By Hon. Sergio A. Gutierrez

What do you get when you combine a run/walk race event with a charitable cause? You get the Access to Justice 5K FUND Run/Walk! The A2J 5K race is entering its 7th year in 2020 and is proving to be quite a success.

Race Background

The creation of A2J 5k was the legacy project of a graduate of the Idaho State Bar’s Academy of Leadership for Lawyers. Maureen Ryan Braley, Associate Director of the Idaho State Bar, participated in IALL in 2014. Maureen was a runner and knew lots of other lawyers who were runners. She wanted to create a lawyer-focused running event that raised funds and awareness for an important cause – the need for free civil legal services for poor and disadvantaged Idahoans.
In addition, she wanted to create an event where people of all income levels, especially younger attorneys, could feel like they were helping a good cause without having to write a big check. For just $25, participants can enjoy a beautiful day outside in Boise’s Foothills and know they are supporting a great cause.

All proceeds raised through the A2J FUND RUN/WALK race go directly to help address the legal needs of less fortunate individuals and families served by the Idaho Volunteer Lawyers Program, Disability Rights Idaho, and Idaho Legal Aid Services. In 2019, the legal community together with the general community helped raise over $12,000.00 in sponsorships and entry fees, including a generous contribution from our Lead Sponsor, the Fourth District Bar Association.
Since its inception in 2014, the event has raised over $48,000 for the Access to Justice Idaho Campaign. These funds help survivors of domestic violence, victims of unlawful housing practices, victims of consumer scams, and people with disabilities receive benefits and entitlements. The growing participation of members of the legal and general communities has been exciting to see.

Success in 2019

In 2019, 280 people registered for the A2J 5K FUND Run/Walk. The contribution of the folks who register makes a meaningful impact. As Mother Teresa said, “Not all of us can do great things. But we all can do small things with great love.”
Having run the A2J 5K run, I can tell you that the race venue and course is just what one would want to experience regardless of age, ability, and fitness level. The race takes off from Fort Boise Park. Those of you who have run Robie Creek will feel right at home with the setting. For those who have not, just imagine hearing the theme music to the movie “Rocky” at the start of the race.

You then take off on Mountain Cove Road with a gentle ascent for 1 ½ miles. At the turnaround, and if you have entered your four-legged friend in the race, you will get a chance to water up at the Camp Bow Wow water station before having gravity give you just the right push to the finish line.

Upon completion of the race, you will be able to enjoy meeting a host of great community sponsors along with treats for you and your four-legged friend. Camp Bow Wow, Bandana Running and Walking, and Jete Bars are just a few of the community businesses that sponsored the event in 2019. We hope to recruit even more great local businesses as sponsors in 2020.

Awards are given to the top three finishers in the following categories: men, women, high school boys, high school girls, boys 12 and under, and girls 12 and under. In 2019, we added the esteemed Learned Foot travelling trophy that is awarded to the biggest team. The Idaho Supreme Court team won last year’s Learned Foot trophy. Who will win it in 2020?

How to Get Involved

Not into running or walking, but love the outdoors? The event needs volunteers! The A2J FUND RUN/WALK needs individuals to help check in racers, record scores, and direct racers along the course. Volunteering at the event is a great way to see what it is all about. It takes up a few hours one beautiful Saturday morning, but by the end of your shift you will want to be a participant the next season.

Attorneys work long grueling hours and they need a chance to get some fresh air and interact with colleagues outside of the courtroom and office. It is clear from the smiles and cheers from the participants and volunteers that everyone at the event is enjoying themselves.

You will not want to miss this great race event. I cannot promise everyone will experience a runner’s high, but I can promise everyone will have helped make a difference in the lives of many individuals and families who benefited from your thoughtfulness.

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By Erin E. Tomlin

Pouring a cup of coffee before an attorney meeting at my firm, I think about intention. It is a given that my partners and I will take a few moments to check in with each other and our collective practice amid the practical to-do lists we jot down. This check-in is specific to practicing law with intention and refining our focus.

When recently asked why I practice law and what I love about it, my first knee-jerk answer was, “I like solving problems”. I followed up with, “And, I love being able to do that in an office that supports being intentional about that.” The latter part of my answer seems like it should be a foregone conclusion, right? Shouldn’t attorneys, those charged with addressing legal problems, know what it means to fix problems and be intentional in our everyday practice?

What my first answer indicates is an inherent passion for helping people and situations with the law. However, almost more importantly, my elaboration indicates that how, where, and why I solve problems is what makes it great.

Intentional Decision-Making

In terms of intention, attorneys aren’t afforded a broad interpretation of what it means to practice with intention. Most decisions we make about the cases we take on, the clients we engage with, and the way we do our job is characterized as deliberate. We don’t just happen upon a client; we decide to represent them.

As a third-year law student practicing with a limited license in 2012 alongside the late Chuck Kovis in the Second District, I received some good advice from a then District Court Judge. Idaho Supreme Court Justice John R. Stegner, at a local Inns of Court dinner and CLE, reminded me that attorneys are not meant to be potted plants. My takeaway was this: I should not be passive and to do my job effectively I must stand up and speak up.

What I didn’t fully grasp until practicing law in more depth was that I must also be deliberate in those endeavors and that doing so requires a thoughtful commitment to practicing with intention and being mindful of what I speak and when and where I stand.

It is easy to get swept up in the nature of a demanding law practice – reacting to opposing counsel or taking every case that walks in the door. While firing off pleadings, meeting deadlines, and signing up new clients may be benchmarks of a successful law practice, it doesn’t always leave time for mindful contemplation. It is too easy to get swept up in an ironic and reactive cycle in which the controlled environment of practicing law often feels out of control and success is defined by being busy.

How many times have you talked to an attorney or colleague in the legal field who recalls why they went to law school wistfully only to immediately lament cynically that now they are just grinding it out every day? How do we, as busy attorneys, practice in such a way that we don’t lose sight of why we went to law school while staring down the growing case files on our desks? Doing so allows us to grow the kind of practice and service we offer our communities.

For me, it is with mindful intention. This means a deliberate and contemplative approach to cases at the intake phase and with value placed on time – my time, my clients’ time, my partners’ time, and my family’s time. Diving into a well-paying case fraught with complex legal challenges and high-conflict tensions may be rewarding to resolve but may cost more in the long run in ways that are not as easily calculated.

In choosing cases and how to approach already active cases, it is important for me to remember why I became an attorney in the first place: helping people and fixing problems. More specifically and personally, I want to be available for those who don’t have immediate (or any) access to courts but desperately need it. When I apply intentional mindfulness, the practice of evaluating the moments that often get lost in the shuffle, I am in a better position to balance more of what matters to me.

I keep a folder of quotes with other inspirational stories and articles. There, I am reminded by the famous words of acclaimed author and professor Toni Morrison. She said, “I tell my students, ‘When you get these jobs that you have been so brilliantly trained for, just remember that your real job is that if you are free, you need to free somebody else. If you have some power, then your job is to empower somebody else.’” I share this quote with students at the University of Idaho College of Law in Moscow when I teach in an adjunct instructor capacity and in sharing with them, I keep tabs on myself.

By practicing with intention, I can make time for the case or two that I want to work on pro bono. For others it may be serving on a board or volunteering time for a community event or cause. When I sit down with coffee and pen, my to-do list often includes what my firm calls ‘intention check-points’.

Where are my current cases at? What new cases am I considering? What will they require? Do they allow me to have time to give back through pro bono or volunteer time? Do they put me in a reactive and high-conflict case?

The answers may not be the deciding factor in whether or not I take a case or file the next motion in an existing one but they do help to create an intentional road map that accounts for my time, my passions, and how those affect those closest to me.

By being mindful and present in each moment of the daily decision-making in a busy and growing law firm, it is possible to practice with intention and create time and space for the cases we care about and remain grounded in the inspirational roots of our legal service – whatever that may be for each of us.

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By the Idaho Volunteer Lawyers Program Staff

Like many who become Idaho Volunteer Lawyers Program clients, Vickie Smith didn’t know where to turn to get legal help when she and her son were in the middle of complicated custody proceedings that spanned two countries and layers of international custody laws. She searched pro bono lawyers online and came across the Idaho Volunteer Lawyers Program (IVLP). Smith remembers finding the IVLP website and thinking, “Why not give it a go?” After submitting her case information online, Smith was contacted by IVLP staff and completed the application process.

A few weeks later, someone who would later be part of what Smith calls “a fantastic team” contacted her by phone. This person was attorney Wendy Olsen of Stoel Rives. ILVP Director, Susan Pierson, had initially reached out to Olsen about Smith’s case because she knew that Olson had a wealth of experience working in federal courts, something that would be necessary if Smith were to get the legal help she needed.

IVLP’s mission is connecting low-income clients in need of legal representation with licensed attorneys around Idaho who are willing to volunteer and make a difference. IVLP volunteer attorneys change the lives of people who would otherwise trudge through difficult legal territory alone as pro se litigants. The role of pro bono attorneys is unique; when someone needs financial help, anyone can donate money, but when someone needs legal help, only an attorney can provide that service. IVLP loves finding lawyers who are willing to devote some time to helping someone in a way nobody else can.

Upon hearing about the uphill battle Smith was facing in her custody case, Olson agreed to take her case and she brought on another attorney from her firm, Elijah Watkins. Watkins also had extensive experience in federal courts and was committed to serving those who could not afford representation.  In the end, the support that Smith received from her two volunteer attorneys and their paralegal staff far exceeded her expectations.

Smith and her teenage son were trying to sort through international law regarding which country her son was required to reside after she separated from his father.  Smith spoke highly of the help the IVLP attorneys gave her, saying, “They make every client feel like they are the only client. I know they had a lot on their plates, but they made me feel like I was their equal. They valued my opinion and my son’s opinion.”

Olson and Watkins went far beyond filing paperwork or standing up in court. They stayed with their IVLP clients every step of the case, at one point even accompanying Smith’s teenage son to the airport and providing moral support through a difficult and complicated situation.  Watkins explains that sometimes providing legal counsel to IVLP clients provides an excellent opportunity to focus as much on the “counseling” aspect as the “legal” aspect.

Although the case has been settled for many months now, Olson continues to show compassion and care for Smith, still checking in with her on occasion. Smith gives Olsen updates on how her son is doing these days and what’s going on in her life. It’s clear that the relationship that was built through Olson and Watkins’ pro bono work went far beyond a simple legal transaction to become a meaningful interpersonal connection.

For any attorney on the fence about taking a pro bono case through IVLP, Watkins and Olson encourage you to “Just do it! You’re helping someone.” Their firm, Stoel Rives, also encourages their attorneys to give back to the community through their pro bono work.

If you or your firm is interested in making a pro bono pledge, please consider activating your account on the Idaho Pro Bono Opportunities website at www.idahoprobono.org or email IVLP Director Susan Pierson at spierson@isb.idaho.gov.

By Brian P. Kane, Michael K. Porter, and Susan R. Pierson

Pro bono work is one of the most important aspects of our responsibilities to our profession and the legal system as a whole.  Ensuring that those of limited means have meaningful access to the justice system is essential to inject confidence into the system.  Virtually all of us have heard lawyer jokes, read commentary about the inequalities of the justice system, or participated in proceedings with pro se individuals struggling to understand the formalities and procedure of the system.

One of the best antidotes to these issues is frequent and consistent pro bono participation by attorneys.  But pro bono work can be new, different, and intimidating.  In order to encourage and identify pro bono opportunities, please consider the following myths and realities of pro bono work!

MYTH:  I am really busy and have no time for pro bono work.

REALITY:  Idaho Rule of Professional Conduct 6.1 states that every attorney has a responsibility to provide legal services to those that can’t pay.  To fulfill this responsibility, Rule 6.1 challenges each attorney to provide 50 hours per year of legal service to those unable to pay or organizations designed to address the needs of those with limited means, such as charitable, religious, civic, governmental and similar organizations.

As a profession concerned with the advancement of justice, the Rule recognizes the aspirational aspect of justice by balancing it with the practical reality of providing legal services to those in need.  The reality is that pro bono services should be among any attorney’s priorities on an annual basis.  The comments to Rule 6.1 provide a number of alternative means to fulfill this goal.

Pro bono work often involves discrete projects requiring only a few hours of work.  For example, if you can spare just two hours, you can help multiple individuals at a legal clinic – an hour or two is all it takes to review a lease for a person who needs to understand their rights or obligations or to review a living will or power of attorney for a senior citizen.

In recent years, the Idaho State Bar along with the Idaho Law Foundation and the Idaho Volunteer Lawyers Program has developed online resources and increased the number of clinics open to the public to make volunteering for discrete amounts of time more convenient and less time-consuming.

MYTH:  As a new attorney, I am not sure I have enough experience to help out.

REALITY:  Any attorney, even one newly admitted to the Bar, has a deep background in legal learning, logic, and problem solving that represent significant assets in assisting those of limited means who are unfamiliar with the legal system.  Pro bono work is a catalyst to attorney growth and development as well as improving the image of the profession as a whole.

Additionally, the Idaho State Bar, the Idaho Volunteer Lawyers Program (IVLP), and other organizations routinely provide CLE’s and training designed to fill in the knowledge gaps regarding specialized areas. These resources help all attorneys hit the ground running in the provision of pro bono legal services.

IVLP also provides malpractice coverage and connects attorneys with mentors to provide protection and support when needed. The Bar and the Idaho Supreme Court have also developed an online presence. Concerns raised in clinics can often be referred to as the resources available on these online platforms allowing service opportunities even when area expertise might be lacking.

For more information visit https://isb.idaho.gov/ilf/ivlp/ and https://isb.idaho.gov/public-resources/.

MYTH:  My employer doesn’t see any benefit from me participating in pro bono work.

REALITY:  One of the greatest assets an attorney can develop is a deep well of legal knowledge and experience.  Attorneys with broad experience are generally more skilled at problem solving and creativity in helping clients work through their legal issues.

The base of potential clients equally broadens with your legal experience and expertise.  For many attorneys, pro bono work becomes a rewarding source of career development, reinforcement, and satisfaction.  It’s one area where attorneys can measurably make a difference in an individual’s life.

Pro bono work also provides attorneys with experiences that they may not have as they work their way up the attorney career ladder.  For example, pro bono attorneys may be able to garner significant courtroom or trial experience.  Negotiation and client relationship skills can be honed through pro bono work.  And many pro bono attorneys are viewed favorably by their peers within the legal community.

MYTH: I work in a specialized practice and have nothing to contribute to pro bono efforts.

REALITY:  As an attorney, you have the ability to assist and educate those within the system who don’t understand what is happening to them.  Attorneys can help citizens navigate the legal system in a variety of ways.

For example, one of the simpler ways to provide pro bono assistance is to assist citizens such as veterans complete their paperwork for government programs and benefits.  Many attorneys, based on their legal education, have an understanding of what is required to run the government gauntlets that are intimidating to non-lawyers.

As discussed previously, a professional with well-developed listening and critical thinking skills is all that is required of pro bono volunteers.

MYTH:  I work for the government or in a position that prevents me from directly representing clients.

REALITY:  There are a number of opportunities for attorneys to provide pro bono services without direct representation of clients.

For example, several Idaho entities host Street Law Clinics that help address an array of legal questions that citizens may have.  There are also Community Legal Clinics hosted by the Idaho Volunteer Lawyers Program. These events can be found online at: https://isb.idaho.gov/ilf/ivlp/ivlp-clinics-2/

Many of these opportunities require as little as an hour of time for you to volunteer and provide you with the time to help out a number of individuals.

MYTH:  My malpractice insurance won’t cover me if I mess up.

REALITY:  While your malpractice insurance may not cover it, the Idaho Volunteer Lawyers Program covers all attorneys who volunteer through their program. The coverage includes case representation and participation in legal clinics.

Attorneys who find their own pro bono cases may open them through IVLP so that they are covered by IVLP’s policy. Often malpractice coverage for volunteer attorneys is provided by the umbrella entity that is assigning the work to you.

You may also want to double-check with your own coverage to determine if volunteer efforts are covered.

MYTH:  There are no pro bono opportunities near me.

REALITY:  Pro bono opportunities abound.  The Idaho Volunteer Lawyers Program and the Court Assistance Office host a number of events around the State.  The Court Assistance Office maintains a calendar of events that can be found here:  https://isb.idaho.gov/ilf/ivlp/cao-ws/

The Community Legal Clinics calendar link is provided above.  You can also directly volunteer with the Idaho Volunteer Lawyers Program or volunteer as a guardian ad litem with CASA.

MYTH:  I spend part of every day answering legal questions from the public, so I’ve done my part.

REALITY:  There is a true need for legal services to citizens of limited needs.  Providing legal services is different from simply answering questions from concerned citizens.  Pro bono efforts target those of limited means in an effort to provide them with legal assistance and access to justice.

Although answering constituent questions is an important service, it does not rise to the level of the services contemplated under Idaho Rule of Professional Conduct 6.1 because you are paid for your services to answer constituent questions.  Rule 6.1 asks attorneys to provide legal services for no fee or expectation of a fee, therefore it is incumbent to go above and beyond the work that is done “on the clock.”

MYTH:  Pro bono will take up all of my time with a case that goes on forever.

REALITY:  Some pro bono cases take time but are not all time-consuming.  Most pro bono cases are fairly straightforward and need an attorney who can help the client navigate the system, present evidence, and resolve a discrete legal issue. There are numerous opportunities to provide pro bono service on an as-needed basis.

The street law clinics, senior clinics, veteran’s clinics, and other community clinics offer attorneys the ability to come in and answer legal questions for a set amount of time without an ongoing attorney-client relationship—of course, it is possible that you will encounter a client with a legal issue so compelling that you will want to continue to assist him or her.

Both Rule of Professional Conduct 1.2(c) and the Idaho Rules of Civil Procedure (IRCP) authorize attorneys to provide limited representation in pro bono cases related to a discrete issue or part of a court case.  IRCP 11.4 and Idaho Rule of Family Law Procedure 112.C. authorize attorneys to make a limited pro bono appearance “on one or more individual proceedings in an action by filing a notice of limited appearance “specifying all matters to be undertaken.”

When the representation is concluded the attorney must file a notice of completion which terminates the attorney’s role “without the necessity of leave of the court.”

MYTH:  I simply don’t have the time, there is nothing I can do.

REALITY:  There may be those rare few who simply cannot provide in-person services.  This insular group should consider contributing to charities specifically engaged in pro bono or low bono work.  Each year the Idaho Law Foundation conducts the Access to Justice fundraiser. More information is available online at https://apps.isb.idaho.gov/ilf/aji_campaign/aji.html.

Donations go to Idaho Legal Aid, DisAbility Rights Idaho, and the Idaho Law Foundation to provide legal services to underserved communities.  Consider making a contribution today.

Idaho has a real need for attorneys to volunteer for pro bono work.  Once you work your way through the myths, the reality of the difference you can make is evident.  Pro bono work is considered one of the most personally rewarding and fulfilling parts of the practice of law that you can participate in.  We hope you will answer the call!

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Michael K. Porter is an attorney at the Canyon County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, civil division. Opinions discussed in this article are his own and not that of the Canyon County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office.