About this time last year, the ABA announced plans to organize a national celebration of pro bono. The 13th Judicial Circuit Pro Bono Committee of Hillsborough County and Bay Area Legal Services Volunteer Lawyers Program agreed to participate. Over the year they worked together to organize various events in the local community to celebrate and encourage pro bono participation. With the help of a number of local pro bono programs, local government, the Hillsborough County Bar Association and many law firms and lawyers, Pro Bono Week in Hillsborough County was a great success.

The Hillsborough County Board of County Commissioners issued a proclamation officially recognizing October 25-31, 2009 as Pro Bono Week in Hillsborough County. Pro Bono Week kicked off with the first ever “Battle of the Bands” sponsored by the Hillsborough County Bar Association. The winning band will play during the 2010 HCBA Judicial Pig Roast and Race to the Courthouse on March 20, 2010. The Race to the Courthouse promotes pro bono services in Hillsborough County through pro bono pledges.

In addition to the events organized by the Pro Bono Committee, Carlton Fields, Tampa Office, hosted a local celebration in conjunction with its statewide celebration honoring Tampa attorney and shareholder, Sylvia Walbolt, for her dedication to pro bono. A number of other events were held during the week to provide pro bono services and also to encourage pro bono participation by local attorneys, including a Family Forms Clinic en Espanol, co-sponsored by the Tampa Bay Hispanic Bar Association and the Bay Area Volunteer Lawyers Program.