HOUSTON BAR FOUNDATION

The Need for Fellows

By WILLIAM K. KROGER

In Many believe that what is, will be. It is difficult, if not impossible, to reliably and accurately predict the fair seas and stormy waves of future days. Most people wander through life thinking and acting as if their present predicament, good or bad, will also be their future one. Communities – cities, states, countries – seem to behave much the same.
John Maynard Keynes, the great economist of the twentieth century, first made his name writing a fascinating book, The Economic Consequences of the Peace, critiquing the Treaty of Versailles that ended World War I. In his first chapter, he describes how people thought their lives would not be affected by the costs and decimation of the Great War:
The power to become habituated to his surroundings is a marked characteristic of mankind. Very few of us realize with conviction the intensely unusual, unstable, complicated, unreliable, temporary nature of the economic organization by which Western Europe has lived for the last half century. We assume some of the most peculiar and temporary of our late advantages as natural, permanent, and to be depended on, and we lay our plans accordingly. On this sandy and false foundation we scheme for social improvement and dress our political platform, pursue our animosities and particular ambitions, and feel ourselves with enough margin in hand to foster, not assuage, civil conflict in the European family.1
Today, we face our own tempests. These include (in no particular order): globalization; broke governments; foreign wars and terrorism; changing demographics; rising medical, benefit and educational costs; declining savings rates; rising energy costs and inflation; and global warming.
One way our community can hedge against such risks is by building a strong set of nonprofit organizations that provide a mix of services which help our neighbors better cope with such events. The Houston Volunteer Lawyers Program (HVLP) is one of those organizations. It has for many years partnered with Houston-area law firms and lawyers to provide legal services to the poor. HVLP has done terrific work over the years. However, as our city grows, so must HVLP.
Last month, members of the Houston Bar Association, the Houston Bar Foundation, and HVLP met to continue work on developing a long-range plan for the growth of HVLP. David Mandell, HVLP’s Executive Director, and Barrett Reasoner, the chair of the HVLP Board of Directors, presented a mix of additional programs to be developed over the coming years. These plans include expansion of the mobile legal clinic, programs designed to address the respective legal needs of veterans and the homeless, and a partnership with the Houston Area Women’s Center (“HAWC”) to provide amicus attorneys for HAWC cases.
At the same time, we discussed HVLP’s three greatest needs. First, HVLP needs more financial support, especially if these new programs are to be given life. Second, HVLP needs more lawyers who will volunteer to handle a pro bono case in the coming year. This need is growing. Only five law firms, one corporate law department, and one law school handled more HVLP cases between 2002 and 2004 than the next 70 law firms. That imbalance seems to be growing: in 2005, it took only three law firms and one law school to account for handling more HVLP cases than the next 70. More firms need to take more cases. And third, HVLP needs more office space, which again comes back to money.
We need your help in two ways. First, during the next several months, many of you will be receiving invitations to become Fellows of the Houston Bar Foundation. The Fellows program is one of HBF’s main fundraising programs designed to provide longterm funding of HVLP and other important community projects of the Houston Bar. We are challenging the largest firms in Houston to double their participation in the Fellows program. The cost is $1,500, payable over ten years. If you do not receive a letter, but would like to become a Fellow, please contact me at 713-229-1736.
Second, please call HVLP to take a case. If your firm does not regularly take HVLP cases, think about hosting an HVLP clinic at your firm for your lawyers. HVLP will come to your offices, provide your lawyers with advice on the handling of family law matters, and pair up your lawyers with cases of appropriate complexity. If you can take a case, or would like more information, please contact HVLP at 713-228-0735.
These are great years to be attorneys in Houston. Our community needs your help. There is much you can do. Please get involved.

Endnotes
1. John Maynard Keynes, The Economic Consequences of the Peace, 53 (Great Minds Series 2004).

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