Attorney Susan W. Wolfson was president of the Connecticut Bar Association (CBA) in 1991. Under the leadership of the Honorable Frank H. D’Andrea, Jr. and Attorney Wolfson, The Law Works For People program was developed and implemented. Today, that program has evolved into the Connecticut Pro Bono Network and continues to thrive. Here, Attorney Wolfson looks back on the events and people that contributed to the formation of the CBA’s pro bono program.

During the late 1980s our nation’s environment was unkind to providers of legal services to the poor. Pro bono committees of bar associations were languishing and no one was talking about the importance of pro bono work. The leaders of the CBA decided to make pro bono work and the delivery of legal services to the poor a priority. In 1989 we illustrated this by naming the vice president of the CBA to the chair of the CBA’s Pro Bono Committee, a tradition which continues today. As a result, the Pro Bono Committee experienced a rebirth.

We had meetings with the National Conference of Bar Presidents at which we talked with other bar officers about what we could do to help the pro bono efforts. We were all interested in planning programs that would encourage the private bar to commit to pro bono work. But how could we accomplish this? We invited representatives of other state bar associations to CBA Pro Bono Committee meetings for exploratory talks. As a result of these talks, we formulated a program in which lawyers would register to do pro bono work. Among the many benefits we would create was the offer of educational opportunities and public recognition. We agreed that we needed a public relations program to encourage lawyers to sign up but a major obstacle to this was the lack of funds.

The executive directors of all the Connecticut legal services organizations stepped forward and contributed some of their hard won allocations of funds to our program. This, of course, made it all possible. In 1990 and early 1991 we brainstormed at Pro Bono Committee meetings, CBA officers’ meetings, and at Connecticut Council of Bar Presidents meetings. We formulated a public relations campaign. Governor Lowell Weicker and Chief Justice Ellen Peters agreed to be the first co-chairs of our program, and this served as the impetus we needed. We inaugurated The Law Works For People program at a news conference held at the Capitol. The Governor and Chief Justice spoke to the media and the public about the need for our community to provide legal services to the poor.

A letter went out to all members of the bar, signed by the Chief Justice and the Governor, inviting attorneys to register with The Law Works For People program. At the same time we began a publicity blitz of press releases, newspaper articles, radio, and television coverage. The public and all members of the bar became aware of our program and pro bono work actually became "fashionable." The community was abuzz with talk of our new program and the legal community responded enthusiastically.

I am so pleased to have played a role in the formation of this program—a cooperative effort by the judiciary and the executive branches of the Connecticut government and the Connecticut Bar Association. Fourteen years later this collaborative effort continues as the Connecticut Pro Bono Network. The CBA administers the program, the network agencies screen and refer clients, and the Judicial Branch continues to explore ways that the court system can encourage pro bono work among lawyers. As the program moves into its next decade of service, we hope lawyers will continue to sign up to take pro bono cases through the Connecticut Pro Bono Network. For more information about the program, call the CBA at (860)223-4400 or visit www.ctbar.org.