For the third consecutive year, the Supreme Court of Ohio will ask attorneys to voluntarily and anonymously report their pro bono activities to gather meaningful information about the extent and nature of pro bono work in Ohio and encourage pro bono activity to aid those in need of free legal services.
Attorneys are encouraged to begin collecting records of any pro bono work undertaken in 2010, including financial contributions to a legal services organization, for reporting early in 2011.
The Supreme Court and the Ohio Legal Assistance Foundation (OLAF) will partner on the project again. The information will be used to identify gaps in the delivery of legal services in order to strengthen the network of services available to Ohioans in need.
New to this year’s reporting process is the ability for a firm representative to report aggregate pro bono service on behalf of attorneys in that firm, as well as the total amount of contributions made to civil legal services programs.
In early 2011, an email will be sent to all Ohio attorneys registered as “active” who have provided email addresses to the Court’s Office of Attorney Services. Attorneys will be asked to report their pro bono activity during the preceding calendar year by visiting a reporting Web site to answer eight questions that should take about five minutes to complete.
All information voluntarily submitted will be collected without identifiers, so the results will remain anonymous.
On an annual basis, OLAF compiles and reports the information collected to the Court, bar associations and legal services organizations throughout Ohio.
Contact: Chris Davey or Bret Crow at 614.387.9250 – Supreme Court of Ohio – or Jane Taylor at 614.752.8919 – Ohio Legal Assistance Foundation.