Enhancing the Profession through Service: MCLE Pro Bono Rule

Under MCLE regulations, attorneys have an opportunity to earn up to six MCLE credit hours for performing pro bono service or for mentoring in a pro bono case. Learn more about the MCLE Pro Bono Rule with this video from Jason Wax, a member, a volunteer, and a mentor in the profession. Read about Jason’s experiences volunteering.

How have you volunteered and what has that experience been like?

I mostly volunteer in my practice area: bankruptcy. Volunteering has helped me meet different clients outside of my normal practice. When someone is paying for service, it is a different type of relationship than when you are representing someone on a volunteer basis. It is refreshing to have the interaction with these clients, because they are truly grateful. It has definitely provided me another way to develop as a lawyer.

As an attorney, what are the skills that you have gained through engaging in public service?

A lot of the volunteer programs seem to offer mentorship opportunities. I started volunteering as a bankruptcy mentor through KCBA’s Volunteer Legal Service program. The person I mentored had zero experience. My mentee learned a lot about practicing bankruptcy, yet it was also beneficial for me because I was taking my practice for granted. I really had to break it down and explain it in a different way, and it helped deepen my understanding.

If my mentee wants to go into bankruptcy practice, I think they will have some tools that they hadn’t had before. Volunteer pro bono programs are a really great way to expand your practice. If I was trying to change or add a practice area, I think I would definitely look for volunteer opportunities in that area.

What has surprised you about volunteering?

To be perfectly honest, the most surprising thing is that it has impacted my non-volunteer practice. I truly expected them to be completely separate. I am still in touch with clients I represented two or three years ago; occasionally they will give me a call or give me a heads-up that they referred someone to me. That is not why I got involved in pro bono, and often it doesn’t work out for a variety of reasons — or that person becomes a pro bono client — but I just didn’t expect any sort of synergy there.

Bearing in mind confidentiality rules, would you be willing to share a client story with us?

One of my first pro bono clients was an elderly person with limited resources who had a personal injury judgment against him. It had caused this person to lose his driver’s license, under a financial responsibility statute. I was able to get rid of the judgment and get the person’s driver’s license back. This allowed the person to commute to a job and increase his income, which helped him stay out of debt and get on a more positive path.

What would you say to a peer who is interested in volunteering?

I would say, “Do it.” If you have free time and you’re not completely busy billing, you should definitely do it a lot. Even if you don’t think you have time, I think it makes absolute sense to make time. It’s good to have variety; it helps you develop as a lawyer, gain skills of empathy, and look at things in a different way. All of that helps you serve your paying clients better.