Pro Bono
Starnes & Atchison has recently partnered with Judge Katrina Ross of the Jefferson County District Court, Criminal Division, to provide advisory counsel to unrepresented defendants appearing in her Court who do not have the right to paid appointed counsel. The program is the first in an expected series of initiatives by Judge Ross, and the first in Jefferson County, directed primarily toward early intervention and rehabilitation of young defendants. The program's intent is to prevent unrepresented defendants from making uninformed or ill-advised pleas, thereby improving the efficacy of the court, avoiding the establishment of early, permanent criminal records, and avoiding convictions of innocent defendants who otherwise would not be able to navigate the process. Starnes & Atchison provides an attorney one day per week on a voluntary basis to assist with the criminal docket. The attorneys sit in an advisory capacity, and can undertake representation of a defendant for the trial process on a pro bono basis where appropriate.
In addition to firm-sponsored initiatives, attorneys routinely appear pro bono on behalf of indigent clients in a wide range of cases, including matters involving civil rights litigation, domestic relations, immigration and naturalization, probate matters, and general tort law. Starnes & Atchison attorneys are active in the Volunteer Lawyers Programs of the Alabama State Bar and the Birmingham Bar Association, participating by providing free legal services and through service on governing committees.
