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Awards

Outstanding Volunteer Attorney Awards

VOCALS for Jefferson County Pro Bono Attorney of the Year

Legal Aid of Arkansas & AVLE have honored the following attorneys for their work in 2009:

Legal Aid of Arkansas awards Attorney of the Year honors to recognize the important work of its dedicated pro bono volunteers. Read more about the attorneys honored for their 2009 service by clicking the links below.

Each year the Arkansas Pro Bono Partnership spotlights outstanding Arkansas pro bono attorneys. See photos of pervious honorees at this link. Five attorneys were honored in the winter edition of The Arkansas Lawyer in 2009. Read more about them below. 

2009 Arkansas Pro Bono Partnership Attorney of the Year

Kristin Pawlik

KRISTIN PAWLIK has been named the "Arkansas Pro Bono Partnership Attorney of the Year" for 2009. This award is given by the Partnership each year to an attorney in the state who best exemplifies a commitment to pro bono public and the principle of equal justice for all. Indeed, Ms. Pawlik has worked tirelessly to help low-income Arkansans with their legal problems as both an advocate for them and as a fund-raiser for Legal Aid of Arkansas and the Promise of Justice Campaign.

Pro Bono Commitment

Ms. Pawlik donated over 125 hours of pro bono services to low-income clients during the year as a member of the Equal Access to Justice Panel. EAJP is a cooperative effort with the Benton County Bar Association to provide free civil legal services to residents in Benton County. Pawlik has served on the Equal Access to Justice Panel since 2003. She handles family law, criminal defense and employment law cases. When asked what motivates her to volunteer, she said: “Each client deserves to be represented in such a manner that no one else in that courtroom would suspect that the work is being done ‘for free.’ This is about equal access to justice, not ‘some’ or ‘merely adequate’ access to justice.” Ms. Pawlik’s efforts alone amounted to 19% of the total hours donated by attorneys in Benton County in 2008. Her donation has a conservative value of over $18,700 to the community.

Professional Commitments

Along with Ms. Pawlik’s volunteer pro bono efforts and her work as a partner in Keith, Miller, Butler, Schneider & Pawlik, she is actively engaged in other aspects of community life. Ms. Pawlik is the immediate past president of the Benton County Bar Association and believes one of the more important functions of the bar association is to provide networking opportunities outside the courthouse to share ideas and experiences, especially the opportunities between young and established lawyers and among practitioners in single-member firms and large firms. She also reaches out in other ways to expand access to justice. During the 2009 legislative session, she contacted members of the House Judiciary Committee as they deliberated a bill that would provide funding for civil legal aid. Additionally, she called and encouraged other bar members to call and e-mail their local representatives and senators to ask them to vote for this legislation to benefit access to justice for low-income Arkansans.

She is a member of the Arkansas Bar Association, the Arkansas Trial Lawyers Association and the Arkansas Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. She is also a member of the W.B. Putman Inn of Court and serves on the Arkansas Bar Association’s House of Delegates, legal Services Committee and Legislative Task Force. Ms. Pawlik was the program chair for the Arkansas Bar’s 33rd Annual Labor Law and Employment Law Conference. And she is also a member of the Junior League of Northwest Arkansas and a volunteer for Habitat for Humanity.

Education

Ms. Pawlik was raised in Bentonville, graduated from Bentonville High School and holds a B.A. in Journalism, with an emphasis in public relations, from the University of Arkansas. She attended the University of Arkansas School of Law, received her Juris Doctor in 1999 and then attended the National Criminal Defense College at Mercer Law School in Macon, Georgia. She later served as chief public defender for Benton County before joining Keith, Miller, Butler, Schneider & Pawlik in October 2003. She became partner in 2008. Ms. Pawlik and her husband, Aaron Holmes, have two sons, Jackson and Spencer.

Pro Bono Attorney Honorees 2009

Debra Brown

Debra Brown is the 2009 VOCALS Attorney of the Year in Pulaski County.
Since joining the Pro Bono panel in 2004, she has worked on family law cases involving domestic violence, custody disputes, and complicated property settlements all of which have accounted for 231.7 hours of pro bono work.

 

She is a member of the Shults Law Firm. Ms. Brown is also one of only fifteen attorneys who continue to accept pro bono referrals as well as contribute financially to VOCALS. Her actions like those of other individuals who have accepted the challenge of supporting low income Arkansans through service and financial support is a ringing reminder of the highest traditions of the legal profession. 

Noel BryantNoel F. “Bud” Bryant is the 2009 Pro Bono Attorney of the Year for
Jefferson County and has practiced law in Pine Bluff for 35 years. He became a
member of Jefferson County VOCALS in 2002. He has fulfilled his commitments
in excellent fashion accepting domestic abuse, divorce, guardianship and
adoption case referrals. Upon being named Pro Bono Attorney of the Year, he
stated "Over the years I have been privileged to receive a number of awards for
service on different boards or commissions, but this award is the most
meaningful as it is a reminder of what each one of us are called to do, and that is
to serve others." Mr. Bryant received a BA in Business Administration from UAMonticello
and a JD from the University of Memphis School of Law in 1975. 

Joanne McCrackenJoanne McCracken is the Legal Aid of Arkansas Outstanding Service Award
winner for 2009, donating over 250 hours of pro bono services to low-income
clients in Benton County during the year.

McCracken graduated from the University of Arkansas School of Law in 2001. While in law school, she worked at Legal Aid of Arkansas, providing services to victims of domestic abuse. Her practice with Joshua Meister is largely in the areas of bankruptcy, Social Security Disability, criminal and family law. She is also the City Attorney in Garfield.

 

Jim O'HernJim O’Hern is the Pro Bono Attorney of the Year Award recipient of the River
Valley Volunteer Attorney Project. He devoted 83 hours of pro bono
representation to low income clients in Crawford County and Sebastian County
during 2009. He has been for many years an active pro bono volunteer and has
accepted a wide range of cases on behalf of clients including those senior citizens
who meet the needs requirements of the Arkansas Volunteer Lawyers for the
Elderly project. Mr. O’Hern also contributes both his time and legal expertise as a
member of the Board of Directors of the Center for Arkansas Legal Services, which
provides legal aid to low income Arkansas in forty-four counties. O’Hern received
his B.A. from the College of Charleston and his law degree from the University of
Arkansas School of Law in Fayetteville in 1980.

 Other Volunteers

In addition to the honored attorneys, the Arkansas Pro Bono Partnership is proud to list all the pro bono and contributing attorneys from each year. Click the links below to view the full listing from previous years.

 

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AttachmentSize
ProBonoRecognition2008.pdf548.78 KB
ProBonoRecognition2007.pdf484.21 KB
ProBonoRecognition2005.pdf1.63 MB
ProBonoRecognition2009.pdf617.19 KB
ProBonoRecognition2009-AllAttorneys.pdf636.91 KB
ProBonoRecognition2006.pdf671.03 KB