Bill Whitehurst
Law Offices of Whitehurst, Harkness, Ozmun & Brees, P.C.
Austin

What was your first pro bono experience?
Out of law school, I went into the Air Force as a JAG officer. Although it was not strictly pro bono, it was full-time public service. When I got out of the Air Force, I returned to Texas, where I served as staff counsel for the Judicial Affairs Committee, another public service-type job. Even though I now work in the private sector, I have carried a pro bono docket for as long as I can remember. I concentrate my pro bono work on family law because it is the area of greatest need.

What inspired you to create the Bar Leaders for the Preservation of Legal Services for the Poor initiative?
>While I was president-elect of the State Bar of Texas, I was asked by President Charlie Smith to go to El Paso to welcome the Legal Services Corporation board of directors to Texas. Back then, the Legal Services Corporation was almost the sole source of legal services income and it was very controversial. I sat through part of their meeting, which was an outrage because the board was opposed to meeting the very goals they were charged with doing. I was appalled with the way they treated the legal services lawyers who were present. That experience inspired me to take action. I have always believed that providing legal services to the poor is important, both for the citizens who cannot otherwise afford legal services and for the legal system as a whole. In a rule of law country, everyone must have access to the system for the system to work.

What pro bono work are you involved in now?
I just finished a case in which I represented a 20-year-old girl. When she was 13, she went to live with her husband. She had her first baby when she was 14. One night her husband got drunk and shot her in the ankle. Although the mother wanted a divorce, she believes it is important for her children to have a relationship with their father. We worked to set up a special visitation program through the mother’s family, whereby the father can still visit his children under safe supervision. So far, the program is working great.

What is your most memorable pro bono experience?
Serving as the chair for the American Bar Association’s Standing Committee on Legal Aid and Indigent Defendants (SCLAID). It was a major obligation and a very busy time for three years.

What is the greatest challenge of pro bono work?
The challenge is creating within every lawyer the concept that public service is a part of practicing law. Not everyone can do public service all the time, but we can all have a public service component to our practice and deliver real legal services to the poor.

What is the greatest reward?
I have been fortunate to see real progress in our country, and I am hopeful for the direction we are headed. It has been very rewarding to see the work I have done come to fruition. But, at the level closest to my heart, it is rewarding to be able to help individuals and make a difference in their lives.