St. Paul attorney honored for thousands of hours serving the needy

What it's all about is giving a hand to those who need it and providing an important service to those who can't afford it.

That's what has sustained Hugh Markley through more than three decades of work as a volunteer attorney at the St. Paul office of Southern Minnesota Regional Legal Services (SMRLS).

SMRLS provides free legal assistance for low-income people, but doesn't have enough attorneys on staff to handle the demand. That's where Markley and the other private and corporate volunteer attorneys come in.

Markley, 66, has had his own general practice in St. Paul since he graduated from William Mitchell College of Law in 1968 and has devoted thousands of hours to pro bono work for SMRLS for much of that time.

For his dedication, he received the Ramsey County Bar Association's 2008 Pro Bono Award at the Bench & Bar Benefit held Saturday at the Midland Hills Country Club in Roseville.

Half of the proceeds from the benefit go to support SMRLS's Volunteer Attorney Program; the other half to local legal organizations through the Ramsey County Bar Foundation.

"During the past 32 years, [Markley] has been the most consistent and willing volunteer to help wherever it is needed," said Patricia Brummer, pro bono coordinator for SMRLS. "He has made and continues to make an extraordinary time commitment to helping low-income people in Ramsey County. Hugh always receives praise and many thanks from his clients for the help he has provided to them."

"People are seldom at their best when their family is breaking up," Beneke said. "It's very hard work. Very, very important work, but very hard work.

"I'm from a small town originally; my dad was a small-town attorney," Beneke said. "Hugh reminds me of my dad, an old-fashioned lawyer where you didn't talk about pro bono, you just did it."

Markley is a soft-spoken man who deflects much of the praise that comes his way.

The lifelong St. Paul resident said he was a foster kid at one point in his life and "was favorably impressed with the court system" after he had to appear before a judge.

When it came time to decide what he'd do for a living, "I was thinking of the classic careers: spiritual, medical and legal," he said. "I ruled the first two out and took the third."

About twice a year, he participates in the SMRLS Tuesday Night Clinic, where volunteer attorneys each take on three or four cases. Some might take a few hours. Some might take dozens of hours.

Why does he do it?

"Some people really need help," he said humbly.

Markley said he plans to continue his volunteer work as long as he is able.

"There's a tradition in Ramsey County where attorneys die with their boots on," he said.