Founding Dean and Professor of Law Mark Martin went on the record with Attorney at Law Magazine to discuss two topics he is passionate about: pro bono legal service and access to justice.
The article explores new strategic efforts to increase pro bono representation (free legal services) for low- and middle-income citizens in North Carolina. In 2017, when Dean Martin was serving as Chief Justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court, he championed pro bono service after making the profound discovery that lawyers wanted to help more but just didn’t know how.
Now, seven years later, a new smartphone application called “Pro Bono Go” is attempting to solve that riddle by seamlessly pairing volunteer lawyers in North Carolina to cases within their field of expertise. Dean Martin describes the app as “exceptional” and notes how it will expedite the process of “connecting needs with available lawyers.”
North Carolina Supreme Court Associate Justice Richard Dietz, the current chair of the North Carolina Equal Access to Justice Commission, is likewise impressed. He praises the app because “[i]t’s the first time that pro bono opportunities from all the legal aid providers and advocacy groups around the state appear on one platform.”
Now that the opportunities for pro bono service have been streamlined, more attorneys will hopefully engage in this vital service. “We are a self-regulating profession that should be focused on ensuring equal access to justice,” Dean Martin is quoted in the article as saying. “We do our best by supporting legal aid and offering our time to help with pro bono.”
At High Point Law, giving back is core to our mission. Our students will be exposed to pro bono and access to justice in a first-year practicum course and will have ample opportunities to help people of modest means in our Community Law Clinic.
John Nieman, HPU Law’s Community Clinic Chair and former Guilford County Chief Public Defender, is also a big pro bono advocate. He had this to say about the change-making he is eager to be a part of at High Point Law:
“It’s very exciting that High Point Law will be providing a platform for area attorneys to provide much-needed pro bono assistance to the High Point community while also preparing its students for legal careers that will make a positive difference in the lives of others.”