It's almost time to step up again for Equal Access to Justice here in Harris County. By working together, we have achieved phenomenal success by doubling the number of pro bono cases handled here in the last five years and by winning national awards in the process. We can now build on this success.

As some may recall, I first announced my Equal Access to Justice Program on June 12, 2006 during my year as HBA president. The program was designed to increase the number of cases handled by the Houston Volunteer Lawyers program by increasing the number of cases that Houston law firms would take depending upon their size. We had categories for Solo's (1-4 attorneys taking 1 case each), Boutiques (5-14 attorneys taking 3 cases each), Small Firms (15-34 attorneys taking 6 cases each), Midsize Firms (35-74 attorneys taking 12 cases each), Intermediate Firms (75-125 attorneys taking 25 cases each) and Large Firms (125 plus attorneys taking 50 cases each). We also established categories for corporations. Forty-five law firms, thirty-five solos and eleven corporations answered the call to become Equal Access to Justice Champions. All of the six largest firms signed on, and I remember Jack Balagia at Exxon Mobil and Cathy Lamboley at Shell leading the way on the corporate side.

Prior to initiation of the Equal Access to Justice Program, the HVLP had never topped 1,000 cases handled in a year, but we topped that plateau in the first fiscal year of the program. The pro bono cases handled by HVLP in Harris County have also increased every year since the program's first year in 2006, as the following chart reflects:
2005: 991 cases handled
2006: 1,042 cases handled
2007: 1,536 cases handled
2008: 1,756 cases handled
2009: 2,280 cases handled[1]

In 2010, the number of cases handled is projected to top 2,400. During the course of the Equal Access to Justice Program, the pro bono clients served have increased from 5,840 in 2005 to 13,280 in 2009. The volunteer hours have also increased from 19,241 in 2005 to 26,586 in 2009. Again, these are extraordinary increases in these important numbers, and they are the result, at least in part, of the increased participation generated by the Equal Access to Justice Program. This is due to the hard work and extra effort of our Equal Access to Justice Champions. Some lawyers and law firms have also become Grand Champions by handling twice the number of cases that they committed to take. For example, Fulbright & Jaworski has been a Grand Champion several times.

The Houston Bar Association has also been recognized on a national level for the Equal Access to Justice program by winning the Harrison Tweed Award, given by the American Bar Association each year for the best pro bono program in the country. The HBA had never won it before. It was great to receive this kind of recognition for a pro bono program here in Houston.

This June 2010, the Equal Access to Justice Program will begin its fifth year. All of our Equal Access to Justice Champions committed to a five-year term. I hope that everyone will step up again in 2010 and sign up for another five years. I would also like to see participation in the program grow and expand so that we can continue the upward trend in cases handled, hours spent and pro bono clients served by the HVLP.

Many thanks to all of those who have helped make the dream of Equal Access to Justice a reality here in Harris County. As lawyers, the most precious thing we can give is our time, and I greatly appreciate the time that so many have devoted to our Equal Access to Justice effort. Although we frequently advertise the wonderful contributions made by our Equal Access to Justice Champions, a list of those champions is again published on page 29 of this issue.

Glenn A. Ballard, Jr. ishead of the trial section at Bracewell & Giuliani LLP. He served as president of the Houston Bar Association in 2006-2007.

Endnotes
1. The statistics in this article were graciously provided by the director of HVLP, David Mandell.