Local Pro Bono Service Organizations
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Local Pro Bono Service Organizations |
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Click Here for a More Detailed List of Service Organizations The organizations listed below have expressed a need for volunteers to perform legal work. Many of the agencies listed below extend malpractice insurance to volunteer attorneys engaging in pro bono legal service for the agency; however, you should check with each agency to make sure that you are covered. When representing a client pro bono you are not covered by any malpractice protection you may have through the Department of Transportation (DOT). The following list of agencies is meant to assist your participation in pro bono legal service. While DOT encourages its attorney to engage in pro bono legal service, it does not endorse any of the organizations listed below. Because conflicts of interest may arise due to the nature of legal work done by each organization, DOT reminds any attorney who wants to engage in pro bono legal service to consult with his or her ethical advisor prior to commencing activity. Bread for the City provides vulnerable residents of Washington, DC with comprehensive services including food, clothing, medical care, legal and social services. Volunteer attorneys at Bread for the City may, among other things, represent clients in landlord-tenant disputes and represent clients in family law matters including child custody, civil protection orders, child support and divorce. The Covenant House was established to address widespread problems of homelessness and poverty among teenagers and young adults. www.dcbar.org This website contains information about the DC Bar Pro Bono Program and the DC Superior Court Multi-Door Dispute Resolution Program. It is a great resource. www.dcejc.org The D.C. Employment Justice Center provides free and low-cost legal services to low-income D.C. residents on employment law matters such as unpaid wages, discrimination, workplace injuries, unsafe working conditions, unemployment compensation and workfare placements. www.mdlab.org The Maryland Legal Aid Bureau handles civil cases, including family, housing and consumer law. Legal Services of Northern Virginia provides free legal assistance to individuals who are elderly, who have low incomes, mental of physical disabilities, or HIV/AIDS in civil cases in the areas of child advocacy, consumer law, elder law, employment law, family law, and housing law. LSNV takes cases for residents of the Northern Virginia counties of Arlington, Fairfax, Loudoun and Prince William, and the cities of Alexandria, Fairfax, Falls Church, Manassas, and Manassas Park. www.montbar.org/probono.htm Montgomery County Bar Foundation Pro Bono Program provides free legal service to low-income clients through the Attorney Referral Program, the free Legal Clinics, The Child Custody Program, and the Domestic Violence Project. As stated on its website, "Street Law is practical, participatory education about law, democracy and human rights. Through its philosophy and programs, Street Law empowers people to transform democratic ideals into citizen action." There are many diverse volunteer opportunities available through Street Law. www.catholiccharitiesdc.org Attorneys who volunteer with the Archdiocesan Legal Network may provide pro bono representation in civil legal cases for indigent and low-income residents of Washington, DC and Maryland. www.wwc.org Whitman-Walker Clinic's Legal Services Program offers pro bono legal services to people living with HIV/AIDS in the Washington, DC area. www.legalclinic.org Attorneys that volunteer with the Washington Legal Clinic for the Homeless may assist homeless clients with various legal matters. Volunteers may attend intake and/or accept cases on a referral basis. Maryland Volunteer Lawyers Service connects pro bono attorneys with low income clients throughout Maryland. Some examples of civil cases attorneys can expect are wills, name changes, public benefits, uncontested custody or divorce, records expungement, school suspension, landlord/tenant disputes, bankruptcy, tax preparation and tax disputes. Malpractice insurance is provided for all attorneys. Women Empowered Against Violence (WEAVE) represents clients for their full range of legal needs, including civil protection orders, divorce, custody, child support, dissolution of joint debt, and any other legal issues tied to the domestic violence. www.probono.net Contains multiple resources for attorneys looking to do pro bono legal work in the Washington D.C. area. http://www.pgcba.com/probono/pb-list.htm Provides information for attorneys looking to do pro bono legal work in Maryland. http://www.msba.org/public/pro_bono.htm The Pro Bono Resource Center of Maryland seeks to ensure equal access to justice to Maryland's poor through volunteer legal services. This mission is accomplished by matching volunteer attorneys with legal services organizations dedicated to serving the unrepresented. This website contains a list of training opportunities for attorneys wishing to do pro bono legal work, a list of forms and other documents to assist attorneys in pro bono legal work, a list of legal aid programs, as well as other useful information. |