Pro Bono Service - Why Serve?

Pullman & Comley Litigation attorney James T. “Tim” Shearin, who served as chairman of the firm from 2013-2022 and is the current president-elect of the Connecticut Bar Association, authored an article focused on the importance of attorney pro bono efforts for the September/October 2023 issue of CT Lawyer.

Tim writes about the pressing need for pro bono work to assist people facing legal challenges who lack the means to address them. Access to justice is considered an essential element of the rule of law.

"When that rule of law is deprived to an entire segment of society, then our entire society is weakened and the principles by which we live by are diluted. When people cannot enjoy the liberties to which they are guaranteed because they do not have the knowledge of how to protect them through our legal system, all of us suffer," he says.  "When people are unfairly treated because they do not have the economic means to defend themselves, the law is what they blame.  That is hardly surprising. We cannot ask people to believe in the law, promote the law, and follow the law when the law does not work for them."

He continues, "Providing free legal services to those who most need and can least afford it - whose whose rights will otherwise be lost as a result - furthers the rule of law.  It ensures equality; it ensures that human rights are protected; it ensures and orderly society."

To read the full article, visit the CT Lawyer website.