each year, the state bar committee on legal services to ......each year, the state bar committee on...

Each year, the State Bar Committee on Legal Services to the Poor in Civil Matters selects the winners of

four Pro Bono and Legal Services Awards, which are presented at the Annual Meeting. Following are profiles

of the 2005 award winners, who enthusiastically provide access to justice for low-income Texans.

By Morgan Morrison

600 Texas Bar Journal • July 2005 www.texasbar.com

On vacation in Colorado in 2002, San Antonio attorneyGeorge P. Parker Jr. attended a presentation at the

Anasazi Heritage Center by Teddy Draper, Sr., a Navajo codetalker during World War II.

Parker, of counsel to Bracewell & Giuliani, L.L.P., heard howDraper played a central role in the U.S. efforts to prevent theJapanese from intercepting militarycommunications by translating mes-sages into Navajo, which turned outto be a virtually unbreakable code.

Parker also learned of the hear-ing loss, temporary blindness, andother injuries that Draper sustainedat the Battle for Iwo Jima and theMarine Corps veteran’s almost 60-year struggle to obtain service-relateddisability benefits from the Depart-ment of Veterans Affairs.

A f t e r the l e c tu re , Pa rke rapproached Draper and his friend, aguitar repairman who had beenattempting to help the 81-year-oldwith his claim. “They were obvious-ly floundering, trying to navigate thebureaucracy of the VA,” Parker says.He offered his business card, andthree months later Draper called.

Parker, who is certified in laborand employment law by the TexasBoard of Legal Specialization, haspracticed law since 1969. He pri-marily represents corporate manage-ment and has extensive experiencein appellate work.

However, this area of law was new to him. “The most dif-ficult part of the process was learning the VA law,” Parker says.“The Veterans Benefit Manual is 2,000 pages thick.”

Since the VA denied Draper’s claim for lack of evidence (inthe chaos of battle, a medic failed to document the injuries),Parker had to find proof of an event that occurred in 1945. Hereviewed medical records and obtained affidavits from two eye-witnesses and a statement from one of Draper’s children whohas a doctorate in psychology, evidencing the veteran’s post-traumatic stress disorder.

These documents convinced the VA, which, in January 2004,awarded Draper almost $80,000 in retroactive benefits and a$20,000 increase in his annual disability benefits. Parker’s researchalso led to Draper’s receiving the Purple Heart in December 2003.

Parker, who spent more than 300 hours working on Drap-er’s case, attributes his success to experience and time. “I wasable to determine what evidence the VA wanted and conductan investigation,” Parker says. “It’s the same if you want to winin court: You have to do your homework.”

Parker also represented a second Navajo WWII veteran,Nelson Tsosie, whom Draper referredto the attorney, in his disabilitybenefits claim. Tsosie served in theSolomon and Philippine Islandsand suffered hearing loss during the1945 Invasion of Luzon Island(Tsosie is now completely deaf withringing in his ears).

Parker accepted the case inOctober 2004 and clocked morethan 165 pro bono hours workingon Tsosie’s behalf. In April, the VAawarded the veteran full disabilitybenefits, including two years ofretroactive benefits. This decision isespecially significant for Tsosie,who Parker says “has never receiveda penny” from the government.

Parker credits paralegal PennyRobinson, attorney Eric Barbosa,and the f i rm o f Bracewe l l &Giuliani for their efforts and sup-port. Robinson worked more than200 hours on Draper’s case, andBarbosa conducted significant fac-tual research on Tsosie’s case. “Ireceived a lot of help from the

firm,” Parker says. “They encouraged me to help these menand treated them as important as any client.”

For Parker, a personal benefit of these cases has been theopportunity to learn more about Native American culture. Heand his wife, Julie, plan to visit a Navajo reservation in Arizonato study art with Draper’s son, Teddy Jr., an accomplishedpainter, sculptor, and jewelry designer.

As a result of his pro bono work, Parker was elected to theboard of directors of the National Veterans Legal Services Pro-gram, a nonprofit organization that represents low-income vet-erans and their dependents.

But the greatest reward has been “dealing one-on-one withsomeone who is needy,” Parker says. “This is, undoubtedly, themost personally satisfying representation in my years of prac-ticing law.”

Frank J. Scurlock Award

A newbie to VA law, George Parker obtained service-relateddisability benefits from the Department of Veterans Affairs fortwo WWII Navajo code talkers.

2 0 0 5 P R O B O N O A N D L E G A L S E R V I C E S A W A R D S

www.texasbarjournal.com Vol. 68, No. 7 • Texas Bar Journal 601

AIDS was first identified as a disease in the UnitedStates in 1981. By 1987, more than 71,000

Americans had been diagnosed with HIV/AIDS, according tothe Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

During this time, a group of Austin attorneys, includingHolly Gilman and Julie Oliver, decided that they had to getinvolved. “The illness devastates every aspect of the person’slife, and access to legal serv-ices is denied due to finan-cial and physical constraints,”Gilman says.

Working with others,Gilman and Oliver createdan informal network of pri-vate attorneys willing toprovide pro bono legal serv-ices to individuals livingwith HIV/AIDS — thebeginnings of the CapitalArea AIDS Legal Project,the 2005 Pro Bono Awardrecipient.

With the availability ofIOLTA funding throughthe Texas Equal Access toJustice Foundation, CAALPofficially formed in 1990 asa program of AIDS Servicesof Austin, the primary organ-ization in the Austin areaproviding direct care services to people living with HIV/AIDS.

Still volunteer-based, CAALP provides free legal assistanceto individuals affected by HIV/AIDS whose income is at orbelow 125 percent of the federal poverty guidelines. The pro-ject’s service area includes Travis County and nine surroundingcounties. Since 1990, CAALP has helped more than 2,500HIV-infected people in Central Texas.

Staff attorney and licensed social worker Liz Cohen hasworked for CAALP since 1999, but she has been involved withthe project and ASA for almost 15 years. She volunteered forCAALP in 1991 and interned at ASA in 1997 for a graduateschool program.

“To a great extent, the project is successful because of Liz,”Gilman says. “She is good at recruiting volunteers, is willing to doa lot of the work herself, and is devoted to serving our clients.”

With Cohen as its only part-time staff, CAALP dependson its network of 135 volunteer attorneys to serve between 350and 400 individuals annually. “The volunteers are absolutelyessential to our success,” Cohen says. In 2004, they donated212 pro bono hours to CAALP clients and closed 348 cases.

In addition, the CAALP Advisory Board, composed ofGilman and 13 other “active, supportive, and dedicated” attor-

neys, as Cohen describesthe members, contributed250 volunteer hours in2004 on activities such asfundraising, policy and pro-gram planning, and logisti-cal support of ASA events.

Since CAALP’s begin-ning, estate planning andguardianships have been themost needed legal services.However, volunteers alsohelp c l ients with manyother civil issues, includingfamily law, bankruptcy,discrimination in employ-ment and housing, immi-gration, insurance, publicbenefits, real estate, andlandlord/tenant.

As clients’ needs havechanged — increasing num-bers of women and racial

and ethic minorities are diagnosed with HIV/AIDS and thoseinfected with HIV/AIDS are living longer due to more effectivemedications — CAALP has expanded its services.

Last year, for example, CAALP offered three pro bonoestate planning/guardianship clinics on-site at ASA. One of theclinics focused solely on the needs of women and children.CAALP has also recruited Spanish-speaking volunteers andattorneys who have expertise in consumer and finance, employ-ment, and housing law, which, combined, made up one-fourthof the project’s cases in 2004.

Gilman says that the project’s greatest success is “helpingthese individuals cope with living with this disease.” “Theyhave so much to worry about already,” Cohen adds. “Beingable to bring some peace of mind to our clients’ lives is trulyinvaluable and powerful.”

Pro Bono Award

Liz Cohen and Holly Gilman have worked tirelessly to meet the diverse andchanging needs of Capital Area AIDS Legal Project clients.



For more than 23 years, William Kimble, senior staff attor-ney at the Waco office of Lone Star Legal Aid, has been a

tenacious advocate for the poorest of the poor. His practice hasfocused primarily on helping his clients who have physicaland/or mental disabilities secure federal disability benefits.

“The bulk of my work is in administrative law judge hear-ings,” Kimble says. If a claim isdenied after two paper reviews, theindividual may request a hearingbefore an independent administrativelaw judge. “The client’s best chanceof winning is during this hearing,”Kimble explains.

“It’s high stress and anxiety forthe clients,” Kimble says. During theappeal process, which can take up toa year or longer, the individuals oftenhave to depend on family and friendsfor financial support. But once a deci-sion is made in the client’s favor,Kimble finds satisfaction in seeingthe individuals “go from no incomeat all to getting some income andtheir health care coverage.”

Fred Fuchs, an attorney withTexas RioGrande Legal Aid, says thatKimble’s longtime dedication to thistype of work spurred his nominationof Kimble for the 2005 J. ChrysDougherty Legal Services Award. “Hehas spent most of his career in publicinterest law.”

Fuchs, who has been a housing advocate for the poor forclose to 30 years, credits Kimble with urging him to volunteerwith a legal aid program while he was in law school. “Hisencouragement started me on the road to a legal servicescareer,” Fuchs explains.

“Bill is extremely bright,” Fuchs says. “He could have doneanything.” Kimble recalls being inspired to pursue a law degreeafter reading Gideon’s Trumpet by Anthony Lewis. The bookchronicles the landmark case of James Earl Gideon’s fight for theright to legal counsel. “This was a new case back when I had toread it for an undergraduate constitutional law class,” Kimble says.

At Baylor Law School, Kimble served as editor-in-chief ofthe Baylor Law Review. After graduating, Kimble consideredworking for the Houston Legal Foundation. “I was not fromthe wealthiest family,” Kimble says, “and I had to turn a prof-it.” So instead, he joined an insurance defense firm, but “nevercaught the fever.”

From there, Kimble took a tenure-track position teachinglaw at Texas Southern University. During this time, he volun-teered with the ACLU to help represent a VISTA attorneyaccused of “inciting revolution.” The federal court ruled in hisclient’s favor. “It made me think that I wanted to practice law— work on lawsuits — every day,” Kimble says.

Kimble became managingattorney of the San Angelo officeof West Texas Legal Services in1979 after Fuchs promised himthat “the work would be reallyinteresting and they were now pay-ing above the minimum wage.”Kimble served as litigation directorfrom 1981 to 1991. He joinedEast Texas Legal Services (nowLone Star Legal Aid) in 1994.

While working for theseorganizations, Kimble has zeal-ously and vigorously representedhis clients. In one lawsuit, he con-vinced courts in Texas, Florida,and Virginia that the Medicaidstatute requires states to providecoverage for liver transplants.

Kimble also settled a casewhere Texas’ county indigent healthcare programs are now required topay the Medicaid-model of bene-fits while clients have a pendingSSI appeal. This rule helps approx-imately 14,000 individuals annu-

ally. “I’ve always been pretty satisfied with that deal,” Kimble says.“Bill broke barriers,” says LSLA attorney James Porter,

who describes Kimble as “a walking encyclopedia of federalcourt cases.”

Outside of his professional work, Kimble says he is “prettyboring,” but friends and colleagues appreciate his unique senseof humor. “He has a special wit about him, the way he twiststhe English language,” Porter says. Fuchs concurs: “He will leaveyou in stitches.”

“Bill has three children whom he absolutely adores, andthey adore him,” Porter says. “I’ve seen him pinch his penniesso they could get an education and have the basics they need-ed.” Miranda is a music teacher in Quanah; Rachel and Davidare students at different campuses of Texas A&M University.

“It’s a lot like being lucky,” Kimble reflects on his career. “Some-times it seems odd to work at something you like this much,but I hope to do it for another dozen or 15 years.”

J. Chrys Dougherty Legal Services Award

Known for his unique sense of humor, Bill Kimble is a tena-cious advocate for his clients at Lone Star Legal Aid.


www.texasbarjournal.com Vol. 68, No. 7 • Texas Bar Journal 603

Sally Crawford, partner and pro bono coordinator in theDallas office of Jones Day, is ready to celebrate. “I’m really excited,” Crawford says of the firm winning the

W. Frank Newton Award, which recognizes outstanding probono contributions by a group of attorneys. “I told our partnerin charge that we needed to throw a big party.”

The 171 lawyers in theDallas office take to heartJones Day’s commitment topublic service — they con-tributed more than 4,118pro bono hours in 2004and approximately 70 ofthem regularly participatein some volunteer activity.

“Most lawyers have asense of ethical responsibili-ty,” Crawford says. “No oneelse can give back in the waythat we can — lawyers havethe keys to the courthouses.”

The Jones Day attor-neys recognize the incredi-ble impact of just a fewhours’ work (the averagepro bono case requires about10 hours, according to Craw-ford). “Once someone getsinvolved, he or she will behooked,” Crawford says.“Not many corporate clientswill break down in tears or hug your neck for the work thatyou’ve done. There is a personal satisfaction in knowing thatyou can really make a difference in someone’s life.”

Crawford, whom the Dallas Volunteer Attorney Programrecognized as “Outstanding Pro Bono Coordinator” in 2003,has been involved with volunteer legal work since she graduat-ed from the Southern Methodist University School of Law in1986. At Jones Day, she facilitates the Dallas office’s pro bonoand public service projects, helping connect attorneys with vol-unteer opportunities. This part of her job is “so rewarding,”Crawford says.

The attorneys take part in myriad activities. They serve onthe boards of community and legal aid organizations, work onHabitat for Humanity projects, and regularly provide free legaladvice to callers to the Dallas Bar Association’s LegalLine. Theyhelp groups, including a local dance troupe and booster club,obtain nonprofit status. Another associate founded Passport tothe Arts, a program that allows underprivileged students toaccess cultural arts in Dallas.

“There is no end to the number and variety of opportunities,”Crawford says. “The need is so great, but we try to do our part.”

In one recent success, a team of lawyers from the litigationgroup represented an indigent client who was defrauded out ofher home and enticed to unknowingly sell it to a predatorylender. They spent 1,500 hours over 18 months helping theclient get her property back.

“At Jones Day, a pro bono case is just as important as anyother case,” Crawford says.“Our lawyers put the sameeffort and expertise intotheir pro bono work.”

A team approach thatincludes all Jones Dayemployees guides the firm’spro bono efforts. For exam-ple, a legal assistant andproject assistant helped fourpartners and five associatessuccessfully resolve a politi-cal asylum case that allows aformer University of Zim-babwe professor and herthree children to remain inthe United States. In addi-tion, legal assistants andother support staff regularlyjoin the lawyers volunteer-ing at the South DallasNeighborhood Clinic (whichJones Day staffs at least fourtimes annually).

“Involving the lawyersplus staff at all levels has allowed relationships within the firm togrow,” Crawford says. “We have built camaraderie, a sense of pur-pose, and pride in teamwork when everyone at the firm has a role.”

This approach benefits the clients as well. “On any givennight when the Jones Day team staffs a legal clinic, their cadreof volunteers renders quality representation and services to thecommunity,” says Chris Reed-Brown, DVAP recruiter.

Jones Day will soon participate in a national programdesigned to provide pro bono legal and social services to unac-companied immigrant children released from detention in theUnited States. “A lot of people want to help children, and this is agreat opportunity to do that,” Crawford says. The program, devel-oped by the U.S. Committee for Refugee and Immigration, will beimplemented firm-wide and coordinated through the Dallas office.

“The Dallas Bar Association nominated Jones Day for theW. Frank Newton Award because of the firm’s outstandingwork in providing pro bono services to needy members of theDallas community,” says DBA President Tim Mountz. “Theselawyers have used their contacts and resources for the better-ment of our community and are leading by example in providingpro bono work.”

W. Frank Newton Award

Dr. Margaret Mhasvi and her children, Virginia, Rodney, and Marianne,escaped from Zimbabwe in March 2004 after enduring three brutal, physicalattacks by government-sponsored militia. A team from the Dallas office ofJones Day settled the asylum case with the U.S. Citizenship and ImmigrationServices, allowing Mhasvi to remain in the United States and begin working.



each year, the state bar committee on legal services to ......each year, the state bar committee on...

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