October 25-30th marked National Pro Bono Week. We at the VLP thank all our wonderful, dedicated volunteer attorneys, law graduates and law students who provide critical legal services to our clients.

The New York Law Journal recently honored our Board Chair, Jim Slattery as a Lawyer Who Leads by Example. Jim shares with us why he volunteers for the VLP:

While I was in private practice for over 46 years, I can truly say that my eyes to the real meaning of being an attorney opened when I connected with the Brooklyn VLP 25 years ago when I was shown the vast number of people in Brooklyn, some 600,000, who could not afford counsel when they needed it and therefore were denied the justice they deserved. The real joy in my connection with VLP rests in becoming a volunteer and helping those less fortunate achieve the goal of steering through the many obstacles of our legal system and making it work for them. Please don’t misunderstand, the prestige and monetary rewards of partnership and private practice were wonderful…but nothing, no nothing, compares to look of gratitude in the eyes of a VLP client successfully served when they realize what VLP has done for them. If you’ve never had the experience, you don’t know what it truly means to be a lawyer. Organizations like VLP provide legal services to those who otherwise would be denied justice. Once that sinks in and you realize that you can make a difference, it doesn’t get any better than that.

Jim Slattery
Board Chair, Brooklyn Bar Association Volunteer Lawyers Project