LOCAL PRO BONO COMMITTEE
The Standing Committee on Pro Bono Legal Service and Local Pro Bono Committees were established in 2002 by the Court of Appeals to coordinate the effort to increase access to justice by expanding pro bono service by attorneys throughout the state. The Local Pro Bono Committees were created under Maryland Rule 16-902 to address the need for expanded pro bono service at the county level, taking into account the specific needs of the county's population, the availability of legal services and pro bono referral programs in the county, and the degree to which the county bar and bench were involved in the pro bono effort. Rule 16-902 required that each Local Committee assess the needs in the jurisdiction for pro bono legal services, determine what resources exist in the county to address those needs, and develop a Local Pro Bono Action Plan to connect lawyers willing to give of their time with clients whose pro bono needs are unmet. Each year, Local Committees evaluate the progress of this Action Plan by drafting an Annual Local Pro Bono Committee Report detailing the pro bono activities in their respective counties over the past fiscal year. These Annual Reports must be submitted to the Standing Committee by May 1 of each calendar year. After collecting all twenty-three Annual Local Pro Bono Committee Reports, the Standing Committee on Pro Bono Legal Service drafts the Standing Committee on Pro Bono Legal Service Report to Court of Appeals of Maryland under Rule 16-901 for presentation to the Court of Appeals each fall.
Local Committee Membership
Each Local Pro Bono Committee consists of at least eight, but no more than eleven members. At least two representatives are nominated by legal services organizations and pro bono referral organizations that provide services in the county and selected by the County Administrative Judge and the District Administrative Judge, and there are no more than nine additional members, as follows: a District Public Defender; three to five lawyer members appointed by the president of the county bar association, who practices in the county and at least one of whom is an officer of the county bar association; at least one but no more than two members of the general public, appointed jointly by the County Administrative Judge and the District Administrative Judge; and at least one but no more than two trial court judges.
Although membership is limited, the Committee is free to call upon other interested members of the bar, Judiciary, legal services organizations, and the general public, as well as key court personnel to serve as consultants.
To find out how you can get involved with the Local Pro Bono Committee in your respective county, contact your Committee Chair. The current Chairs of each Local Pro Bono Committee are as follows:
Counties
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Chair
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Liason
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Allegany |
Marcia Conrad, Esq. |
Sharon E. Goldsmith, Esq. |
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Anne Arundel |
Joan Bellistri |
Joan Bellistri |
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Baltimore City |
Yoanna X. Moisides, Esq.
Kristin Herber, Esq. |
Diane Lach, Esq. |
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Baltimore County |
Michael Jeffers, Esq. |
Ann Baer Cogan, Esq. |
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Calvert |
Amy Welch-Lorenzini, Esq. |
Hon. Cathy H. Serrette |
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Caroline |
Sandy Brown |
Hon. Karen M. Jensen |
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Carroll |
Fred S. Hecker, Esq. |
Hon. Miriam B. Hutchins |
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Cecil |
William Bruce Hemphill, Esq. |
Hon. Jane C. Murray |
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Charles |
James E. Farmer, Esq. |
Hon. Cathy H. Serrette |
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Dorchester |
Sandy Brown |
Hon. Karen M. Jensen |
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Frederick |
Peter Fitzpatrick, Esq. |
Sharon M. Grosfeld, Esq. |
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Garrett |
Miriam Sincell Burton, Esq. |
Miriam S. Burton, Esq. |
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Harford |
Colleen Ferg Helmlinger, Esq. |
Hon. Angela M. Eaves |
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Howard |
Cecilia B. Paizs |
Antonia Fasinelli, Esq. |
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Kent |
Sandy Brown |
Hon. Karen M. Jensen |
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Montgomery |
Michael J. Goecke, Esq. |
Jo Benson Fogel, Esq. |
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Prince George’s |
Kirsten Downs, Esq. |
Manuel R. Geraldo, Esq. |
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Queen Anne’s |
Sandy Brown |
Hon. Karen M. Jensen |
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Saint Mary’s |
Samuel C. P. Baldwin, Jr., Esq. |
Bonnie Sullivan, Esq. |
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Somerset |
Erica Nelson Cook, Esq. |
Robert D. Anbinder, Esq. |
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Talbot |
Sandy Brown |
Hon. Karen M. Jensen |
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Washington |
Tracey B. Eberling, Esq. |
Shawn Boehringer, Esq. |
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Wicomico |
Susan Land, Esq. |
Robert D. Anbinder, Esq. |
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Worcester |
Erin Fitzsimmons, Esq. |
Robert D. Anbinder, Esq. |
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