Succeeding through innovation

Southern Arizona Legal Aid’s

Volunteer Lawyers Program

Succeeding

through

innovation

A program of Southern Arizona Legal Aid

The

Volunteer Lawyers

Program

201

Dear Friends,

The VLP faced many challenges in 2013. Sequestration brought funding woes and a staff shortage. Plunging poverty rates in Tucson created more families with civil legal needs. But as always, our VLP volunteers met the challenges with inspired leadership and creative ideas.

This year much of the program’s ability to meet challenges and excel was driven by innovation. New and updated partnerships and programs allowed the VLP to surpass the number of clients served by you for the seventeenth consecutive year. Our partnerships with the Pima County Attorney’s Office, the KARE Family Center and the Pima County Superior Court were modified and expanded to allow the VLP to help more clients in need. New programs were designed to maximize resources. We implemented a law student alumni program designed to recruit graduating students to serve clients in Pima County and around the country. Law firms including Quarles & Brady and Snell & Wilmer have joined our Administrative Assistant Initiative, in which firms will lend their para- professionals to the VLP for help with administrative tasks. These efforts have fueled growth and ensured that the program’s efforts are targeted, smart and efficient.

This type of innovation would not be possible without your support. The VLP is fortunate to have creative, energetic and committed volunteers. You are the partners who call to offer fresh ideas, suggest a new program, or provide feedback about an existing project. You are the friends who remind us that by simply sharing your knowledge and expertise, you can change someone’s life.

No matter how many battles are fought during the year or how hectic the daily routine becomes, I always feel renewed and inspired by your generosity. I am so fortunate to witness your good work. On behalf of the more than 3,000 clients who you assisted this year, please accept my heartfelt congratulations. I thank you and I celebrate you! Sincerely,

Michele M. Mirto

Director, Volunteer Lawyers Program

FROM THE

DIRE

CT

Arizona Supreme Court Honors Skip Skinner

Congratulations to Skip Skinner who re-ceived the Arizona Supreme Court Award for Outstanding Pro Bono Service. Chief Justice Rebecca White Berch presented Skip with his award at the Judicial Confer-ence on June 26, 2013.

Skip began working with the Southern Arizona Legal Aid’s Volunteer Lawyer’s Program in 2005. Two of the weekly programs Skip offers through the VLP are: Minor Guardianship Clinics designed to assist pro se clients seeking Title XIV mi-nor guardianships in Pima County Probate Court. Skip also conducts twice-monthly Advice Only clinics for low-income clients seeking assistance with consumer debt issues.

Skip is well prepared, thoughtful and dedicated to his clients. His generosity and commitment to helping those most in need serves as an inspiration to all who know him. Skip is an asset to the VLP, the legal community, and the clients he serves. In his eight years with the VLP Skip’s willingness to share his expertise has enabled him to serve 864 VLP clients and their families.

2013 ATTORNEY RECOGNITION

VLP Students of the Month

January Tristany Leikem February Jane Burch

March Michael DiGiacomo April Jiaqi Liu

May Cassidy James June Scott Boncoskey July Jefferson Klocke August Ahren Richter September Paul Gute October Sean Cahill November Jason Gray December Amanda Mateer

Skip Skinner and Chief Justice Rebecca White Berch

Top 50 Pro Bono Attorneys in Arizona–The Arizona Foundation for Legal Services & Education honors these VLP members:

Ryan Anderson Lisa Bibbens Steven Cox Sarah Crotty Joubert Davenport Greg Droeger Erin Fox Scott Gan Biagio Gingo Charlotte Hamilton Bob Johnstone Lisa Schriner Lewis Ronda Lustman Nathan Parkey Juan Perez-Medrano Denice Shepherd Skip Skinner Ben Smith David West

2013 HIGHLIGHTS

2013 STAFF AND ADVISORY BOARD

1086

Volunteer Attorneys

83

Volunteer Students

$650,000.00

Financial

equivalent of donated hours

3,277

Clients assisted

(projected)

VLP Staff

Socorro Diaz, Program Coordinator Sara Meza, Administrative Assistant

Michele Mirto, Attorney at Law/Program Director Claudia Ochoa, Paralegal

Olivia Sanders, Administrative Assistant

Melissa Spiller, Attorney at Law/VLP Student Coordinator

VLP Advisory Board

Hon. Fred Dardis, Co-Chair Tom Roberts, Co-Chair Hon. Gus Aragon Hon. Hector Campoy Hon. Dean Christoffel Todd Jackson Hon. Karen Nygaard Luis Ochoa

Hon. Alyce Pennington Juan Perez-Medrano Stephen Portell Stacy Rupprecht Butler Heather Strickland Hon. Bernardo Velasco

“This is a program that is constantly innovating–recognizing and responding to the needs of clients, adapting and seizing opportunities” – Jim Sandman, President of the Legal Services Corporation

Welcome

Hon. Dean Christoffel, Master of Ceremonies

VLP Presentation and Lunch

Remarks

Justice Ann A. Scott Timmer, Arizona Supreme Court

Keynote Address

Ramón Arias, Executive Director, Bay Area Legal Services

Awards Presentation

Justice Ann A. Scott Timmer

VLP ATTORNEYS OF THE MONTH

ANNUAL AWARD WINNERS

Stacy Rupprecht Butler Law Student – Julia Palfreyman

Award of Appreication – Kelly Carmody

Lifesaver – Mesch, Clark & Rothschild, P.C.

Values in Practice Award – Julie Treinen

Distinguished Service Award – Dean Paula Nailon

Attorney of the Year – Ben Smith

Firm of the Year – DeConcini McDonald Yetwin & Lacy, P.C.

AWARDS PROGRAM

2013 AWARD WINNERS

July Nathan Parkey August Scott McDonald September Lisa Anne Smith October Hon. Hector Campoy November Lisa Lewis

Volunteer Lawyers Program 2343 E. Broadway Blvd., Suite 200 Tucson, Arizona 85719

Phone: 520-623-9465 Toll-free: 800-640-9465

vlparizona.org

For more info about VLP programs and for a current list of

volunteer attorneys, visit www.vlparizona.org

VLP is a program of Southern Arizona Legal Aid, Inc.

A program of Southern Arizona Legal Aid The

Volunteer Lawyers Program

Ramón P. Arias

Executive Director, Bay Area Legal Aid

Ramón Arias began his career as a legal services attorney upon his graduation from UCLA School of Law in 1978. Ramón worked for California Rural Legal Assistance for ten years represent-ing farm workers in a variety of cases, ranging from working and living condi-tions to minority voting rights and the rights of undocumented workers. In 1988, Ramón became the Executive Director of San Francisco Neighborhood Legal Assistance Foundation (SFNLAF), a troubled organization that had once been one of the most highly-respected legal services programs in California. Working closely with others, Ramón helped trans-form SFNLAF into an effective provider of legal services to the urban poor. In 2000, Ramón’s leadership and vision were critical catalysts in forming Bay Area Legal Aid. BayLegal, a merger of various county-based legal services providers around the Bay, is the largest provider of legal services to the poor in the Bay Area and one of the largest in California. With over 50 lawyers and regional offices in San Jose, Oakland, Richmond, San Rafael, San Francisco, and San Mateo, BayLegal continues to successfully protect and advance the rights of the

poor, immigrants, and language minorities in domestic violence, public benefits, healthcare, and housing matters before the courts, administrative agencies, and legislative bodies.

Ramón is recognized nationally for his leadership on civil justice issues. He has served as Chair of the Board of California Rural Legal Assistance Foundation, Chair of the National Legal Aid and Defenders’

Association, member of the American Bar Association’s Standing Committee on Legal Aid and Indigent Defendants, and a member of the ABA Committee on Loan Repayment and Forgiveness. He currently serves on the Board of Equal Justice Works, which operates the largest fellowship program in the United States.