Volunteer lawyers help immigrants defrauded by Victor Espinal

This is what we need more of. The New York Time's always excellent City Room posted today on the 40 lawyers who volunteered their time to help immigrants stuck in a legal quagmire.

More than 100 former clients of Victor Espinal, a man charged with pretending to be an immigration lawyer, came to the New York City Bar Association last night seeking help with their immigration cases. Lawyers working in pairs examined the cases, which were in various stages of disarray, and offered what help they could in the limited time they had. Many of the lawyers were offering the former clients continuing pro bono or deeply discounted help with their cases, most of which had problems that could not be fixed in a few hours.

It is heartening to see lawyers volunteering their time to those who are most in need. Working with New York personal injury lawyers, I draw a lot of satisfaction from helping people who not only suffered through a life-altering accident, but also lack the resources to navigate this country's legal system on their own.

A huge part of the profession - helping people - gets downplayed in most people's evaluations of lawyers. It is good to see these volunteers bringing it to the fore.