Exceptional Pro Bono Award Recipient
Connie Nims
By Stephanie Hawkes, RP, CIPP
If you don’t provide pro
bono services, I ask you,
why not, why not?” This
was the question that 2008 Exceptional
Pro Bono Award Recipient Connie Nims
asked the audience when she was presented
with the Pro Bono award. Not offering
yourself and your time or skills to someone
less fortunate is something that Connie
cannot comprehend. Volunteering for
public service has been in Connie’s life
since the 1980s.When her legal career
began in 2003, Connie also began volunteering
with Legal Aid of Northwest Texas.
For the past five years, she has continued
to volunteer with Legal Aid, while also volunteering
her time to another not-forprofit,
social services group and working
as a paralegal for Dallas County.
In 2007, Connie volunteered to help
District 2 establish a pro bono program, so
that its members would know about
opportunities in Dallas and Ellis Counties.
In this position, Connie contacted every
legal aid group in Dallas, offering the
group’s paralegal services and asking how
paralegals could best be used by each
organization. Connie then put the word
out, sending emails and talking to people,
letting them know of the opportunities
available. She scheduled work sessions at
legal aid clinics and helped members find
organizations that fit their interests, skills
and time availability. At the same time,
Connie served as a mentor to those in District
2 who wanted to get more involved in
pro bono services. She answered questions,
helped find information and offered
encouragement to members, as they
sought the perfect placement, not only in
Dallas or Ellis County but in the surrounding
counties. Because of Connie’s
efforts, many paralegals have been provided
information about how to get involved
in pro bono opportunities and as a result
have volunteered their time and skills to
those who are less fortunate.
The Division is lucky to have Connie as
a member and honored to present her
with the Exceptional Pro Bono Award. She
displays the criteria of exceptional pro
bono service, every day, both in her professional
and personal life. Connie has
shown us that we all can be a part of pro
bono services. If you aren’t doing pro
bono work now, why not?
Stephanie Hawkes, RP, CIPP is the manager
of Consumer Privacy Information
Security at Nissan Motor Acceptance Corporation
in Irving, Texas
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