions. Each of the clients are
treated with respect and given the
time to assure they understand the legal
terms and consequences of debt
reinstatement.
Scott
Gan & family
Scott also works to set new volunteers
at ease and coaches them through
their fears and uncertainly. Scott
has been a frequent participant in the
VLP’s Reaffirmation Clinic. Scott
supervises law students as they meet
with unrepresented clients at their
reaffirmation hearings. Scott’s example
of compassion and integrity gives hope
to all who know him.
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Pamela A. Liberty
2003
Pamela Liberty is a certified specialist in family law, and a judge
pro tempore
of the Pima County Superior Court. She is a member of the
Academy of
Family Mediators and Collaborative Law Group of
Southern
Arizona. Pam
has been actively involved in the Volunteer
Lawyers
Program in Pima County
for 14 years, and in that time she has
assisted
120 clients in divorce, custody
and guardianship
matters.
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Alyce Pennington
2002
Alyce Pennington is a Shareholder in the law firm of DeConcini
McDonald
Yetwin
& Lacy, P.C. She practices in the areas of
domestic relations,
probate and
general civil law. Alyce became a
member of the VLP in
1987. During the last
fifteen years Alyce has
assisted one hundred and
eighty clients with domestic
relations and
domestic violence matters.
She has volunteered three hundred
and
thirty-four hours to client’s
services. Alyce has accepted some of the
most
difficult divorce/child
custody cases that have ever been
referred through our
program.
In addition to her work with clients, Alyce has volunteered her time as
a
member of the VLP advisory Board in Pima County. Serving on the
Advisory Board for six years, Alyce has infused the board with her
energy
and enthusiasm.
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Luis Ochoa
2001
Luis has been a member of the Volunteer Lawyers
Program (VLP) in Pima County since 1988. During
that time he has provided pro bono
assistance to more
than four hundred clients. Luis provides these
services in
a multitude of ways. He accepts cases for direct
representation in the areas of real estate,
corporations
and
consumer bankruptcy. Luis also leads the pro per
Chapter 7
Bankruptcy Clinic for the VLP. The clinic provides clients with
advice
and
information in regard to avoiding home foreclosure,
averting vehicle
repossession and ending or reducing wage
garnishments. Clients who attend
a clinic conducted by Luis are
fortunate to meet with an attorney who is not only
knowledgeable
about
the law, but is an excellent teacher as well. He is
able to
convey the
complex information in an easily understood way.
Clients are
statistically more likely to follow through with their
case
after
they have
attended
a clinic lead by Luis than by any other
volunteer.
In 2001 the VLP began to offer the Bankruptcy Clinic in Spanish. It was no
surprise to any of the VLP staff that Luis was among the first attorneys to agree
to lead the clinic in Spanish.
In the spring of 2001 the VLP began a new collaboration with the University of
Arizona College of Law and the United States
Bankruptcy
Court. The idea
behind the partnership is to provide
legal representation to pro per litigants during
reaffirmation
hearings.
Again, Luis was among the very first attorneys to
volunteer to
represent clients at these hearings. In addition, he volunteered to
train and mentor the law students involved in the project.
Luis joined the VLP Advisory Board in 1998. As a member of the
board, Luis
immediately recognized the need to increase attorney
participation in the VLP
throughout the community. In addition to
recruiting volunteers on an individual
basis, Luis has served as a
point person for the media. By appearing on
television and in local and
legal news publications Luis has increased awareness
about the
need for pro bono legal assistance. More than four hundred new
volunteers have joined the VLP since Luis became a member of the
Advisory
Board.
While the number of individual pro bono clients Luis has assisted is impressive,
it is his total commitment to the delivery of legal
services to the poor that has
placed him in a category by himself.
Dedication, consistency and honestly are
qualities that run
throughout all of the work that Luis has done for the VLP and
for the
community. Luis’ commitment to helping those less fortunate is so
broad, so deep and so extensive that the impact of his work
transcends the
individual case, and leaves its permanent mark on our
community.
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Steve Cox
2000
Steve Cox joined the VLP in 1981. Since that time he has assisted
more
than
three hundred clients with consumer bankruptcy matters.
Steve has
never
declined to accept a pro bono case when called
upon by the VLP
staff. It
makes no difference to him if the case is
a
simple Chapter 7 or a
complex
Chapter 13.
In addition to providing direct representation, Steve participates
in the
pro
per
Chapter 7 Bankruptcy Clinic sponsored by the VLP. In
fact, it was
Steve who
recognized the need for such a clinic and
founded it in 1991.
In the clinic,
volunteer lawyers provide
clients
with basic information about
the process of
filing bankruptcy, and
explain the benefits and
consequences of this course of
action. For
those clients who choose to
file, the VLP staff assists in the
gathering of necessary information and
prepares the client’s
bankruptcy
petition and schedules. In the last
fourteen years Steve
has
personally
conducted the Bankruptcy Clinic more often than any
other volunteer lawyer.
Although Steve Cox assists clients in every possible way through the
VLP,
by
providing direct representation, leading the pro per
clinics and offering advice
and brief service to clients, he
realizes
that the needs of the low-income client
community are greater than he
alone can solve. With this in mind, Steve has
committed himself to
helping the VLP recruit and train more volunteers and
raise more
funds to support he program and hire more staff.
In 1999, Steve was of significant help to the VLP in obtaining
monies to fund
its Consumer Advocate program to prevent home
foreclosures and vehicle
repossessions. The monies have allowed the VLP to hire a part-time
paralegal to administer the program.
Steve was also
a member of a select group of the Tucson
Bankruptcy
Bar
(TBB) that rallied to help the VLP recruit more
volunteers. The group
met
several times before involving the
bankruptcy judges and making a
pitch to
the TBB. As a result of
this effort the VLP has recruited many
new
bankruptcy lawyers and
is
able to provide direct representation to a
significant number of
clients.
Steve is not
one to toot his own horn. But through his involvement in the
community he serves as both a model citizen and as a shining
example
to those in the legal profession. Steve truly sets the
standard for the
delivery of pro bono legal services in Pima County and
throughout the
state.
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Wayne Yehling
1999
Wayne has
been a member of the Volunteer Lawyers Program (VLP)
since
1992. During this time he has assisted more than 600 clients with domestic
relations matters. In addition to his direct representation of clients, Wayne has
been a participant in the VLP Domestic Relations Clinics as well as a constant
resource for the VLP staff.
In the summer of 1998 the VLP developed three pro per domestic relations
clinics. Wayne was the first attorney in Pima County to
respond to our
request for attorney participation in the clinics.
In
fact,
Wayne conducted
the first VLP Divorce with Children Clinic and has
continued to participate in
the clinics more often than any other
volunteer
attorney. In addition, Wayne
has taken the time to assist
the
VLP staff in making adjustments to the
clinics to continually
improve the quality of service the program is able to
provide to
clients.
Wayne has never declined to represent a VLP client when called
upon.
What
is unique about Wayne is his willingness to handle
even the most
difficult of
cases. It is not uncommon for Wayne to
accept divorce cases
where the client
speaks Spanish. Wayne
does not speak Spanish
himself, but is more than
willing to work
with interpreters to help his
clients. In addition to helping
clients
with legal matters, Wayne is known
to go above the call of duty and
make
arrangements to provide safe
housing for clients and their
children. Although
most attorneys would
decline to take on cases
with such difficult issues, it is
not unusual for
Wayne.
Wayne is not the type of person to promote himself or boast about his
accomplishments. He instead lets his actions speak for him. His
dedication
to the VLP has influenced members of his firm as
well as
member of the local
bar, increasing volunteer attorney
participation in the
VLP.
There has never been a time when Wayne did not make himself
available
to
assist with a VLP case. On a daily basis, he makes pro
bono
assistance a
priority in his practice.
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Michael McGrath
1998
Michael has been an active participant in the
Volunteer Lawyers
Program in Pima County for
twenty-three
years.
Through
the VLP, Michael
provides
direct
representation
to
pro bono clients
who
seek
assistance with
bankruptcy
issues. He
is also
a member of the
Tucson Bankruptcy Bar
(TBB). Many TBB
members have joined the
VLP
as a
direct result
of
Michael’s recruitment
efforts.
Michael has also
been
instrumental in
the expansion
of the VLP Bankruptcy Clinic to
include
reaffirmation
counseling. In addition,
has has been
critical to
VLP fund-raising efforts.
“I participate in the VLP because I think it’s the
obligation of all
attorneys to
dedicate a portion
of their practice to deliver
necessary
legal services to those
who are
unable to afford them,” said
Michael.
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