KCMBA pitches new pro bono database

The Kansas City Metropolitan Bar Association is trying to link up willing attorneys with people in need of pro bono services in an unprecedented database in the state of Missouri.

The association is set to pitch the program and new Web site today during a pro bono summit at its Kansas City headquarters.

The group is seeking pledges from large law firms and small law firms to commit their attorneys to varied hours of pro bono legal services. KCMBA also is approaching corporations and service providers for pledges to the program.

The Web site, www.kclawyerscareconnection.com, won’t be fully online until January 2010, when the pledges become active.

Service organizations, shelters and Legal Aid employees would post citizens’ legal needs onto the site and then it would be up to the individual attorneys to pick and accept the requests as they so choose.

The pro bono summit to announce more program details begins at 11:30 a.m. Friday with lunch at the KCMBA headquarters, located at 1125 Grand Blvd., Suite 400 in Kansas City.

The rest of the agenda is as follows:

• Noon – Welcome address from Jackson County Circuit Presiding Judge Stephen Nixon
• 12:05 p.m. – “ABA’s First Annual Pro Bono Week – Recognizing the Need and Supporting the Call to Service,” Missouri Supreme Court Judge Richard Teitelman
• 12:20 p.m. – “How Pro Bono Service Impacts ROI with Associates and Other Valued Employees,” Robert Dicks, senior manager of Deloitte Consulting
• 12:40 p.m. – “Improving Your Bottom Line through Pro Bono,” Mark O’Brien, executive director and co-founder of Pro Bono Net
• 1 p.m. – “Reaping the Rewards – an Insider’s View,” Benjamin Weinberg, a partner at Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal
• 1:20 p.m. – “It’s a Community Thing – Why Business Supports Pro Bono,” Marc Elkins, vice president and associate general counsel of Cerner Corporation
• 1:35 p.m. – “Introducing KC Lawyers Care Connection,” Rebbecca Lake Wood, KCMBA president
• 2 p.m. – Pledges and adjournment