Today is Law Day…a date enacted in 1958 to honor the country’s commitment to the rule of law. The City Club of Cleveland marked the event by inviting a lawyer – who’s represented big names like Michael Jackson and Mike Tyson. But he wasn't there to talk about his celebrity clientele. ideastream’s Brian Bull reports:
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64-year-old Thomas Mesereau Jr. loves free legal clinics. He’s the head of the Mesereau Law Group, and founder of a free legal clinic in Los Angeles. He encourages attorneys, law students, judges, and others to volunteer their services to those who are unable to afford it otherwise.
Mesereau says pro bono work is important not only to help poor communities know their basic rights when dealing with police and courts, but also to help protect them from bad lawyers who exploit the poor and uninformed.
“Lawyers who steal money, lawyers who make promises, lawyers who feel that if it ever comes to a dispute before the bar…with their articulate, educated approach, they will outtalk and outwit whoever they stole from," said Mesereau. "And we have to deal with those problems too, because there are people in our profession -- like every other profession -- that are unethical, and steal money. And make promises they shouldn’t make.”
Mesereau says working for free can personally enrich an attorney, and help them regain any compassion and kindness that might’ve been squeezed out during law school.