July 2004
Bar welcomes new pro bono coordinator
Attorney Jeffery Brown, Madison, joined the State Bar staff as pro
bono coordinator in May. The pro bono coordinator works with the Bar's
Legal Assistance Committee and the legal community statewide to expand
access to programs that provide civil legal services for low-income
individuals. Brown is responsible for recruiting, retaining, and
recognizing attorneys and other legal professionals for legal services
provided at no or reduced cost to low-income Wisconsin residents.
The pro bono coordinator also acts as a clearinghouse for successful
statewide and national pro bono programs. Brown will implement the Pro
Bono Initiative, a statewide coordinated program that will increase pro
bono efforts in Wisconsin. The initiative, in collaboration with the
judiciary, legal service groups, and the legal profession, improves
public access to the legal system, promotes solutions to eliminate
barriers to effective access to the civil and criminal justice systems,
and increases the availability of pro bono resources.
"I know that Wisconsin lawyers are committed to increasing access to
justice for low-income Wisconsin families," says Brown. "I'm looking
forward to working with my fellow Bar members and the larger community
to increase the opportunities for turning that commitment into solutions
that make a difference in people's lives."
Brown brings unique experience as a pro bono advocate to the State
Bar. He provided legal counsel and pro bono coordination services for
civil legal services programs while working for the National Legal Aid
& Defender Association in Washington, D.C. He also worked
extensively with the American Bar Association Litigation and Business
Law sections' pro bono committees. Brown was an in-house attorney with
several Wisconsin financial services companies, a volunteer mediator for
the Dane County Bar, and was active in the pro bono efforts of the law
firms where he practiced in Madison, Phoenix, and Washington, D.C.
A native of Detroit, Brown received his J.D. from Harvard Law School
in 1989 and joined the Wisconsin Bar in 1997. He is also a member of the
Illinois and District of Columbia bars.
"I encourage Bar members to contact me with questions, suggestions,
or comments about pro bono and access to justice issues," says
Brown.
Contact Jeff Brown at (608)
250-6177 or (800) 444-9404, ext. 6177.
Inside the Bar
