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Bar News - March 4, 2005 In Search of Fred Gailey By: Margaret Ann Moran A number of years ago, the author of In Search of Atticus Finch, Mike Papantonio, presented a program at the Bar's Mid-Winter Meeting extolling Harper Lee's Atticus Finch as a role model for today's lawyers to emulate. And while I liked Gregory Peck, alias Atticus Finch in "To Kill A Mockingbird," truth be told, my favorite screen lawyer remains Fred Gailey. John Payne plays him in the 1947 version of "Miracle on 34th Street" (the one with Natalie Wood and Maureen O'Hara). During my childhood it was always on television on Thanksgiving Day. Fred Gailey defends Kris Kringle when people are trying to have Kris involuntarily committed because he thinks he's Santa Claus. (You may remember, Fred Gailey proves Kris really is Santa Claus when the U.S. Post Office delivers all the letters to Santa to the New York Courthouse where the trial is being held!) Even if I didn't have my own video of it, after this past holiday season when TNT did an all-day "Miracle on 34th Street" marathon, I have my favorite scenes committed to memory. In addition to the mailbag scene, I remember when attorney Gailey takes Kris' case and Maureen O'Hara's character tells him no worthwhile law firm in New York will hire him after that. He replies that he "can't let Kris down, he needs me" and that he'll start his own firm. "What kind of cases will you get?" she retorts and he says, "Probably a lot of people like Kris who are being pushed around." These types of cases, he adds, are "the only fun in law anyway." There are a lot of people who are being "pushed around" today who need someone to take their cases. In taking such cases, we may indeed have fun, and remember why it was we went to law school in the first place. Last month we came together around the state to celebrate professionalism. Professionalism Day 2005 also featured the presentation of the County Pro Bono Awards. Listening to the pro bono work done by one of your peers is both inspiring and humbling. It makes you ask yourself, "How long has it been since I took my last pro bono case?" I had the same reaction when I participated in a Pro Bono phonathon last year, calling lawyers in my county to ask them to take a pro bono case. Looking at the phone sheets, I saw lawyers who were always handling at least one or two pro bono cases and who never refused when they were called. Many of those lawyers were solo practitioners or members of small firms. There are lots of good reasons to take a pro bono case, not the least of which is that the Rules of Professional Conduct require that "[a] lawyer should, consistent with his or her expertise and interests, render public interest legal services. A preferred means by which this responsibility may be fulfilled is the provision of professional services at no fee or substantially reduced fee to individuals of limited financial means, or to organizations that have as their principal purpose serving the legal needs of individuals of limited financial means. ..." There really are no good reasons not to take a pro bono case. Lawyers used to give as an excuse that they didn't do marital cases; therefore they couldn't take a pro bono case. But the Bar Association Pro Bono Program has many types of cases to refer, not just family law matters. Pro Bono refers cases involving debt and consumer problems, bankruptcy, preservation of housing, landlord/tenant matters and basic estate planning, among others. The Bar's Pro Bono Program also operates three special projects - DOVE to address emergency legal needs of victims of domestic violence, a special education project to provide attorneys to represent parents and children in special education matters and, particularly relevant at this time of year, a Low-Income Taxpayer Project, to match clients experiencing federal income tax disputes with volunteer attorneys. The unmet legal needs of people of limited financial resources in our communities are enormous. Consider volunteering for a pro bono case this month. You may find that the work you do on that case is the most rewarding work you've done in a long time. Like my childhood screen hero Fred Gailey, you may find that helping someone whose legal needs will otherwise go unmet really can make you feel good about yourself and what you do. Margaret Ann Moran, a member of the NHBA Standing Committee on Professionalism, practices in Hillsboro with the law firm of Upton & Hatfield. The Professionalism Committee regularly submits articles on professionalism topics to Bar News. Comments are welcomed. |
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