Attorney Andrew P. Cornell has represented victims of domestic violence on a pro bono basis
Massachusetts Bar Association member Andrew P. Cornell has
been practicing law in Massachusetts for 20 years, concentrating on
all aspects of family law. He is a volunteer attorney for Community
Legal Services and Counseling Center (CLSCC) in Cambridge, where he
has represented several victims of domestic violence on a pro bono
basis. He was awarded the MBA's Pro Bono Publico Award in 2003 and
serves as a member of the MBA's Access to Justice Section Council.
The MBA's Mike Vigneux recently spoke with Cornell about his pro
bono experiences.
Q: Why is it important to do pro bono
work as an attorney?
A: It's a recognition that lawyers as a
licensed group of individuals have been part of creating a system
that has made getting to court incredibly expensive. By no means
are lawyers the only people responsible for it. Middle-class
people, poor people, even a lot of upper-middle class people often
can't afford the rates lawyers charge. So, along with the privilege
of being able to charge that much money for basically things that
are just in my brain comes the responsibility of leveling the
playing field to make it so that people who can't afford attorneys
can still be represented.
Q: What's the most rewarding aspect of pro bono
work?
A: You have to care enough to do a really good
job, but not enough that you take the problems home with you. I
know that there are women who've been able to get a financial
settlement that they normally wouldn't have been able to get
without an attorney's help. Some have received protection with
restraining orders and parenting plans that keep their children
safe that wouldn't have had them without an attorney's help. I know
that people I've represented have felt empowered, and I've been
able to be a part of their whole process of getting out of an
abusive situation so that they can stand on their own feet. I've
represented a lot of women whose husbands are very violent. I
represented a woman whose husband tried to kill her by throwing a
VCR into the hot tub while she was sitting in it. It's impactful
work. You really do feel like your presence there is helping
somebody achieve a goal that they probably wouldn't be able to
without a lawyer.
Q: What do you find most challenging about pro bono
cases?
A: My theory has always been that if you're
going to work for free you might as well do interesting work. So
I've always asked for interesting cases. The problem with
interesting cases is that they tend to be the most complex cases.
But if you're going to work for free, it might as well be an
experience. The domestic violence cases are the hardest, and I
think because they're the hardest they can be the most fulfilling.
One reason they're hard is that you're dealing with scary people
[the abusers].
Q: What makes working with domestic violence cases
particularly difficult?
A: One of the problems you have is that most
victims don't get to court until after the black eye is gone, the
blood is dried off and they've been cleaned up. One of the things
that happens when you do domestic violence work and you get very
intimately connected with your clients is you really do learn about
the violence from their perspective-what the fear was really like
of not knowing when somebody was going to go off on you. Not
knowing when you're going to get your nose broken or when someone
is going to slam your head against a wall. You get a sense of what
it's like to be in a situation where the adrenaline is going
through you the whole time. Court is this very ritualized state
where the person gets up there and they say, almost in a monotone,
because you're not supposed to be too theatrical, "He did this to
me. He did this. …He did this." I think there's often a disconnect
with a lot of judges, court officials and other lawyers about
domestic violence because they haven't lived it every day, even
through their client.