Tuesday, October 24, 2017

DENVER – Marking the 11th anniversary of the Colorado Supreme Court Pro Bono Legal Service Commitment and Recognition Program, Chief Justice Nancy E. Rice has proclaimed Oct. 22-28, 2017, as Pro Bono Week.

Colorado is fortunate to have many attorneys who donate legal services to low-income residents, but they cannot meet the civil legal needs of the more than 500,000 people in Colorado who fall below the poverty level.

“Access to the courts to resolve civil disputes is a fundamental and essential right in our society,” Chief Justice Rice said. “The assistance of pro bono attorneys is an invaluable part of providing access to justice for all.”

The pro bono commitment program encourages every Colorado attorney to provide at least 50 hours of legal services at no charge, primarily to indigent people and/or organizations serving indigent people.

The Colorado Supreme Court in 2007 began recognizing those law firms, solo practitioners, in-house counsel and government attorneys making the commitment and achieving the 50-hour goal. For an organization to achieve the goal, each attorney within the organization must complete an average of 50 hours of pro bono service annually.

In calendar year 2016, hundreds of organizations committed to achieving the 50-hour goal.

A complete listing of the participating organizations is available at https://www.courts.state.co.us/Courts/Supreme_Court/Pro_Bono.cfm.