By
Jon Duckstad
“Even if it’s a
little thing, do something for those who have need of help, something
for which you get no pay but the privilege of doing it.”
- Albert Schweitzer
Service
to others is one of the hallmarks of the legal profession, and our
Bar Association has countless members who provide help for the poor
and disadvantaged without the need for fanfare or monetary gain.
This is one reason why we have a great Bar Association.
Our obligation
to provide legal services to all who require them, without regard
for their ability to pay, is enshrined in the Rules of Professional
Conduct. Many lawyers in private practice, in business,
and in government settings fulfill this obligation by participating
in volunteer attorney programs, taking selected cases on a pro bono
basis, or offering free legal advice as part of Bar Association-sponsored
“Ask a Lawyer” programs. Some
lawyers even succeed in achieving - and exceeding - the aspirational
standard of 50 hours of donated legal services per year.
All of these deserve our esteem.
But
for many lawyers, the service ethic extends beyond the obligation
to offer pro bono service. These lawyers and judges serve on volunteer
boards, participate in community service projects, read to beginning
readers in the schools, and offer continuing legal education programs
to their peers. In so doing they affirm their membership in
their communities, and bolster the image of the legal profession.
One such
attorney is Tom Spence, now a resident of Schroeder, Minnesota, on the north shore of Lake Superior.
As
a young lawyer, Tom vowed if he was successful by age 55 he would
then work as a “volunteer.” Now, having completed a career including private
practice with Jardine, Logan & O’Brien in St. Paul, work as inhouse counsel with N.S.P. (now Xcel Energy)
and the Burlington Northern Railroad, and service as a judge in the
10th Judicial District, Tom has retired to Schroeder and is fulfilling
his promise to himself.
He
performs legal work through Legal Aid of Northeast Minnesota out of
their Duluth office, is an advisor to the Family Crisis Center in Grand Marais, and serves on the Minnesota Coastal
Council. Tom commutes from
his retirement home in Schroeder to each of these locations, and handles
all of the legal aid cases each month at the courthouse in Grand Marais. As if that were not enough to keep one lawyer
busy, he proposes to initiate a continuing legal education course
to instruct other retired lawyers in how they can become involved
in providing legal assistance to disadvantaged clients.
Perhaps
fittingly, Tom’s retirement community, Schroeder, was founded by someone
who also forsook the pursuit of wealth to serve others.
Father Frederic Baraga, “Apostle of the Chippewa,” gave up
a life of wealth in Europe to become a priest and came to this country in 1830
to minister to the Indians of the Upper Great Lakes Region. After a perilous crossing of Lake Superior in 1846, Father Baraga made land at the mouth of a river
on the north shore, where he erected a wooden cross in gratitude for
his safe passage. That river
became the Cross River, on whose shores grew the town of Schroeder, now home to 100 persons, including one remarkable lawyer.
JON
DUCKSTAD is president of the Minnesota
State Bar Association. This month he visits Schroeder, MN, to visit
attorney Tom Spence.
