Brigadier General Donald P. Dunbar thanks Wisconsin lawyers for their pro bono efforts. To hear his speech, click here.

May 5, 2010 – Brigadier General Donald P. Dunbar, the Wisconsin Adjutant General and Commanding General of the Wisconsin Army and Air National Guard, thanked Wisconsin lawyers for their pro bono efforts over the past year on behalf of members of the Wisconsin National Guard and other service members.

"Imagine the peace of mind that comes from your service when you help solve a legal problem for a soldier, airman, marine or sailor deploying overseas," Dunbar told members of the State Bar's Board of Governors today. "It frees them to focus on their mission on behalf of the country." He noted that Wisconsin attorneys are leading the nation in volunteering to meet the legal needs of service members and their families.

State Bar Chair of the Board and incoming President-elect James M. Brennan; Master Sgt. Aloysius Rohmeyer, Wisconsin National Guard chief paralegal; Brig. Gen. Don Dunbar, adjutant general of Wisconsin; State Bar President-elect James Boll; Col. Julio Barron, Wisconsin National Guard staff judge advocate; and State Bar President Douglas Kammer.

The Judge Advocate General's office of the Wisconsin National Guard maintains a list of over 350 volunteer lawyers who assist service members and their families with legal problems. Wisconsin attorneys have also joined with their colleagues nationwide in the American Bar Association (ABA) Military Pro Bono Project launched in 2008 by the ABA to offer free assistance to low income service members facing significant civil legal issues. Since then, hundreds of lawyers nationwide, including 97 from Wisconsin, have volunteered their time to help service members with employment, healthcare, consumer, family and other legal concerns.

The State Bar of Wisconsin supports the pro bono activities of its attorney members with professional support, training, insurance and other incentives.