From the Director's Desk

"There are those who look at things the way they are, and ask why... I dream of things that never were, and ask why not?" - Robert F. Kennedy

Since I started this project last December, a lot of people have asked me why I started ASB, and what inspired me to do so. To tell the truth, I can't pin it down. I think it all came down to the realization that it was possible for me to help other people, and why not do it?

We 3Ls engaged in a spirited debate in our Professional Responsibility classes last fall about whether lawyers have an ethical duty to do pro bono work. Is a lawyer more or less ethical, more or less professional, based on the amount of pro bono service she renders every year? I don't know. I do know that there is some part of me that sees no logical course of action other than volunteering this week. The attention that I've received for being part of ASB is flattering, and I am thrilled that the community is interested in what we're doing. Still... I don't think I've done anything extraordinary (my team of 1L and 2L fundraisers, however, *are* extraordinary); I just did what I thought was right.

It's two short days before I leave for New Orleans, and I have some serious running-around to do: picking up keys, filing forms, finalizing reservations, returning emails and making phone calls. I should also think about filing my taxes, applying for a Bar study loan, and calling my mom. Hi Mom, I'm fine. Don't worry.

I've been placed with the Juvenile Justice Project, which makes sense with my social work degree, a summer at a District Attorney's office and a semester as an intern for the local Juvenile Prosecutor. I'm not looking to make miracles happen, but I'm hopeful that I can make some headway on a few cases. Over 1000 law students from over 100 law schools will be traveling to New Orleans this spring, and if we each do a little bit, the aggregate effect could be overwhelmingly positive.

"Few will have the greatness to bend history itself; but each of us can work to change a small portion of events, and in the total; of all those acts will be written the history of this generation." - Robert F. Kennedy