Shook Team Explains Missouri Coalition Right to Counsel at National Conference

Members of Shook’s Pro Bono team were presenters at the 2019 Pro Bono Institute Annual Conference in Washington, D.C., where they discussed the success of the Missouri Coalition Right to Counsel (MCRC). The MCRC is a nonprofit collaboration between private attorneys and the Missouri State Public Defender to provide representation to indigent persons accused of crimes, as well as courtroom training to early-career attorneys in private practice.

Partner Charlie Eblen, Associate Keith Starr, Of Counsel Anna Maria Merritt and paralegal Darren Thomas, with Richard Scherrer of MCRC, explained in “Public/Private Partnerships: Easing the Public Defender Caseload” the challenges of the program’s first years in operation, the lessons participants have learned, and encouraged attorneys and law firms to replicate and expand the program around the country.

Eblen is a member of the board of directors of MCRC, and chairs Shook’s Pro Bono Committee.