Every month, Southern Arizona Legal Aid, Inc.’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 their community. Attorney Luke Brown (http://www.brownandwohlford.com) is the February 2023 Outstanding Volunteer of the Month Award Recipient.
Luke has been a volunteer for VLP/SALA for over a decade and has donated hundreds of hours of his service to SALA’s clients in need, especially for Spanish-speaking only clients. Luke was honored previously in October of 2018 for his outstanding volunteer work with many family law clinics and most recently, Luke volunteers teaching VLP/SALA’s Spanish-speaking Divorce Class. Given Luke’s very busy work and family schedules, it is an incredible gift that he gives to the clients of SALA!
Luke and his law partner are a two-person team serving family law needs in Southern Arizona at Brown and Wohlford Family Law. Luke is a certified specialist in Family Law by the Arizona Board of Specialization (an arduous application process with high standards), is a tier one court-credentialed Spanish interpreter, and is currently enrolled in the Diplomado Program in Mexican Public Law and Policy (Mexican Law Certificate Program | Online and On-Campus (arizona.edu)) at the University of Arizona James E. Rogers College of Law. If this doesn’t keep him busy enough, he has a lovely family with five children (ages 7 and under). Needless to say, I was humbled by how kind Luke was in making time for an interview for this article. I was especially grateful for his graceful personality given technology difficulties caused me to be late for our meeting and I had to switch from video conference to old-fashion phone call! It is a testament to his character, which his clients undoubtedly benefit from, that Luke was able to carve out time to speak with me and he continues to carve out time regularly to teach classes at VLP/SALA!
Luke’s case load in his private practice serves approximately 35-40% Spanish-speaking clients. Luke’s bilingual abilities are a true asset to his clients (and VLP/SALA’s clients). Luke’s focus on family law also includes preparations of QDROs and knowledge and practice in the Hague Convention (specialized skills above and beyond regular family law representations). His firm also has skill and experience in representing members of the military and their families in family law matters.
It was a true pleasure to meet Luke through this interview. In his interview in 2018, Luke indicated that a trait he admires in attorneys was civility. Indeed, Luke embodies civility, grace, and kindness all while living a robust and busy, full life, both in the practice of law and in his personal life. VLP is honored to have a volunteer of this caliber among our ranks!
By Lila Sol, Esq., Director of the Volunteer Lawyers Program
