VOA慢速英语2014 AS IT IS 2014-08-23 Lawyers Give Free Legal Help to Needy

 

AS IT IS 2014-08-23 Lawyers Give Free Legal Help to Needy¹

Legal advice can cost a lot.  A person with little money does not have the same ability to get legal help as a richer person. 

But in recent years, a growing number of law firms do pro³ bono work.  They work for free. Lawyers who offer free legal help for their clients, the people they represent, are usually called pro bono lawyers. 

VOA Los Angeles correspondent Elizabeth Lee wrote the following report . 

Linda's Story

Identified only as Linda, a 65-year-old woman has been fighting for a year to gain guardianship⁴ of a child relative, her grandnephew Michael.  But all her efforts failed.  They were to no avail.  Nothing worked.

”Because of the abuse that was occurring and the neglect, and I tried many times to get guardianship through the courts and to no avail.”

Then, Linda found an organization called Bet Tzedek.  Bet Tzedek provides free legal help to those who cannot pay a lawyer.  The staff connected Linda with pro bono lawyers from a large legal group who accepted her case. 

After a year of fighting, Linda finally won guardianship of Michael.  She says the shock of finally having Michael legally in her home left her numb² -- feeling almost senseless. 

“I was kind of numb for a while and until I said, my goodness it happened.  It finally happened.  Now he’s with me.  Now I can go home and say to Michael, we have a home, Michael.”

Pro Bono Program Is Worldwide

David Lash⁵ is a lawyer with the law firm O’Melveny & Myers.  He says a growing number of lawyers offer free help for needy clients.  And he adds that many of them are from prestigious⁶ -- highly respected -- law firms.

“The last 10 years has seen a substantial growth in pro bono participation⁷ among lawyers.”

The firm O’Melveny & Myers handles anything from corporate⁸ law – company and business law - to intellectual property law.  It also operates a strong pro bono program worldwide. 

“The notion is burgeoning⁹ and growing.  We’re doing a lot of pro bono work through our office in London and Brussels and lawyers in our Hong Kong and Singapore and Beijing offices are getting more and more involved in pro bono pursuits.”

Mr. Lash spends his work day talking to the community and organizations that offer free legal help to the needy.  He also reviews and considers pro bono cases for his firm.

On this day, he starts by meeting with Bet Tzedek’s pro bono director, Diego Cartagena.  The subject: how to offer free legal help to the children coming to the United States from Central America.

“We anticipate there will be hundreds of cases involving these children coming through the next few months.”

After this meeting, Mr. Lash gets on a group call, a conference call, with lawyers and activists¹⁰ in another state to advise about legal issues with immigrants.  Then, he is off to speak to a new student lawyer about pro bono work. 

Free Lawyers?  What's The Catch?

But why work for free?  Mr. Lash says there are many reasons law firms offer free legal help.  And some of those reasons come from self-interest.

“In order to really maintain a competitive edge, major law firms really need to have vibrant¹¹ pro bono programs.  They’re invaluable¹² ways to train young lawyers; they are great recruiting tools when we’re all interviewing at the top law schools.”

But Mr. Lash also says making justice available to people is what democracy is all about.

“It’s a magnificent feeling to use your skills and your profession to touch somebody’s life in a really profound way.”

Linda says that the law firm treated her and her family with respect.  She says that even though she was not a paying client, the lawyers did not treat her as if she were a handout¹³ or a charity case. 

“They made us feel special.  They didn’t make us feel like we were basically a handout.”

Instead, Linda feels thanks and gratitude¹⁴ that goes beyond words.

1 needy   

adj.贫穷的，贫困的，生活艰苦的

参考例句：

• Although he was poor,he was quite generous to his needy friends.他虽穷，但对贫苦的朋友很慷慨。
• They awarded scholarships to needy students.他们给贫苦学生颁发奖学金。

2 numb   

adj.麻木的，失去感觉的；v.使麻木

参考例句：

• His fingers were numb with cold.他的手冻得发麻。
• Numb with cold,we urged the weary horses forward.我们冻得发僵，催着疲惫的马继续往前走。

3 pro   

n.赞成，赞成的意见，赞成者

参考例句：

• The two debating teams argued the question pro and con.辩论的两组从赞成与反对两方面辩这一问题。
• Are you pro or con nuclear disarmament?你是赞成还是反对核裁军？

4 guardianship   

n. 监护, 保护, 守护

参考例句：

• They had to employ the English language in face of the jealous guardianship of Britain. 他们不得不在英国疑忌重重的监护下使用英文。
• You want Marion to set aside her legal guardianship and give you Honoria. 你要马丽恩放弃她的法定监护人资格，把霍诺丽娅交给你。

5 lash   

v.系牢；鞭打；猛烈抨击；n.鞭打；眼睫毛

参考例句：

• He received a lash of her hand on his cheek.他突然被她打了一记耳光。
• With a lash of its tail the tiger leaped at her.老虎把尾巴一甩朝她扑过来。

6 prestigious   

adj.有威望的，有声望的，受尊敬的

参考例句：

• The young man graduated from a prestigious university.这个年轻人毕业于一所名牌大学。
• You may even join a prestigious magazine as a contributing editor.甚至可能会加入一个知名杂志做编辑。

7 participation   

n.参与，参加，分享

参考例句：

• Some of the magic tricks called for audience participation.有些魔术要求有观众的参与。
• The scheme aims to encourage increased participation in sporting activities.这个方案旨在鼓励大众更多地参与体育活动。

8 corporate   

adj.共同的，全体的；公司的，企业的

参考例句：

• This is our corporate responsibility.这是我们共同的责任。
• His corporate's life will be as short as a rabbit's tail.他的公司的寿命是兔子尾巴长不了。

9 burgeoning   

adj.迅速成长的，迅速发展的v.发芽，抽枝( burgeon的现在分词 )；迅速发展；发（芽），抽（枝）

参考例句：

• Our company's business is burgeoning now. 我们公司的业务现在发展很迅速。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• These efforts were insufficient to contain the burgeoning crisis. 这些努力不足以抑制迅速扩散的危机。 来自辞典例句

10 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 vibrant   

adj.震颤的，响亮的，充满活力的，精力充沛的，(色彩)鲜明的

参考例句：

• He always uses vibrant colours in his paintings. 他在画中总是使用鲜明的色彩。
• She gave a vibrant performance in the leading role in the school play.她在学校表演中生气盎然地扮演了主角。

12 invaluable   

adj.无价的，非常宝贵的，极为贵重的

参考例句：

• A computer would have been invaluable for this job.一台计算机对这个工作的作用会是无法估计的。
• This information was invaluable to him.这个消息对他来说是非常宝贵的。

13 handout   

n.散发的文字材料；救济品

参考例句：

• I read the handout carefully.我仔细看了这份分发的资料。
• His job was distributing handout at the street-corner.他的工作是在街头发传单。

14 gratitude   

adj.感激，感谢

参考例句：

• I have expressed the depth of my gratitude to him.我向他表示了深切的谢意。
• She could not help her tears of gratitude rolling down her face.她感激的泪珠禁不住沿着面颊流了下来。