Pro Bono

Some people really harp on the value of doing pro bono work. They had the pro dinner last Friday to recognize the people that had done volunteer work. All you have to do is 50 hours over the course of 3 years to get a little recognition of your effort. As a 1L I said it wouldn't be a problem meeting that piddly requirement. As a 2L I figured I could squeeze something in between classes, moot court, writing my note for the law review, being president of a student org, and all the other things I was doing. As a 3L I figured that things would be so much easier this year that I finally had the spare time to donate a little to the pro bono causes.

Nearly 3 years later and how many hours of pro bono work have I done: ZERO!

The purpose of pro bono is to give back. I like to think that I gave much of my time to others. I just didn't do it in ways that would count towards the pro bono dinner. I fixed people's laptop problems. Sometimes to recover a document, sometimes to get a floppy disk out with a knife, sometimes to loan someone who needed a floppy disk desperately. I tried to mentor students behind me with sage wisdom. I helped work out possible class schedules. I listened to them whine and complain about how hard it was. I bought them Starbucks just to make their day a little better. I helped edit their legal writing assignments and law review notes. I tried to post good ideas and profound thoughts on the blogosphere to inspire others, to solve others' problems, to make others relax in these stressful times. I loaned textbooks and supplements that would help them understand their classes. I was a student leader trying to bring guest speakers to enlighten the student body. I sent emails, wrote letters, made phone calls, booked rooms, and gave of my time for the betterment of ourselves.

I like to think that I did give back of my time. I like to think that I meet the spirit of pro bono work if not in the normally recognized ways that would have gotten me a shiny star and meal. I know I gave of myself for a lot of people, and I didn't have to do that. It is simply who I am. I just hope some people appreciated the effort.