Barnes named a top pro bono attorney

04/24/2008

Barnes named a top pro bono attorney

 

Jennifer Barnes 
Jennifer Barnes,
Director of the
Clinical Program
      Jennifer Barnes, director of the Clinical Program and the Civil Justice Clinic at the Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law, has been selected as one of the Top 50 Pro Bono Attorneys in Arizona, an award given annually by the Arizona Foundation for Legal Services & Education.
     Barnes is a former trial attorney who represented clients in products liability, premises liability, toxic tort and wrongful death litigation for 14 years before coming to the College of Law in 2001. She also is an alumna of the College (Class of 1987).
     As director of the Civil Justice Clinic, which on April 30 is receiving the top pro bono award from the Volunteer Lawyers Program in Phoenix, she manages a hands-on program that teaches students to represent clients in civil disputes, such as foreclosure rescue scams and predatory lending actions.
    Barnes was nominated by the Volunteer Lawyers Program, a partnership of the Maricopa County Bar Association and Community Legal Services, Inc. (CLS). The award is a "tremendous honor," she said.
     "Pro bono service is critically important for the people who can't afford legal services," she said. "They are the victims of so many different opportunists, and the only way to obtain justice for them is to have lawyers who are willing to dedicate their time. I'm fortunate to be in a college that supports service to the community, and to have a dean that supports our efforts. I have incredible colleagues who deserve the award more than I do, and I absolutely share it with them."
     Dean Patricia White called Barnes "a wonderful combination of talented attorney and extraordinarily generous human being."
     "We are very, very lucky to have her at the law school," White said. "Our students could not ask for a better role model and mentor.
  In addition to her law school responsibilities, Barnes is the current Vice President of CLS and will assume its Co-Presidency as a representative of Maricopa County in May. CLS is a not-for-profit Arizona law firm that provides high-quality legal advice, assistance or direct representation by attorneys or paralegals in certain civil matters to low-income individuals and families. Its goal is "equal access to justice for all."
     The list of Pro Bono honorees also includes four alumni of the College of Law: Stefanie Abalos (Class of 2005), an associate at Snell & Wilmer, L.L.P., Phoenix; Donald Bayles Jr. (Class of 1974), of Aspey, Watkins & Diesel P.L.L.C., Flagstaff; Robert Howard Jr. (Class of 1976), of Jekel Howard & Thomson, L.L.P., Scottsdale; and Janice Palmer (Class of 1982), of Janice M. Palmer, P.C., Chandler.
     Barnes and the other lawyers will be honored at a reception on Thursday, June 19, at The Westin La Paloma Resort in Tucson, in conjunction with the State Bar of Arizona's annual convention.
     The Arizona Foundation for Legal Services & Education created the Top 50 Pro Bono Attorneys Award in 2001 to recognize attorneys who have tirelessly given their time and expertise to assist Arizonans who otherwise would have no legal resources.
 
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