Want to Volunteer?
Active licensed California attorneys can volunteer.
The time commitment depends upon how much time you have.
You can accept a complete case for a client (full representation) or provide specific services (limited scope representation) for one or more clients, based on the time you have available. Limited scope representation may involve appearing at a hearing or mediation. You can also mentor young attorneys on specific assignments.
We are seeking committed attorneys to be part of our Virtual Legal Services program. This program is similar to Lawyers in the Library, but uses web conferencing to meet with individuals in need of legal services. All you need is a good internet connection and computer with a video camera.
We have clients who need assistance in the following areas:
- Divorce
- Child custody
- Division of property
- Spousal support
- Domestic violence restraining orders
- Consumer law
- Housing/Eviction
To learn about open client cases, contact us for details.
Have some free time on evenings or weekends? You can volunteer for Lawyers in the Library.
Volunteers benefit, too!
Besides the satisfaction of helping our clients, attorneys fulfill their obligation to provide pro bono counsel to low-income residents. Young attorneys or experienced attorneys working outside their area of expertise receive the additional benefit of mentoring from seasoned attorneys when they take on these pro bono cases. Attorneys gain additional experience in client counseling, motion practice, court appearance, and settlement negotiation as you help those that need your services the most.
Enrich your life, become a volunteer now.
All volunteers for the Pro Bono Project can use the space, voice mail, computers, and software available in our offices for work on pro bono cases. Pro Bono Project carries primary malpractice coverage for all our volunteers.
“My encouragement to other attorneys to take on Pro Bono cases would be that you get great experience, can help truly needy people change their lives, and if you do a good job, you get referrals for paying clients.”
“In my first year of law school… I mostly represented clients who had been wrongfully denied disability benefits by the Social Security Administration (SSA). I wrote briefs and represented the clients at hearings before Administrative Law judges. The SSA allowed non-lawyers to represent clients, and I was excited by the opportunity… I got to do ten hearings before I got admitted to the bar, and all my clients wound up getting benefits. It was a great experience.”
“Volunteering at PBP took me from an initial position of “anything but family law” to becoming a Certified Specialist. I would say that was a rather significant shaping of my career, quite directly as a result of PBP.”
