The efforts of three local attorneys in providing legal assistance to people who can’t afford it were honored Thursday in the district courtroom at the Wood County Courthouse.

Attention was called to the work of Ted Beaty of Winnsboro, Lucy Hebron and Melissa O’Neal of Mineola by Dana Bias, with Lone Star Legal Aid. She provided them with certificates of appreciation as they were honored among their peers in a gathering of the Wood County Bar Association.

Bias, the private attorney involvement coordinator for Lone Star Legal Aid, said the recognition was part of the national observance of Pro Bono Week that is going on this week, Sunday through Saturday.

“This is to recognize, honor and celebrate them for their work,” Bias said. The observance is also to call attention to the importance of the work and hopefully to recruit more lawyers to do pro bono work. Bias is out of the Nacogdoches office of the organization which she said is one of three such organizations in the state of Texas. Texas Supreme Court Eva Guzman is the judicial liaison to the organization.

Lone Star Legal Aid is a regional law firm with lawyers and paralegals in 13 branches throughout East Texas, the Upper Gulf Coast and Southwest Arkansas. As a legal aid program, they help low income people and families with civil legal problems.

Bias said there was a three-way tie for the most litigated cases in Wood County.

On the award to Beaty, she said, “It was long overdue.” She said Beaty was doing pro bono work when she joined the organization over 10 years ago. Actually, when she joined the organization he was the only lawyer on the list doing pro bono work. “Fortunately we’ve built a list,” she said.

She said he not only assists people in Wood County, but clients in neighboring counties. He takes cases from the Paris, Longview and Tyler office and she admits the offices sometimes squabble over who gets him to work cases. “But we always work it out. And Ted never refuses a case, unless he’s got something going on, (that) he can’t take it.”

Beaty said he moved back to Winnsboro in 1989 and he believes that is when he began doing pro bono work for the group.

Bias said that Lucy Hebron is not only a colleague but a dear friend who she recruited over 10 years ago. She said Hebron mostly does bankruptcy cases, “which there’s a real need for.” She also helps residents of neighboring counties.

As she accepted her award, Hebron said, “It’s an honor to work with Dana, and all of the needy citizens of East Texas who need legal aid. And I would encourage every attorney, if you haven’t done one, I think we get more out of it than the people that we serve and I have people that still contact me, year after year, that are so appreciative, send Christmas cards. And so I would encourage you to give back.” And with one more push, Hebron interjected, “Sign up, sign up today.”

Bias said “last but not least” was one who she thought had the most pro bono litigated cases in Wood County, O’Neal. “In her short stint of four years thus far, she’s had a case a year and typically has a case going all the time. She has (given) excellent representation of clients.”

Noting that it was also Domestic Violence Awareness Month, the legal aid coordinator said one of the cases that O’Neal had represented was a domestic violence case in which she was able to get spousal support and the ex-husband was ordered to redesignate the client as the beneficiary on his life insurance policy. She was also able to avoid $7,000 worth of cost by getting lawyer’s fees from the husband.