Jackson, Mississippi Office Pro Bono Activities

Virtually every attorney in the Jackson office of Bradley Arant has provided pro bono service to victims of Hurricane Katrina via a telephone hotline established by the Young Lawyers Division of the Mississippi State Bar, through service at one of the many Disaster Recovery Centers on the Gulf Coast, and through handling cases referred to the firm through that process.

With almost a dozen other local firms, the Jackson office of Bradley Arant is helping to develop a pro bono manual for the Mississippi Volunteer Lawyers' Project (MVLP). The manual will provide resources for lawyers across the state who represent persons in need of free legal services. Attorneys in the Jackson office frequently undertake pro bono representations in divorce, adoption and child custody cases referred through the MVLP; answer calls to a hotline for individuals with basic legal questions; and staff a legal clinic for homeless persons at Stewpot Community Services.

Bradley Arant lawyers also represent a statewide class of children in foster care in a suit brought against the Mississippi Department of Human Services. In addition, Bradley Arant participates in the Capitol City Legal Relievers program, which was established to provide private resources to assist the City of Jackson with its civil caseload.

In recognition of these contributions, the Hinds County Bar Association awarded the Jackson office of Bradley Arant its pro bono award for 2005-2006; and the Mississippi Bar Association awarded the office its 2006 Curtis E. Coker Access to Justice Award. The Access to Justice Award is given to a lawyer who has made significant contributions to securing access to the legal system for persons who need it. This marked the first time that the award was given to a law firm, rather to
an individual.

Attorneys in the Jackson office are also dedicated to a number of community and volunteer projects that do not involve providing legal services. For example, lawyers in the office are current or former members of the board of directors of the Downtown Exchange Club; the Farish Street YMCA; the Jackson Arts and Music Foundation; the Mississippi Museum of Art; the Mississippi Opera; the Mississippi Society for Disabilities; the Neighborhood Christian Center; The Oaks House Museum; and Operation Shoestring. In addition, lawyers and staff members volunteer for the Community Animal Rescue Association, Habitat for Humanity, the Junior League of Jackson, and Stewpot Community Services, among other organizations.