Pro Bono Resource Center of Maryland Celebrates 15 Years of Public

Seven o’clock p.m., October 15 – As the lights came on around Baltimore City, nearly 300 guests gathered at the Reginald F. Lewis Museum of Maryland African American History & Culture to join the Pro Bono Resource Center of Maryland (PBRC) in celebrating its 15 years of service to the legal profession and the community. The evening’s highlights included a rousing performance by dancer/storyteller Maria Broom as well as an inspirational address from WJZ-TV Co-Anchor Denise Koch.

For 15 years, PBRC has provided a mechanism for members of the bar to become involved in their communities in a unique way. PBRC stimulates recruitment, provides training, coordinates among the legal services providers, guides policy, and helps foster lasting partnerships. The end result is a change in the legal culture, an improvement of conditions for thousands of people in need and an incremental step closer to the ideal of “equal justice under law”. For its success, PBRC has gained national recognition and is seen as a leader in the quest for justice for those of limited means.

One of the goals of this event was to honor those attorneys who best embody the spirit of pro bono service. PBRC asked the current and every past President of the Maryland State Bar Association to recommend one attorney who, in their opinion, best typifies that spirit. The efforts of these volunteer attorneys offer individuals the chance to regain their footing. They help families to feel safe, children to receive care and communities to gain stability. They help ensure that not-for-profit organizations can serve as safety nets for the disenfranchised, that community groups can reinvigorate a neighborhood, and that church and civic organizations can give refuge in troubled times. For their tremendous contributions, the Pro Bono Resource Center of Maryland was honored to recognize the following individuals at the Anniversary Celebration on October 15:

Chief Judge Robert M. Bell
Lee A. Caplan, Esq.
Ward B. Coe, III, Esq.
John C. Eidleman, Esq.
Hon. Deborah Eyler
Edwin Fee, Jr. , Esq.
Herbert S. Garten, Esq.
Manuel Geraldo, Esq.
Frank Gorman, Esq.
Hon. Karen Murphy Jensen
Wilhelm Joseph, Esq.
Camilla O. McRory, Esq.
Michael Millemann, Esq.
Mitchell Y. Mirviss, Esq.
Hon. William D. Missouri
Lawal Momodu, Esq.
Hon. Daniel Moylan
Stephen J. Nolan, Esq.
Karren Pope-Onwukwe, Esq.
James F. Rosner, Esq.
Nancy Sachitano, Esq.
Stephen H. Sachs, Esq.
Mark F. Scurti, Esq.
Hon. Cathy H. Serrette
Young Song, Esq.
Nevett Steele, Esq.
Gerald Walsh, Esq.
Marla Zide, Esq.

Honored Posthumously:
Charles H. Dorsey, Jr., Esq.
Hon. Robert C. Murphy
Edward F. Shea, Jr., Esq.

PBRC Gala
From left to right: Sharon E. Goldsmith, Executive Director of the Pro Bono Resource Center of Maryland, MSBA President J. Michael Conroy, Jr., and the Honorable Robert M. Bell, Chief Judge, Court of Appeals of Maryland (Photo: Johnny Slaughter)

Garten Serrette
MSBA Past-President Herbert Garten (left) with the Honorable Cathy H.
Serrette, PBRC President

Ed Gilliss
MSBA President-Elect Edward J. Gilliss (center) and his wife Barbara (right) converse with the Honorable Marcella Holland.