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16,000 hours of help were donated in 2011 by the local legal community. "These are real lawyers taking real cases. They're not just offering some advice here and there," Etkins ex- plained. The center also has a staff of 60 — 27 of which are lawyers — along with volunteers from the community. The program runs on a roughly $14 mil- lion annual budget. Often those at- torneys in town who can't take on pro bono cases, will help support the cen- ter financially. About 60 percent of the cases the program deals with are either family or child related, heightening the need for attorneys like Young and Krieger who are willing to push their comfort zones. The center offers classes to give a lot more credit to those guys (like Krieger and Young). My work is more technical and just helping peo- ple get through the system. … It can be very intimidating to go through bank- ruptcy on your own." Fell finds himself also combating so-called legal service firms that of- fer to file bankruptcy paperwork for people, but who are not lawyers and can't give legal advice. He often ends up fixing paperwork errors made by these companies to help his pro bono clients complete the bankruptcy pro- cess. "If you don't successfully conclude the process it can be very prejudicial to you in the future," he added. Nationally, the American Bar As- sociation, under its ethics code, en- "A lot of times it seems like everyone's telling these kids what they want them to do and no one's really listening. It's nice to be that John Krieger someone who listens and can really be that person who is truly this child's voice." help attorneys willing to work out- side their practice area. " What's the biggest challenge is with the crossing of disciplines. That corporate attorney doing transac- tion work and purchase agreements doesn't get near a courthouse and is hesitant to get involved because he doesn't think he has the skill set. What we find is that's not true once we get them in and help them," Krieg- er said. But the other 40 percent of cases coming through the Legal Aid Cen- ter involve civil cases like foreclo- sures and bankruptcies. Tom Fell, a partner with Gordon Silver, uses his bankruptcy expertise at the Legal Aid Center as well. W ith bankruptcy figures skyrock- eting over the past few years, Fell is very busy with his own practice. But he still offers about 50 to 100 hours of pro bono work by either taking on cases, teaching classes or consulting other pro bono attorneys taking on bankruptcy cases. " What I do is not sexy and it doesn't pull on the heart strings," he said. "I courages attorneys to do about 50 hours a year of pro bono work. Some state bar associations recommend fewer hours. Many firms, such as the ones mentioned here, encourage pro bono work by allowing attorneys to include it in their billable hours. And the classes the Legal Aid Center offers in order to help attorneys get more comfortable with situations outside their practice fields are often allowed to be used as continuing legal educa- tion credits, which are required to maintain a license to practice law. Studies from Stanford Law School and reports from the Wall Street Journal and New York Times have been critical of lawyers in the past with regards to the amount of pro bono work they do or don't do. But Young and Etkins both say the valley's legal community does indeed do its share. And the future will still bring its share of lawyers with a re- duced book of business and fresh law school graduates looking for experi- ence, both Young and Etkins say. It's a well the Legal Aid Center will likely be looking to tap in the future. ATTORNEYS LAS VEGAS DENVER NOGALES PHOENIX RENO TUCSON FENNEMORE CRAIG JONES VARGAS OFFICES GROW TO 36 ATTORNEYS WITH NEARLY 200 TALENTED, EXPERIENCED ATTORNEYS NOW ON BOARD, Fennemore Craig Jones Vargas is positioned as a legal powerhouse throughout the Mountain West where clients come first with lawyers who know their business. Fennemore Craig welcomes 23 attorneys from the distinguished Jones Vargas firm to the Las Vegas office and to the new Fennemore Craig Jones Vargas office in Reno. That totals 36 familiar faces to serve clients with proven talent, deep roots and a broad spectrum of legal services. For more information call John Mowbray, Managing Partner Las Vegas Office, at 702.692.8001 or visit FENNEMORECRAIG.COM. LAW THAT LEADS™ EXPANDS POWERFULLY IN NEVADA