Thanks to the dedication of a retired attorney who devoted eight years to pro bono work for Prairie State Legal Services in Lake County, four staff attorneys are getting some help in repaying their law school loans.

Harold Goldman retired from a successful career as a certified public accountant and became a tireless Prairie State volunteer who handled 226 cases while in his 70s.

He practiced landlord-tenant law and became a passionate advocate for low-income clients who faced eviction from their homes. He also developed legal theories and taught them to other attorneys at Prairie State.

After Goldman's death in March 2005, he was named the posthumous recipient of Lake County Bar Association's Wayne B. Flanagan Award, which his wife, Ruth, accepted during a Volunteer Lawyers Pro-gram luncheon in November 2005.

Subsequently, the family established the Harold Goldman Memorial Fund for Law School Loan Assistance with an extraordinary gift of $100,000 to help dedicated public service lawyers to continue their important work.

Last September, the memorial fund made its first awards to Prairie State attorneys Laura Myers, Ana Collazzo and Sheila K. Horan of Carol Steam, and Stacey L. Tutt of Bloomington.

The awards are an extension of Gold-man's commitment to Prairie State and are symbolic of what was important to him as an attorney. Applications for future assistance may be made by attorneys in any of the legal service agency's 10 offices.