The Gift of Pro Bono

December 2024

Since our founding in 1989, pro bono has been the foundation for ProBAR’s mission to empower migrants and asylum-seekers with access to legal information and representation. At that time, our team consisted of just two people, attorney Bob Lang as the pro bono coordinator and Jennifer Bailey as the paralegal. They set off to coordinate volunteers from across the country to serve a growing need of detained adults, mostly Central Americans, who were seeking access to justice at the South Texas border. Thankfully, stories of the astounding numbers of detained individuals needing legal support spread around the country, tugging on the heartstrings of attorneys and immigration advocates alike and calling on them to join ProBAR and lend a helping hand!

With 35 years of dedication to pro bono service, ProBAR is a place where legal experts and advocates can share their knowledge, time, and resources to accompany and empower children, adults and families at a critical moment in their migration journey at the border. ProBAR’s longstanding partnerships have also helped carry our legacy forward with an active rotation of volunteers. This quarter alone, groups hosted by ProBAR in South Texas provided approximately 534 hours of pro bono assistance!

With the amount of pro bono support we receive growing each year, it is no surprise that law firms, universities, and individual volunteers are returning time and again to continue making an impact. We are especially grateful for the groups that made 2024 unforgettable — ProBAR’s own Alumni Network Advisory Committee (ANAC), law firms DLA Piper, Fried Frank, and Ropes & Gray, and local community leaders Good Neighbor Settlement House and Texas Southmost College increased our impact at the Access to Work Clinic. Dozens of students from across the country visited to learn about the reality of the border and the challenges of seeking protection. Attorneys from law firms Akin Gump and Hughes Hubbard advanced humanitarian cases on behalf of survivors of crime and asylum seekers. We were also fortunate to welcome Microsoft, whose expertise helped advance innovative technologies to improve our strategies at our Access to Work clinic. Our on-the-ground border experience is expanding into hybrid and virtual formats to meet the needs of migrants on the ground while expanding opportunities for volunteers across the country.

To exemplify the giving spirit of pro bono, we recruit support in many ways for the common goal of empowering migrants and asylum-seekers. For 35 years, ProBAR’s unwavering belief of trying, trying, and trying again is what’s kept our services running strong, no matter the challenges we face along the way.

When you donate to ProBAR, you join a strong community of immigration attorneys, legal experts, and passionate like-minded advocates dedicated to expanding access to legal information, representation, and social services on the South Texas-Mexico border. With your gift, we can continue to reach new heights together in the coming year. Join us in preparing for what’s ahead in 2025 – together, we will continue to make a difference in people’s lives!

Thank you!