Enid Attorney’s Pro Bono Work Stands Out

Enid attorney Russell Singleton “never hesitates to accept a case when I give him a call,” reports Tarri Hawkins, victim’s advocate at the Garfield County YWCA. Mr. Singleton recently received the 2005 Volunteer of the Year award from the YWCA. He has handled 30 pro bono cases for women residing in the YWCA women’s shelter over the course of the last three years. Most cases are in the family law area and involve divorce, spousal abuse or child custody issues.

One of Mr. Singleton's more complex cases involved a Russian mail-order bride. The Russian woman accepted a marriage proposal and moved to the United States to live with her American husband. Once she arrived, she was abused both mentally and physically. After Mr. Singleton helped the woman obtain a protective order and subsequent divorce, the woman's ex-husband attempted to have her deported back to Russia.

At this point, Mr. Singleton could have closed the case. He had performed those services required of him, and immigration law was outside of his expertise. However, Mr. Singleton continued on and located immigration attorneys in Oklahoma City, who agreed to accept the case on a pro bono basis.

This case alone spanned two years for Mr. Singleton, and is still open for the immigration attorneys in Oklahoma City.

“Russell is such a great person and gave so much devoted attention to this case,” comments Ms. Hawkins. She adds, “He truly needs to be recognized for the caring and thoughtful way that he approached this matter.”

Mr. Singleton has been volunteering at the YWCA for the past three years and is the only attorney in Garfield County who has offered his services pro bono to the Garfield County YWCA. Other Garfield County attorneys have offered to take cases on a reduced-fee basis, and Mr. Singleton does this also. However, there are times when the women who reside in the YWCA women's shelter are unable to pay anything, and Mr. Singleton graciously accepts these cases as well.

The Access to Justice Committee appreciates Russell Singleton and acknowledges that without his dedication to the YWCA Women’s Shelter, many women would not receive equal access to justice.

We want to recognize other Oklahoma attorneys who go above and beyond in providing pro bono legal services. Please let us know of attorneys who should be recognized. Submissions should be forwarded to: probono@okbar.org or Pro Bono Services Subcommittee, c/o Heidi J. Long, 204 N. Robinson, Suite 1550, Oklahoma City, 73102.