McElroy or Mickelson? 
10 Questions: Interview 1
By: Rachel Bergin
Ms Susie Hoffman
Pro-Bono Lawyer, Partner at Crowell & Moring, D.C.
1. What were you doing when you were my age? (20)
When I was your age, I was in the third year of my undergraduate studies at Indiana University where I was a political science major.
2. How did you get to where you are today?
2. How did you get to where you are today?
Influenced by volunteer work that I did with my family, and then on my own, when I was in college and law school, I decided that I wanted to have a career in law that would help others and/or influence positive changes in society. Because I was unable to get a public interest job right out of law school, I began working at a law firm with a strong pro bono program. I immediately got involved in pro bono work, doing both cases for indigent individuals and working on larger cases that might have a societal impact. The particular issues on which my work focused were domestic violence and environmental protection. In 1988, I applied for the position of Public Service Counsel at a private law firm, the first position of its kind in D.C. I started work and have been since 1988.
3. Describe, in your own words, what your job entails?
3. Describe, in your own words, what your job entails?
My job is multifaceted. Much of my time is spent finding pro bono opportunities for our attorneys through networking with public interest organizations and legal services providers in our city and then matching those clients/opportunities with attorneys in my firm. I also supervise some associates on individual pro bono cases, primarily child abuse and neglect cases, and child custody matters. My responsibilities include publication of a quarterly pro bono newsletter and putting on an annual in-house Pro Bono Awards event. I also have some administrative duties, which include maintaining the pro bono docket and statistics and responding to surveys from a variety of bar organizations. My job entails making various speeches/oral presentations -- both to groups of attorneys in our firm and to outside organizations.
4.What made you enter the field of Pro-Bono law?
4.What made you enter the field of Pro-Bono law?
Because of my religious background and my family's influence, I wanted to have a career in which I helped others. Pro Bono law is a way to help individuals and to make influence societal change.
5. What have been some of the milestones of your career?
5. What have been some of the milestones of your career?
Some of the milestones of my career have been successful appellate decisions that were issued in cases on which I worked in the domestic violence field -- that have made it easier for women to obtain protection orders against abusive spouses. Our Firm has had several successful civil rights cases that been resolved so that racial discrimination is reduced in the housing sector.
6. We don't have the same culture of 'Pro-Bono' law in Northern Ireland, but there are similar opportunites to help others. What advice would you give to young people who want to pursue a legal career centred around social-justice/human rights law and perhaps eventually pro-bono work in Northern Ireland? I would encourage young people to pursue this type of work because it is extremely rewarding and necessary. I would recommend that young attorneys look to other countries, like the U.S., to see what has helped in developing a "culture" in our bar associations that encourages the pro bono ethic.
6. We don't have the same culture of 'Pro-Bono' law in Northern Ireland, but there are similar opportunites to help others. What advice would you give to young people who want to pursue a legal career centred around social-justice/human rights law and perhaps eventually pro-bono work in Northern Ireland? I would encourage young people to pursue this type of work because it is extremely rewarding and necessary. I would recommend that young attorneys look to other countries, like the U.S., to see what has helped in developing a "culture" in our bar associations that encourages the pro bono ethic.
