“ It is vitally important to let you, as future lawyers, know that pro bono work is not a rarity or a side- line or a wink and a nod in our profession. It goes to the heart of who we are as lawyers… It’s not about the thanks you sometimes get, though it’s true that a corporate client is unlikely to make you brownies, like one of our Mississippi clients did last year. Rather, it’s that this work gives you an opportunity to feel like you really matter. There are relatively few times in most legal careers when you can know that your work has changed the life of one individual in a major, beneficial way. Whether or not you get a brownie or a thank you, when you are the one who stops an immigrant from being deported to a country where he faces persecution, or helps an elderly couple from being foreclosed from their home; when you are the one who helps a victim of domestic violence get free from her abuser, or helps a disabled person get benefits-or any one of hundreds of like circumstances-you will feel the full power and accomplishment of your law degree.” As we introduce you to some of the people and projects who have sustained Mintz Levin’s commitment to pro bono service during this past year, we couldn’t have said it better ourselves. The Mintz Levin 2008 Pro Bono Report