Pro bono is short for the Latin phrase pro bono publico, which means "for the public good." The term generally refers to services that are rendered by a professional for free or at a lower cost. It is such an important facet of the legal community that the North Carolina Bar Association encourages each North Carolina attorney to provide fifty hours of pro bono legal services each year to clients unable to pay.
But why is this so important?
Pro Bono's Deep Roots in America – Legacy of the Boston Massacre
In 1770, tensions between British soldiers and American colonists in Boston resulted in the shooting and killing of five Americans. John Adams, America's second president, defended the British soldiers who were prosecuted for the shootings. Although Adams believed in the American cause, he accepted the job of representing the British soldiers on a pro bono basis. No one else was willing to take the case, but Adams ultimately won. By the time the colonies declared independence in 1776, pro bono was an accepted practice in America.
Our Firm is Committed to Continuing This American Legacy
Waldrep Wall Babcock & Bailey PLLC is committed to serving the most vulnerable in our society with legal, social, and economic issues through pro bono service. The firm regularly engages in complex pro bono litigation, policy, and legislative advocacy, and provides individual representation to those in need. We believe that pro bono work helps all of us to remember the reason we have laws—to protect, to help, to guide, and to seek justice. Waldrep Wall Babcock & Bailey PLLC embraces the pro bono culture that those who serve the law shall serve the community we embrace.
We are passionate about opportunities to use our education and experience to be of service to our fellow North Carolinians and take to heart our professional obligations as lawyers to make a difference!
Pro Bono Programs Our Firm Participates In
In addition to regularly providing pro bono legal assistance to small 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organizations so that these non-profits receive the legal help they would not otherwise be able to afford, our firm also participates in:
Hague Convention Practice
We protect children through the 1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction.
Learn More
4ALL Statewide Service Day
Our attorneys regularly participate in North Carolina’s 4ALL Statewide Service Day.
Middle District of North Carolina’s Pro Bono Representation Program
Our attorneys volunteer to represent pro se litigants.
Guardians Ad Litem for Children
We defend children in high conflict custody and domestic violence cases.
Stubbs Bankruptcy Clinic
Attorney Ciara L. Rogers serves as the director of the Stubbs Bankruptcy Clinic at Campbell University School of Law.
Middle District and Eastern District of NC Bankruptcy Courts Pro Bono Representation
Attorneys Jennifer B. Lyday and Diana Santos Johnson are attorney volunteers for the Pro Bono programs offered in the Middle District and Eastern District of North Carolina Bankruptcy Courts.