Prestigious Award

Public service-minded lawyer recognized with prestigious award

By Casey A. Waldron

Joseph Casale ’87 makes house calls, but he’s not a doctor. He makes you laugh, but he’s not a comedian. He listens to your problems and helps you fix them, but he’s not a therapist.

He is a lawyer busy with his own practice—Aquidneck Legal Center--in November 2004 in Middletown, R.I. Public service is also a big part of Casale’s life, as evidenced by his volunteer activities. He participates in  “Ask a Lawyer,” is a member of the Rhode Island Bar Association program called Volunteer Lawyers, and a member of the Justinian Law Society. He frequently speaks at senior centers to educate the elderly on social security issues, wills and estates, and elder law. He even travels to the homes of low-income clients to be sure they get the help they need.

In 1997, Casale became involved with the Arc of Blackstone Valley, an organization that provides a variety of services to people with mental retardation and their families. He served as a court-appointed attorney on two guardianship cases. He met the Arc’s chapter advocate, Anne Rule, and began to help the organization’s disabled clients with legal issues. Eight years later, the relationship is strong and the service continues.

Casale often works on guardianship cases, and his concern for the clients is evident. He tries to let them retain as much decision-making power over their lives as they can. To recognize his work with the Arc, Rule nominated Casale for the Dorothy Lohmann Community Service Award, one of the most prestigious given out by the Rhode Island Bar Association.

“Joe Casale is even more generous with his heart than he is with his time. His compassion is boundless. He measures his success as an attorney by the amount of good he can do in this world. The world is a better place because he is in it,” Rule said when nominating him.

Casale said he was shocked to learn he had won the award. “I feel it is important to give back to the community and to give people answers to their questions. Some people don’t know where to turn for the answers…I want the people in my community to have quality, affordable legal representation,” he said. “And it should be personalized attention. I think the profession should be more personal than it is.”