Two months ago, a consortium of stakeholders within the bench and bar launched the North Carolina Appellate Pro Bono Program. The inaugural training session on April 13 was standing room only–in the large Court of Appeals courtroom, no less. Now, we have 30 trained volunteers ready to represent low-income parties on appeal.
The good news for future volunteers: the training was filmed. The bad news for the poor sap asked to demonstrate “how not to present an effective oral argument“: the training was filmed. A high-quality recording can be viewed online.
Two additional items:
- We still need more appellate mentors. If you are an experienced appellate advocate, please consider signing up to be a mentor. No training is required–just a willingness to help a more junior lawyer learn the ropes and deliver excellent advocacy on behalf of those most in need.
- Would you like to volunteer, but you missed the training? Just watch the video, and complete the application. Upon acceptance of the application, voila, you are a program volunteer.
–Matt Leerberg