Columbus Bar Association
By Dianna Parker Howie
August 28, 2015
“‘Come on in. The water’s fine!’ says Nationwide Insurance Assistant General Counsel and Pro Bono Coordinator Eric Hendricks.
“Despite how it sounds, Henricks’ advice is not a quote from a recent summer vacation. Instead, he is providing his encouragement to those attorneys standing cautiously on the side of the pro bono ‘pool.’
“The Legal Aid Society of Columbus recently recognized Henricks for his long-standing and active commitment to developing and supporting Legal Aid pro bono programming for clients in need. Like wading into the shallow end, volunteering with Legal Aid is less treacherous than it seems.
“‘The fear or apprehension of the unknown is greater than the actual danger,’ Henricks explained. ‘LASC provides an awesome support network, great training, and comprehensive materials for volunteers.’
“Henricks and his Nationwide colleagues first partnered with LASC many years ago to pull together a local version of Clinic in a Box®, a program designed as a nonprofit legal check-up that was developed by Corporate Pro Bono Org. He then helped LASC set up a consumer clinic for pro se litigants that eventually evolved into the Volunteer Resource Center Consumer Project, which matches volunteer attorneys with clients facing certain consumer lawsuits.
“In 2013, Henricks led an effort to increase pro bono participation by setting up consumer case co-counseling relationships between Nationwide in-house counsel and attorneys from local firms, including Bricker & Eckler, Porter Wright, Bailey Cavalieri and Thompson Hine. In addition to his work with the central Ohio chapter of the Association of Corporate Counsel Pro Bono Committee, Henricks also regularly attends the LASC-sponsored brief advice clinic in the Hilltop area.”