Every month, Southern Arizona Legal Aid’s (SALA) Volunteer Lawyers Program (VLP) recognizes a legal professional for their legal volunteerism. The award is a distinct honor and highlights the dedication and commitment of 12 individuals each year who give their valuable time and expertise to the community. Ms. Brooke H. Bedrick, Esq., is the June 2023 Outstanding Volunteer of the Month Award Recipient.
Brooke grew up in New York City. After graduating from Harvard, she moved to the San Francisco Bay Area, where she worked with young people on parole, served as a volunteer literacy tutor in a women’s jail, fielded calls on a domestic violence hotline, and – briefly – worked as an assistant scoreboard operator at Candlestick Park. She returned for one year to NYC to get a master’s degree in US History at Columbia University, then returned to Berkeley to pursue her interests in criminal sentencing reform and alternatives to incarceration as a Ph.D student in Jurisprudence and Social Policy. She interrupted those studies to take a job in Washington DC before following her husband to Chile and Argentina. Their two children were born in Chile, the dissertation was never finished, and Brooke and her family moved to Tucson in 2006. The family now includes two dogs rescued through the Humane Society.
Brooke earned her JD from the University of Arizona’s James E Rogers College of Law, where she completed a certificate in Indigenous People’s Law and Policy, graduated summa cum laude, and was elected to The Order of the Coif. At law school, Brooke volunteered at the Primavera Men’s Shelter and participated in the Civil Rights Restoration Clinic. She received the Andrew Silverman Law Student Community Service Award.
Brooke’s legal work focuses on juvenile law matters, including appeals, and housing-related issues. She started her legal practice with the Protective Services Section of the Arizona Attorney General’s Office and then, in May 2020, opened her solo practice, Bedrick Law & Policy, PLLC. In addition to her volunteer work with VLP, she has volunteered to advise tenants on housing issues through the HOME Clinic at Step Up 2 Justice. She is excited to have this opportunity to deepen her knowledge of family law and to assist clients navigating very difficult circumstances.
Brooke is an active member of SALA’s Board of Directors and recently attended VLP’s Family Law Basics CLE three-part series. After learning about the significant need at VLP for volunteer attorneys in family law, Brooke immediately contacted VLP to find out how she could help. Brooke is our newest volunteer in our very busy family law clinic and we are grateful for her knowledge, dedication, and willingness to take on a much-needed service in our community.
