“So convenient a thing it is to be a reasonable creature, since it enables one to find or make a reason for everything one has a mind to do.” —Benjamin Franklin
TOASTS
LEGAL AID of East Tennessee presented Erskine Mabee with the Bruce C. Bailey Volunteer Attorney of the Year Award during the annual Pro Bono Night celebration sponsored by the Chattanooga Bar Association Pro Bono Committee and Young Lawyers Division. The annual event, which celebrates pro bono attorneys, was at Loose Cannon Gallery.
“Legal Aid of East Tennessee coordinates the Pro Bono Project, and proceeds from Pro Bono Night allow LAET to assist more clients,” said Nancy Pagano, LAET Pro Bono Project director.
“Legal Aid of East Tennessee serves the civil legal needs of children in crisis, the very poor and elderly in 10 counties surrounding Chattanooga and Cleveland,” she said.
In addition to Mr. Mabee, other attorneys nominated for the award are Alan Cates, Jesse Farr and Robert Philyaw.
“The nominees have donated many hours assisting clients of LAET and received special recognition for their contributions. Hamilton County Circuit Court Judge Marie Williams and attorney Bruce C. Bailey presented the awards,” Ms. Pagano said.
“Erskine Mabee was named the Volunteer Attorney of the Year for his willingness to represent individual clients who would otherwise be denied access to the justice system,” she said. “Erskine has been a volunteer with the Pro Bono Project since 1989, assisting clients with domestic, consumer and bankruptcy problems. He always cheerfully agrees to assist the clients he is asked to represent.”
Mr. Mabee began his career as an attorney in 1973. He and his wife, Ann, have been married 35 years and have three adult children and three grandchildren.
“We are so grateful to have volunteers like Erskine, Alan, Jesse and Rob, along with the support of the Chattanooga Bar’s Pro Bono Committee and Young Lawyers Division,” Ms. Pagano said. “We are very fortunate to have one of the nation’s most successful Pro Bono partnerships with the Chattanooga Bar Association. Hundreds of attorneys in Chattanooga devote tremendous time and energy to making it so successful.”
Feature writer Karen Nazor Hill covers fashion, design, home and gardening, pets, entertainment, human interest features and more. She also is an occasional news reporter and the Town Talk columnist. She previously worked for the Catholic newspaper Tennessee Register and was a reporter at the Chattanooga Free Press from 1985 to 1999, when the newspaper merged with the Chattanooga Times. She won a Society of Professional Journalists Golden Press third-place award in feature writing for ...
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