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Guest
Report
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Fulfilling
an Obligation
by Ron Harrison, President
Arkansas Bar Foundation |
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"
. . . pursuing a learned art as a common
calling in the spirit of public service."
-
Roscoe Pound
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Hello,
friends.
Do me a favor, please.
Stop thinking of all that you need to be doing as we
begin this new year. Lock out your phone—no, really—lock
out your phone, shut down your computer and walk over
and close the door to your office. Sit down, take a
deep breath and relax. Now, for a moment think about
the reasons you became a lawyer and why you now practice
law or serve our justice system as a judge or in some
other role. You can even jot down a few of your thoughts
if you like. Finished?
Please look over your
written notes or examine your mental list. Are the words
"service," "help," "protect,"
"public," "justice," or "rights"
found somewhere within your answer? Dean Roscoe Pound
described our profession as a group "pursuing a
learned art as a common calling in the spirit of public
service." One of our duties as a member of the
profession is the obligation to participate in public
service. We should satisfy that obligation by pro bono
publico service. We also should provide funds to assist
programs whose purpose is to promote civil rights, human
rights, access to justice, legal education, diversity
within our profession, law reform, encourage participation
in student moot court and sponsor other law-related
educational programs. There are many ways we can contribute
funds to promote public service and partially fulfill
our obligation to perform public service.
The Arkansas Bar Foundation
is one of the resources by which we can provide for
gifts and grants to fund events, programs and groups
which promote educational programs, public service projects
and protect rights we believe are important to our profession
and system of justice. Along with its scholarships,
the Arkansas Bar Foundation maintains a Memorial Gift
Program. Gifts to the Arkansas Bar Foundation Memorial
Gift Program can be an inexpensive way to pay tribute
to attorneys and family members during a difficult time
of loss of friends and loved ones and to honor a family
member, friend or colleague celebrating occasions such
as birthdays, anniversaries and retirement. The Foundation
sends a written acknowledgment of your gift, not the
amount, to all contributors as well as the family of
the deceased or to the honoree. A list of contributors
is published quarterly in The Arkansas Lawyer
magazine and on a yearly basis in the Arkansas Bar Foundation
annual report. The Arkansas Bar Foundation is classified
as a tax exempt organization under Section 501C(3) of
the Internal Revenue Code and these gifts are deductible
for federal income tax purposes.
For your convenience,
we have enclosed a Foundation gift envelope with this
article. Please, go ahead . . . remove the envelope.
Simply complete the information on the flap of the envelope,
include your contribution and mail it to the Arkansas
Bar Foundation in the pre-addressed envelope.
Gifts to the Arkansas
Bar Foundation provide an excellent opportunity to support
a worthwhile organization through which you are incrementally
contributing to the educational and public service programs
of the Arkansas legal profession, as well as to the
community as a whole. Thank you in advance for remembering
the Arkansas Bar Foundation and for your great pursuit
of our common calling. Please also accept the best wishes
of the Fellows of the Arkansas Bar Foundation for a
rewarding and successful career of service in the law.•
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