This story originally appeared in the June 19, 2011 edition of the Oakland Press.
Legal Aid and Defender Association Inc. bestowed the 2011 Pro Bono Service Award of the Oakland County Bar Association to OCBA President Jennifer M. Grieco for her work in establishing the OCBA Mentor/Mentee Program.
Through the program, new OCBA attorneys handle pro bono cases from Legal Aid and Defender or the Family Law Assistance Project.
The new attorneys are matched with experienced OCBA members who mentor them as they handle cases involving divorce, landlord tenant evictions, expungement of criminal records and collections.
The program is seen as a model for other bar associations in Michigan and throughout the country, said Lynda S. Krupp of the Legal Aid and Defender Association. The program received the prestigious Lexis-Nexis Award for Community and Educational Outreach from National Association of Bar Executives.
The award will be presented at National Association of Bar Executives annual meeting in Toronto, Canada, in August.
Legal Aid and Defender is Michigan’s largest provider of free civil legal services to low-income residents. It serves Metro Detroit through its offices in Macomb, Oakland and Wayne counties.
It also represents criminal defendants in Wayne County and the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan. Including brief consultations and comprehensive legal services, the public law firm handles some 15,000 legal matters yearly.
“We work with clients in a comprehensive manner, so that as we solve their legal problems, we help solve other problems as well,” said Deierdre L. Weir, Legal Aid and Defender president and CEO, said. “We help people rebuild their lives and help families stay together.”