The State Bar of Texas, the Texas Access to Justice Commission, the American Bar Association, and others proudly support the National Pro Bono Celebration (Oct. 19-25). Pro bono week is an opportunity to educate the public about the good work the legal community is doing to improve the lives of vulnerable Texans and to encourage more individuals in the legal community to get involved in pro bono support of the legal system. Today, we are featuring Rocío García for her invaluable work in the Dallas legal community.
Rocío García, an attorney at Perkins Coie, is a pro bono champion and longtime volunteer with Catholic Charities of Dallas, Inc. (CCD).
The Immigration and Legal Services Division of CCD was established in 1975 in response to the growing number of immigrants moving to North Texas. The program provides a broad range of immigration counseling and representation to immigrants and their families.
As a member of the Dallas Hispanic Bar Association, García offers constant support of CCD’s programs at the bar association meetings, which has been crucial with the recent and continuing arrival of unaccompanied minors.
While García regularly spends countless hours volunteering with CCD on Saturdays, she has been invaluable over the past few months as the humanitarian crisis drove over 52,000 children to flee from extreme, traumatic violence in their home countries.
On Saturday afternoons, CCD offers a legal orientation and screening to unaccompanied children who have been detained and have upcoming court dates. When the number of children in need of screenings became more than CCD staff could handle, García put out a call for volunteers.
She consistently brings volunteer attorneys in to the CCD office on Saturday afternoons, conducts a small training, and guides the new volunteers through screenings. García’s ability to take the bull by the horns, as well as her passion for CCD’s clients, is a blessing to the entire staff.