A Lawyer Helps Pro Bono Honor Roll
Applications are Due March 20

Greetings,

Your law firm may be eligible for inclusion on the State Bar of Michigan's 2019 A Lawyer Helps Pro Bono Honor Roll (Honor Roll). Pro bono legal services advance the highest public service missions and traditions of the legal profession, a core goal of the State Bar of Michigan’s strategic plan. The Honor Roll will provide much-deserved recognition for the pro bono legal services provided by Michigan attorneys at our state’s law firms and corporations.

The 2019 Honor Roll will recognize law firms, corporations, and individual attorneys at one of three recognition levels for providing 30, 50, or 100+ hours of pro bono service in 2018. The State Bar of Michigan will publicize the Honor Roll through postings on the web, in the Michigan Bar Journal, and other printed and electronic methods.

We encourage your organization to designate a staff member to complete and submit an online Honor Roll application on behalf of your organization. The firm application is now available on the State Bar of Michigan’s A Lawyer Helps website. Your law firm or corporation representative must certify that your attorneys, on average, have provided legal services which, in total, qualify the law firm or corporation to be recognized in 2019 for pro bono services provided during the 2018 calendar year. Only attorneys practicing in Michigan and the number of pro bono hours contributed by Michigan-based lawyers count towards eligibility on the Honor Roll. “Of counsel” attorneys will be considered to be part of the firm or corporation and all attorneys will be considered to be full-time. If a firm or corporation is close to qualifying for the ALH Pro Bono Honor Roll, the lawyer count will be reduced if requested to reflect part-time and inactive attorneys.

Even if your firm does not want to be publicly recognized for its pro bono service, I still encourage you to report your pro bono service hours to the State Bar of Michigan by submitting an application. The pro bono service information submitted will not be shared or publicized unless your firm’s representative authorizes the State Bar of Michigan to include your name on the published version on the Honor Roll.

The due date for applications is March 20, 2019. If you have questions about the Honor Roll, please direct them to SBM Pro Bono Service & Justice Initiatives Counsel Robert Mathis at ALHProBonoHonorRoll@michbar.org. 

Thank you for your service and participation,

Jennifer M. Grieco
President
State Bar of Michigan