Seeing Need

P R O B O N O & C O M M U N I T Y S E R V I C E

“Pro bono and community service isn’t just what a handful of senior leaders think we should do. It’s really something that’s felt in the heart and soul of this firm.”

—Dorrie Larison

As a new lawyer in the late 1980s, St. Cloud resident Dorrie Larison got a first-hand look at how a recession devastated many family farms and small businesses in central Minnesota. Raised with a strong sense of community service, she reached out to her neighbors by providing pro bono legal counsel on tough debt and credit issues.

Today, as a Gray Plant Mooty attorney, Dorrie’s passion for helping disadvantaged or underrepresented people remains strong. As chair of the firm’s Pro Bono committee, she helps train young lawyers on the importance of volunteer outreach. As an active participant, Dorrie has been instrumental in establishing Gray Plant Mooty’s outstate Minnesota

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GRAY PLANT MOOTY: YEAR IN REVIEW

debtor/creditor clinics in Willmar and St. Cloud. To this day, she feels energized when using her legal skills to help improve other people’s lives.

“When I walk over to that clinic once a month to meet with clients so badly off that we won’t even put them into bankruptcy because they’re judgment proof, it’s gratifying to see how amazingly upbeat they can be— even if they’re living on $500 a month,” Dorrie says. “It’s a great feeling to keep them from being harassed or lied to, especially when it comes to protecting what few possessions they may have left.”

In addition to the debtor/creditor clinics, Dorrie participates in Credit Abuse Resistance Education (CARE),

a community-based organization through which she speaks to high school and college students about the traps of easy credit and high-interest debt. In 2009, Dorrie also chose to expand her horizons by taking on her first pro bono naturalization case.

Are these volunteer roles above and beyond her normal job responsibilities? She doesn’t think so.

“Pro bono and community service isn’t just what a handful of senior leaders think we should do. It’s really something that’s felt in the heart and soul of this firm,” Dorrie says. “At Gray Plant Mooty, we never tell people how to give. We only tell them that it’s important to give back somehow.” Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26