BRAND-NEW ATTORNEYS are getting a good start in combining public service as they build their practices through participation in the NHBA Pro Bono Referral Program's innovative "Painless Pro Bono" training series.

An initiative to aid new attorneys interested in providing service to deserving clients with critical civil legal needs, the program provides direct training and supervision to attorneys assigned actual Pro Bono family law cases.

The most recent presentation of the program consisted of three sessions dealing with procedures and substantive law for divorce and child custody and discussion of client relations issues. Superior Court Marital Master Deborah K. Rein; attorney Janet Devito, a longtime family law practitioner and former chair of the NHBA Family Law Section (now a member of the professional staff of the Professional Conduct Committee); and attorney Marilyn McNamara, executive director of the Legal Advice & Referral Center, served as the faculty. McNamara and Ginny Martin, NHBA associate executive director for legal services, jointly developed the program and assisted in identifying the cases referred to the new attorneys. "To help ensure the future ability of Pro Bono to refer family law cases, we decided to try a new recruitment approach with brand-new attorneys - hands-on training with built-in supervision and mentoring," Martin said.

Jason Rich, a first-year attorney at the Rath, Young & Pignatelli firm in Concord, principally practices in administrative, environmental and energy law, and had no prior experience in family law when he agreed to take over a Pro Bono case for a colleague who was leaving the state. "Not only did this program give me substantive and procedural assistance, it also made me feel much more comfortable working on this case," Rich said. "I believe very strongly in public service - I have a desire to give back to the community and this program has provided me with very valuable support to help me help my client."

Rich is one of 10 newly admitted lawyers who participated in the program. Martin said that the normal turnover of attorneys and the ongoing needs of disadvantaged families means that Pro Bono volunteers are usually in short supply. Inculcating new attorneys into the tradition of Pro Bono service helps narrow that always-yawning legal services gap. The new attorneys benefited from the litigation experience, broadened their perspective on legal practice, and were rewarded with the gratification of fulfilling their public service obligations in a very meaningful way.

Martin said the program, though more time-intensive for faculty than the typical CLE, was well worth the effort. It has provided immediate help to litigants, offered thorough training for the participants, and boosted the Pro Bono volunteer rolls with attorneys who have the potential, case-by-case, during the span of their careers, to make significant contributions to providing access to justice for poor people.

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