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Thomas Jefferson probably put it best when he said "A lawyer must aspire to be a public citizen." He believed that lawyers, who have the benefit of not only education but excellent legal education, must strive to make a difference in the world. "There is no more suitable way for a lawyer to show concern for the public welfare than by making sure that those less fortunate in life have access to our system of laws and jurisprudence and appreciate the role of the law and the value of the rule of law in society," says Thurston R. Moore, Chair of the Executive Committee at Hunton & Williams LLP (Richmond, Va.). "To borrow a phrase used much more eloquently by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., in the context of racial diversity, for our society to work, it must work for everyone, since we are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, and whatever affects one of us directly, affects all of us indirectly. So, for society to work and not come asunder, we need to perpetuate the availability and the mutuality of the rule of law for all," says Moore. He notes, too, that pro bono work is not without its benefits for the individual lawyers that do it, and for their firms. "Psychologists now brilliantly tell us what we have always known deep down — that doing good deeds for others makes us feel better than just accumulating and consuming more and more and more. As an aside, I have always believed that service is consistent with economic needs as well, as there is a very high correlation between the better performing pro bono firms and the firms that are strong economic performers," says Moore, noting that a reputation for pro bono work also assists firms in today's competitive recruiting market. He is available to write an article outlining the reasons for, and benefits of, pro bono work in today's legal market.
Channel: Jaffe Legal News Service - Articles for Publication
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