Bickel & Brewer has always been strongly committed to pro bono, civic, and charitable causes. In October 1995, this commitment was institutionalized through the creation of the Bickel & Brewer Storefront, PLLC (“Storefront”). The Storefront was developed in response to the widening gap between the need for legal services and the availability of those services to neglected individuals and communities. Established in economically-disadvantaged South Dallas, the Storefront is a separately created law firm with its own facilities and administration, but is staffed by the attorneys from Bickel & Brewer. Because the office is located in the community, residents in need can access the Storefront’s services easily and quickly. The end result is a more open and responsive approach to pro bono legal assistance.

The Storefront is not your typical pro bono legal operation. Although it typically provides legal services pro bono, it also takes cases on a contingent fee basis, and donates the proceeds of such arrangements to the Bickel & Brewer Legal Foundation a 501(c)(3) organization. The Bickel & Brewer Legal Foundation contributes any Storefront proceeds to local and national charities. This year, the firm’s foundation has provided financial assistance to more than 60 charitable causes.

The initial consultation at the Storefront is free, and client fees are charged based on the client’s ability to pay. As a result, most of the Storefront’s clients receive legal services at no cost. These services are offered in all areas of litigation and civil dispute resolution (excluding criminal and family law issues) to individuals and businesses of all sizes. Clients receive the same service and expertise that is offered by Bickel & Brewer’s Dallas and New York offices, as all of the firm’s attorneys, consultants and staff members donate time to the pro bono operation. If the Storefront is unable to provide legal services to a potential client, the client is referred to another lawyer or legal entity. In total, more than 800 individuals and businesses have utilized the Storefront’s services in some form or fashion.

Although servicing the individual needs of clients is an important part of the Storefront’s mission, the Storefront also seeks cases whose impact will not only benefit the lives of those directly involved, but will broadly affect the greater community. It is in those latter types of cases where the Storefront provides its greatest contribution – time to the community. Because those types of cases often require significant resources in terms of manpower, experts, administrative support and more, there are few pro bono outlets, “community” firms or legal clinics up to the burden.

Examples of the Storefront’s contribution in these cases abound. Bickel & Brewer attorneys successfully represented, pro bono, Hispanic civic leaders in their suit against the Dallas Independent School District. In December 2001, a judge found that Dallas School Board trustees violated the Texas Open Meetings Act by discussing district boundaries behind closed doors.

The Storefront also successfully represented nine wheelchair athletes against the New York City Marathon/New York City Roadrunners Club, which resulted in the establishment of a wheelchair racers’ division. The New York Times reported on January 14, 2000 that “wheelchair athletes in past marathons had been stopped along the route to allow lead runners and their vanguard or cars carrying reporters and dignitaries to pass. They were also denied recognition and prizes.” The Storefront’s pro bono legal victory now allows wheelchair racers to compete alongside the world’s greatest runners – and earn cash awards and prizes – in this annual event.

“The goal of the Storefront is to help people in need, and to address issues of significant community impact,” says William A. Brewer III, co-founder of the Storefront. “It is a public service model that benefits individuals and, just as importantly, the communities they represent.”

In addition to assisting those in need, the Storefront helps Bickel & Brewer attract talented young attorneys who want to spend their formative years at a firm gaining real experience. The Dallas Business Journal noted that the Storefront “works well as a training ground where attorneys fresh out of law school can deal with real clients and work real cases.”

John W. Bickel II, who co-founded the Storefront with Brewer, says that activity benefits the firm’s corporate clients. “The Storefront cases ensure that our attorneys are battletested,” Bickel says. “Further, this work benefits our corporate clients by making the communities in which they do business safer, stronger and more economically viable.”

The Storefront has received numerous awards, including special recognition from former Dallas Mayor Ron Kirk on behalf of the City of Dallas. In 1999, the Dallas Bar Association awarded Bickel & Brewer its Exemplary Service Award for demonstrating the greatest increase in pro bono participation, and, in 2002, the Storefront received the President’s Award from the Dallas Hispanic Bar Association.

Additional testaments to the effectiveness of the Storefront are the reflections of the many people it has assisted. A former Storefront client, Matthew Harden, told the Dallas Observer, “I thank God every day that I was blessed enough to find them.” Adelfa B. Callejo, former director of the State Bar of Texas, started that through the Storefront, “Bickel & Brewer personify the very best in the legal profession – compassion, competence, tenacity and professionalism. They set an example that all lawyers should strive to attain.”

Bickel & Brewer’s philosophy – and practice – of managing the Storefront may not be the most traditional approach toward conducting pro bono work, but Storefront clients say it is among the most effective. The Storefront provides a door of opportunity clients welcome when faced with a legal dilemma they cannot afford to resolve. This pathway honors Bickel & Brewer’s commitment to the less fortunate, keeps its lawyers’ skills razor sharp and celebrates the firm’s philosophy of using the power of a bar card to car for the community.

For more information on the Bickel & Brewer Storefront, PLLC, please contact Travis Carter at (214) 653-4856 or tcc@bickelbrewer.com

(WHAT'S NEW IN LAW FIRM PRO BONO)