VLSP Honors Virginia Mueller for Her Pro Bono Work
By Vicki Jacobs

"She's a good person," says the young, lowincome, single mother of two toddlers who has attorney Virginia Mueller to thank for the fact that her children are now home after being taken out of state by their father and kept for months after the end of a scheduled visitation. The children's father taunted the young mother by stating that the mother would not have the money to hire an attorney to help her get her children back. Fortunately, when the mother was seen at the weekly pro bono family law clinic of the Voluntary Legal Services Program ("VLSP"), VLSP's staff decided to refer this special case out for direct representation by a local family law attorney.

When volunteer attorney Virginia Mueller agreed to take this custody case pro bono from the Voluntary Legal Services Program ("VLSP"), little did she know that she would end up arranging to fly her and her client to Atlanta for a crucial custody hearing. It was hoped that an order could be issued in Sacramento returning the children to California. When an attempt to obtain such an order was unsuccessful, however, it became apparent that if the children were to see their mother again, Virginia and her client would have to go to Georgia and obtain a court order and bring the children home.

Fortunately, the young mother had been referred to a determined and compassionate attorney. Virginia used her airline frequent flyer miles to fly her client to Georgia. Further, she paid their hotel costs. Virginia got the scoop on the local family law bench from legal aid attorneys in Atlanta and filed the paperwork needed to obtain that crucial order returning the toddlers to their mother. Virginia, helping to push a baby stroller through the Atlanta airport, her client and the two children flew home to California, again using Virginia's frequent flyer miles, the same day as the court hearing. The children arrived home in Sacramento just a few weeks prior to Christmas 2001.

Virginia has been a volunteer attorney for VLSP since it began in 1981. Over the years, she has taken a variety of cases from VLSP involving primarily family law and adoptions. For her dedication to assisting clients in need, and her work above the call of duty, VLSP is pleased to present the 2002 June Black Pro Bono Award to Virginia Mueller.

The Voluntary Legal Services Program is Sacramento's pro bono program, co-sponsored by the Sacramento County Bar Association and Legal Services of Northern California. It was founded through the vision and efforts of Judge Jim Mize and Tom Eres, the Sacramento County Bar Association President in 1981. Some 4500 low-income clients received legal assistance with their civil law problems during 2001 through the volunteer efforts of over 1000 attorneys, paralegals, interpreters, legal secretaries, notaries and private investigators who donate their services. To highlight outstanding contributions made by volunteers in the local legal community each year, VLSP presents the June Black Pro Bono Award. Virginia Mueller exemplifies the selfless service provided by so many volunteers each year, most of whom do not receive the recognition that they deserve.

Virginia is an ardent supporter of pro bono legal services and encourages others to volunteer. "You have no time to be bored when you have VLSP clients," says Virginia. "If you want more variety in your law practice, you should accept a VLSP client." Virginia says that each VLSP case that she has had involves issues that she rarely finds in her practice.

Virginia has received many awards during her distinguished career as an attorney, which has spanned 55 years as of December 2001. After graduating from Stanford, Virginia attended Cornell Law School, later obtaining a doctorate from the University of Paris. Virginia became the first woman district attorney in Sacramento. She joined the Sacramento staff of the Legal Aid Society in 1966 and went into private practice in 1971, where she continues to practice family, adoption and probate law.

Virginia has gained recognition throughout the world for her efforts to protect human rights, to end discrimination against women and to promote peace through law and international understanding. In 2001, she received an award for lifetime service by the National Association of Women Lawyers. Virginia was a founding member of the Women Lawyers of Sacramento, an organization that will celebrate its 40th anniversary in early 2003. Virginia has been active for many years with the Sacramento County Bar Association, the American Bar Association, California Women Lawyers, the Senior Attorney Section of the Sacramento County Bar Association and the State Bar, and with the California Conference of Delegates.

With all of Virginia's charitable work, and the demands of an active private practice, VLSP is all the more grateful for Virginia's generosity and support over these many years. It is fitting that she receive the 2002 June Black Pro Bono Award, which is awarded annually in honor of VLSP's founding pro bono program coordinator who spent 17 years developing the provision of free legal services to indigent clients. From 1977 through 1994, many members of the Sacramento legal community came to know and admire June Black for her commitment to seeking justice for the poor. VLSP thanks Virginia Mueller, and all those who volunteer their services each year, for making access to justice a priority in Sacramento.