In 2022, with many of the pro bono clinics our firm attorneys are accustomed to attending moving back to in person formats, the Mississippi Volunteer Lawyers Program (MVLP) proposed a unique idea. Since we had decided that for ‘Celebrate Pro Bono’ month, the firm would co-sponsor an expungement clinic, perhaps we could challenge the Nashville attorneys to a friendly competition? The Capital City attorneys who assisted the largest number of pro bono clients with their expungement paperwork would have their city named as the Capital City Pro Bono Champs. Working together, we were able to convince attorneys from the Bradley Arant, Adams and Reese, and Baker Donelson firms to join with us to sponsor and staff clinics in Jackson, Mississippi and Nashville, Tennessee and in 2021, Jackson Mississippi was crowned as the Capital City Pro Bono Champ.
In 2023, the same law firms, working with MVLP and the Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee, are participating in the same challenge. This year, the clinic, held annually at Jackson State University, saw the statistics below:
- Persons Helped: 19
- Pleadings Drafted: 13
- Legal Advice Given: 7
- Volunteer attorneys/students/professionals attended: 37