ACLU of Maine

Website

Volunteer Information here

Contact Information:

Telephone: (207) 774-544

info@aclumaine.org

ACLU of Maine

PO Box 7860

Portland, Maine 04112

Nature of opportunity: Legal research, advocacy, or litigation.

General Information:

• ACLU Maine, located in Portland, provides lawyers for people whose constitutional rights have been violated or who have been the victim of illegal discrimination.

Malpractice Insurance: Provided.  

Training and/or mentoring: Unclear.

Estimated time commitment: Dependent upon the opportunity.

Opportunities for staff: No.

American Bar Association: Free Legal Answers, Maine

Website

Volunteer Information here

Contact Information:

Contact Form

Nature of opportunity: Virtual advice clinic.

General Information:

• Qualifying users post their civil legal question to the state’s website, and they will be emailed when their question receives a response.
• Attorney volunteers (must be authorized to provide pro-bono assistance in their state) will log in to the website and select questions to answer and provide legal advice and information.

Malpractice Insurance: Provided.

Training and/or mentoring: No training provided.

Estimated time commitment: Up to the volunteer.

Opportunities for staff: No.

Immigration Legal Advocacy Project (ILAP):

Website

Volunteer Information here

Pro-Bono Panel Information here

Contact Information:

Telephone: (207) 780-1293

Pro-Bono Panel Telephone:

(207) 874-1318

Fax; (207) 699-2313

General email: ilap@ilapmaine.org

Pro-Bono Panel: mgentry@ilapmaine.org

Press: press@ilapmaine.org

Donation: contact@ilpamaine.org

489 Congress Street, 3^rd Floor

P.O. Box 17917

Portland, ME 04112

Nature of opportunity: Longer term representation.

General Information:

• Provides low-income individuals with immigration legal help, through an in-depth one-time consultation or full legal representation in complex multi-year cases.
• ILAP offers direct legal services, education & outreach, and systemic advocacy- programs can be found here.
• The Pro-Bono Panel consists of volunteer attorneys.  Workload is dependent on the client and case. 
• ILAP conducts client intake and preliminary research on each case before deciding to accept it and place it with an attorney on the Pro Bono Panel.

Malpractice Insurance: Provided.

Training and/or mentoring: Provides mentoring with members of the Asylum Team or experienced members of the Pro Bono Panel.

Estimated time commitment: Dependent on the case.

Opportunities for staff: Yes (interpreters/translators).

Legal Services for the Elderly:

Website

Volunteer Information here

Contact Information:

Telephone: 1-800-750-5353

5 Wabon Street,

Augusta, Maine

04330

Nature of opportunity: Legal advice, brief services, and full representation.

General Information:

• Legal Services for the Elderly provides free legal services to Maine's socially and economically needy elderly aged 60 and over.
• Issues include consumer problems, long term care, housing, public benefits, and other civil matters.  A list of the programs offered can be found here.

Malpractice Insurance: Unclear.  

Training and/or mentoring: Unclear.

Estimated time commitment: Dependent on the case.

Opportunities for staff: Yes.

Pine Tree Legal Assistance (PTLA):

Website

Volunteer Information here.

Contact Information:

The Administrative Office

Telephone: (207)-400-3212

Mailing Address:

P.O. Box 547
Portland, ME 04112

Contact information for each individual PTLA county offices can be found here.

Nature of opportunity: Legal advocacy.

General Information:

• PTLA provides legal advocacy to Maine residents with low incomes who need help with serious civil legal aid issues.
• Volunteer attorneys provides services to veterans, homeowners, individuals facing tax, student loan, and credit card debt, students excluded from school, and tenants facing eviction.

Malpractice Insurance: Provided.

Training and/or mentoring: Provided; more information can be found here.

Estimated time commitment: Dependent on the case.

Opportunities for staff: Yes. Volunteers with expertise as a CPA, enrolled agent, tax consultants, and other professionals, including but not limited to event planners and web design specialists.

Volunteer Lawyers Project (VLP):

Website

Volunteer Information here.

Contact Information:

Media & Volunteer inquiries can be sent to volunteer@vlp.org

Southern Maine:
1-800-442-4293

Northern Maine
1-888-956-4276

Nature of opportunity: Ranging from clinic to brief service to full representation.

General Information:

• VLP acts as a nexus, connecting pro bono attorneys and individuals with civil legal issues who cannot afford attorneys.
• To become a volunteer attorney, you must join their network which will then lead you to steps on how you can help.

• Projects include CourtHouse Assistance Projects, Family Law Helpline, Small Claims Courthouse Clinic, Domestic Violence Pro Bono Panel, Lewiston Protection from Abuse Program, Workers’ Rights Clinic, Small Business/Non-Profit Legal Clinic, Wabanaki Health and Wellness Clinic, Maine Homeless Legal Project, and Acadia Hospital Clinic.

Malpractice Insurance: Unclear.

Training and/or mentoring: Unclear.

Estimated time commitment: Dependent on the case.

Opportunities for staff: Yes, to do intake, interviews, and to be coordinators, assistants, and advocates. More information can be found here.

American Bar Association Free Legal Answers Program – Massachusetts (Virtual Advice Clinic)

https://mass.freelegalanswers.org/

Volunteer:

https://mass.freelegalanswers.org/Attorneys/Account/Agreement

For more information, email info@masslao.org.

Nature of opportunity: Virtual legal advice clinic.

General Information:

• Qualifying users post their civil legal question to their state's website. Users will then be emailed when their question receives a response.
• Attorney volunteers select questions to answer and provide legal information and advice.
• Volunteer attorneys will not answer criminal law questions.

Malpractice Insurance: Provided.

Training and/or mentoring: You can register as a volunteer and watch a brief video training before getting started.

Estimated time commitment: There is no required time commitment, although they encourage you to answer at least one question a month.

Opportunities for staff: No. Open to all attorneys in good standing who are licensed to practice law in Massachusetts or registered for pro bono status with the Board of Bar Overseers, including in house counsel.

A Safe Place, Inc.

https://www.asafeplacenantucket.org/

Volunteer: https://www.asafeplacenantucket.org/get-involved/volunteer

Contact: info@asafeplacenantucket.org

A Safe Place, Inc
5B Windy Way
Nantucket, MA 02554

Phone: (508) 228-0561

Nature of opportunity: Volunteer opportunities include Court Advocacy. Volunteers attend District and Probate Court to provide support and information to people in domestic-abuse situations.

General Information:

• Works to eliminate domestic violence and sexual assault in the Nantucket community.

Malpractice Insurance: Provided.

Training and/or mentoring: Provided and required.

Estimated time commitment: Dependent upon the opportunity.

Opportunities for staff: Yes (outreach and office work).

Ascentria Care Alliance

https://www.ascentria.org/our-services/services-for-new-americans/legal-services

Volunteer: https://www.ascentria.org/volunteer/inquire-about-volunteer-opportunities

Contact: https://www.ascentria.org/our-services/services-for-new-americans/legal-services/contact-us-ilap

11 Shattuck Street,
Worcester, MA 01605 

Phone: 774.243.3045

Nature of opportunity: Dependent upon the opportunity.

General Information:

• The Ascentria Immigration Legal Assistance Program provides free and low-cost legal services to immigrants in Massachusetts. Their team of legal professionals and lawyers offers legal advice and representation to complete immigration applications and petitions.
• Ascentria’s ILAP serves a wide range of new Americans and survivors of violent crime.

Malpractice Insurance: Unclear.

Training and/or mentoring: Unclear.

Estimated time commitment: Dependent upon the opportunity.

Opportunities for staff: Yes.

Center for Public Representation

https://www.centerforpublicrep.org/

Contact: info@cpr-ma.org

22 Green Street
Northampton, MA 01060

Phone: (413) 586-6024

Nature of opportunity: Case by case basis.

General Information:

• Center for Public Representation (CPR) is dedicated to enforcing and expanding the rights of people with disabilities and others who are in segregated settings. CPR uses legal strategies, advocacy, and policy to design and implement systemic reform initiatives to promote their integration and full community participation.
• Works on state, national, and international level.
• CPR relies upon pro bono for individuals with disabilities in civil rights damage actions, civil commitment, treatment guardianship, Medicaid, and Social Security matters.

Malpractice Insurance: Unclear.

Training and/or mentoring: Unclear.

Estimated time commitment: Dependent upon the opportunity.

Opportunities for staff: No.

Children’s Law Center of Massachusetts

https://www.clcm.org/

Volunteer: https://www.clcm.org/volunteer-intern

Contact: Info@CLCM.org
 

P.O. Box 710
298 Union St.
Lynn, MA 01903

Phone: (781) 581-1977

Nature of opportunity: Dependent upon the opportunity.

General Information:

• Children’s Law Center of Massachusetts (CLCM) aims to secure equal justice and maximize opportunity for low-income children and youth across the state by providing quality, culturally sensitive advocacy and legal services.
• The CLCM provides a comprehensive array of legal representation in the areas of education, child welfare (abuse & neglect), immigration, juvenile justice, and various other matters such as mental health, insurance access, family-law related issues, and support to victims of crime.

Malpractice Insurance: Unclear.

Training and/or mentoring: Unclear.

Estimated time commitment: Dependent upon the opportunity.

Opportunities for staff: Unclear.

Community Legal Aid

https://communitylegal.org/

Volunteer: https://communitylegal.org/get-involved/pro-bono/apply-to-volunteer/

Contact:

Meredith Palmer, Pro Bono Director, Community Legal Aid

mpalmer@cla-ma.org

One Monarch Place, Suite 400
Springfield, MA 01144

Phone: (413) 686-9010

Nature of opportunity: Case by case basis.

General Information:

• Community Legal Aid, Inc. (CLA) is the free civil legal aid provider for residents of the five counties of Central and Western Massachusetts.

Malpractice Insurance: Provided.

Training and/or mentoring: Mentorship and free and fee-reduced trainings provided. Substantive toolkits and resources provided.

Estimated time commitment: Dependent upon the opportunity.

Opportunities for staff: No.

Criminal Record Sealing Pilot Project

https://bostonbar.org/in-the-community/public-service/cori-sealing-project

Volunteer: Email Chane Vanes at cvanes@bostonbar.org

197 Friend Street

Boston, MA 02114

Phone: (617) 603-1604

Nature of opportunity: Virtual clinic.

General Information:

• This bimonthly clinic connects low-income clients who have questions about their criminal records with volunteer attorneys who can help.
• Volunteers must then virtually attend at least one CORI Sealing Clinic where you will be matched with a client in a Zoom breakout room.
• After attending one virtual clinic, volunteers can be placed on our referral panel. As cases become available, clients will be referred to the panel.
• Volunteers are expected to take on the client on a pro bono basis. This includes helping intake clients and assist with CORI request forms, administrative sealing forms, and any administrative sealing hearings after the clinic.

Malpractice Insurance: Unclear.

Training and/or mentoring: Volunteers are trained in advance regarding CORI laws and procedures. Then they are able to sign-up for the clinic that works most with their schedule.

Estimated time commitment: At least one clinic.

Opportunities for staff: No.

De Novo

https://www.denovo.org/

 
Volunteer contact: volunteer@denovo.org

Nature of opportunity: Dependent upon the opportunity.

General Information:

• De Novo supports legal and counseling programs throughout Greater Boston and, for immigrant and refugee clients, statewide.
• Learn more about legal volunteer opportunities here: https://www.denovo.org/volunteer/legal.

Malpractice Insurance: Provided.

Training and/or mentoring: Training, ongoing supervision and long-term mentorship by staff and senior volunteers.

Estimated time commitment: Dependent upon the opportunity.

Opportunities for staff: Yes. De Novo offers volunteer opportunities for lawyers, interpreters, paralegals, intake workers, law students and non-legal professionals.

Greater Boston Legal Services

https://www.gbls.org/

Volunteer: https://www.gbls.org/get-involved/probono

For additional information, or to get started, please reach out to the Pro Bono Program at probono@gbls.org or (617) 603-1604.

Main Office
197 Friend Street
Boston, MA 02114

Phone: 617-371-1234

Nature of opportunity: Dependent upon the opportunity.

General Information:

• Greater Boston Legal Services (GBLS) provides free legal assistance and representation on civil (noncriminal) matters to hundreds of the neediest residents in the city of Boston and 31 surrounding cities and towns.
• Learn more about legal volunteer opportunities here: https://www.gbls.org/get-involved/probono.

Malpractice Insurance: Unclear.

Training and/or mentoring: Provided.

Estimated time commitment: Dependent upon the opportunity.

Opportunities for staff: No.

Hampden County Legal Clinic

https://www.hcbarlegalclinic.org/

Volunteer: https://www.hcbarlegalclinic.org/get-involved

50 State Street

Springfield, MA 01102

Phone: 413-733-6500

Nature of opportunity: Ranging from brief advice (phone, online, clinic) to longer term representation.

General Information:

The Hampden County Legal Clinic is a free legal assistance service that advises low income persons on issues relating to family, consumer and housing law.  The clinic is sponsored by the Hampden County Bar Association with financial support from the Mass Mutual Life Insurance Company.

Malpractice Insurance: Unclear.

Training and/or mentoring: Trainings provided.

Estimated time commitment: Dependent upon the opportunity.

Opportunities for staff: No.

The Lawyers Clearinghouse

https://lawyersclearinghouse.org/

Volunteer & Contacts:  https://lawyersclearinghouse.org/for-lawyers/pro-bono-opportunities/

7 Winthrop Square, 2^nd floor
Boston, MA 02110

Nature of opportunity: Ranging from clinics to longer term representations.

General Information:

• The Legal Referral Program connects Massachusetts nonprofits with volunteer lawyers. They also host a wide range of expert-led workshops for nonprofits and offer in-depth legal reviews of nonprofit operations through the Legal Assessment Program. Additionally, lawyers may volunteer with the Pro Bono Consultation Series, which offers an opportunity to assist a nonprofit on discrete topics such as policy review in a clinic-style setting
• The Legal Clinic for the Homeless program provides legal assistance to the homeless at eight shelter locations. Lawyers are also invited to join the Legal Clinic Panel, composed of volunteer attorneys that handle pro bono cases with the assistance of the Clearinghouse’s resources and mentoring capacity.
• The Access to Justice Fellows Program pairs lawyers who are retired or transitioning to retirement with non-profit and legal services organizations to provide critical assistance to underserved individuals and community and public interest groups.

Malpractice Insurance: Unclear.

Training and/or mentoring: Unclear.

Estimated time commitment: Dependent upon the opportunity.

Opportunities for staff: No.

Lawyers for Civil Rights Boston

http://lawyersforcivilrights.org/get-involved/pro-bono-opportunities/

Volunteer: http://lawyersforcivilrights.org/get-involved/pro-bono-opportunities/

Contact: office@lawyersforcivilrights.org

61 Batterymarch Street
Boston, MA 02110

Phone: (617) 482-1145
Fax: (617) 482-4392

Nature of opportunity: Ranging from clinics to longer term representation.

General Information:

• Business Legal Clinics: Pro bono attorneys meet with entrepreneurs for 30-minute one-on-one sessions to respond to questions.
• Pro Bono Legal Representation: Attorneys agree to represent individual entrepreneurs on discrete business law matters. The representation is limited to the resolution of these discrete legal needs.
• Workshops on Business Legal Issues: Pro bono attorneys can work with LCR to develop curricula and conduct legal workshops to classes of entrepreneurs at collaborating community organizations on legal topics relevant to small business owners.

• Training Community Organizations: LCR also uses the service of pro bono attorneys to train staff members at collaborating organizations who work with entrepreneurs to educate them on legal issues entrepreneurs confront in the formation and operation of their businesses.

Malpractice Insurance: Unclear.

Training and/or mentoring: Unclear.

Estimated time commitment: Dependent upon the opportunity.

Opportunities for staff: No.

Massachusetts Advocates for Children (MAC)

http://massadvocates.org/volunteer/ 

Volunteer Contact: Laura Perez, (617) 357-8431 ext. 3221 or lperez@massadvocates.org.

Nature of opportunity: Dependent upon the opportunity.

General Information:

• MAC is dedicated to being an independent and effective voice for children who face significant barriers to equal educational and life opportunities. MAC’s constituency are those children who face the greatest barriers to educational success, due to disability, race/ethnicity, language and/or poverty.
• MAC seeks attorney volunteers for its helpline and to provide pro bono or low-cost services to low-income families. Intake, mentoring and case handling volunteer opportunities available.

Malpractice Insurance: Unclear.

Training and/or mentoring: Mentoring by MAC staff and private attorneys, training manuals and videos are offered.

Estimated time commitment: Dependent upon the opportunity.

Opportunities for staff: Yes.

Medical-Legal Partnership | Boston (MLP | Boston)

http://www.mlpboston.org/partner-with-us

Nature of opportunity: Ranging from research to clinics to longer term representation.  

General Information:

• MLP | Boston improves the health and well-being of vulnerable populations by supporting the screening, diagnosis, and treatment of social needs with legal solutions. With the support of a network of pro bono partners and legal aid agency peers, MLP | Boston’s team of lawyers and paralegals provides direct legal assistance to eligible patients treated at participating health care institutions.
• Contributions by these volunteers include accepting individual case referrals; “adopting” a health clinic and staffing a weekly legal clinic there; conducting research on ethics and confidentiality issues arising in the MLP model; and engaging in systemic advocacy in partnership with clinicians.

Malpractice Insurance: Unclear.

Training and/or mentoring: Unclear.

Estimated time commitment: Dependent upon the opportunity.

Opportunities for staff: Yes.

MetroWest Legal Services

https://mwlegal.org/

Volunteer: https://mwlegal.org/getinvolved/volunteer-form

MetroWest Legal Services
63 Fountain Street, Suite 304
Framingham, MA 01702

Phone: (508) 620-1830 

Nature of opportunity: Variety of opportunities offered.

General Information:

• MetroWest Legal Services provides free civil legal aid to low-income people and victims of crime. Their priority practice areas include Family Law, Housing, Homeless Advocacy, Government Benefits (including Social Security), Education, Elder Law & Immigration.

Malpractice Insurance: Unclear.

Training and/or mentoring: Unclear.

Estimated time commitment: Dependent upon the opportunity.

Opportunities for staff: Yes.

Northeast Legal Aid https://www.northeastlegalaid.org/

Volunteer: https://www.northeastlegalaid.org/volunteer

Lawrence Office
50 Island Street
Suite 203A
Lawrence, MA 01840

Nature of opportunity: Ranges from brief legal advice to longer term representation.

General Information:

• Northeast Legal Aid (NLA) helps low-income and elderly people of Northeast Massachusetts obtain justice and empowerment through skillful, creative, and persistent advocacy for systemic change and high-quality individual representation.   
• NLA offers free civil legal services to low income and elderly individuals and families in northeast Massachusetts.
• Learn more about opportunities here: https://www.northeastlegalaid.org/pro-bono-opportunities.

Malpractice Insurance: Unclear.

Training and/or mentoring: Training and mentorship provided.

Estimated time commitment: Dependent upon the opportunity.

Opportunities for staff: Yes.

PAIR Project

https://www.pairproject.org/

Volunteer: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSc4QRXrx-4MurvvcG4tFW2VUu9kWgvSU1-VJrynkuwBagRCjA/viewform?c=0&w=1

Contact: Elena Noureddine, Legal Director, enoureddine@pairproject.org

98 North Washington Street, Suite 106 ​​​​
Boston MA 02114

Phone: (617) 742-9296

Nature of opportunity: Dependent upon the opportunity.

General Information:

• Asylum program.
• Community “Know Your Rights” Program.
• Detention facilities program.
• Justice for immigrant families program.

Malpractice Insurance: Unclear.

Training and/or mentoring: Unclear.

Estimated time commitment: Dependent upon the opportunity.

Opportunities for staff: Yes.

Project Citizenship

https://projectcitizenship.org/

Volunteer: volunteer@projectcitizenship.org

4 Faneuil South Market Building 3^rd Floor

Boston, MA 02109

Phone: (617) 694-5949

Nature of opportunity: Ranging from brief advice to longer term representation.

General Information:

• Volunteer at a citizenship workshop for a few hours: help applicants review their N-400 citizenship applications for quality and accuracy.
• Represent an applicant at their naturalization interview who is seeking a disability waiver of the English and civics requirements.
• Review and revise a Disability Waiver for applicants seeking a waiver of the English and civics requirements due to a mental or physical disability.

Malpractice Insurance: Unclear.

Training and/or mentoring: Unclear.

Estimated time commitment: Dependent upon the opportunity.

Opportunities for staff: Yes.

Rian Immigrant Center

https://www.riancenter.org/

Volunteer: https://www.riancenter.org/get-involved/volunteer/

Contact: https://www.riancenter.org/who/contact-us/

One State Street
Boston, MA 02109
(617) 542-7654

Nature of opportunity: Dependent upon the opportunity.

General Information:

• The Rian Immigrant Center’s expert legal staff and pro bono attorneys offer free legal consultations at weekly legal clinics to over 2,000 immigrants, refugees, and asylees, and provide full case representation before U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) for over 600 families.
• They help low-income and under-served immigrants to gain legal status, work authorization, and to reunite their families so they can become empowered, reach stability, and move out of poverty.

Malpractice Insurance: Unclear.

Training and/or mentoring: Unclear.

Estimated time commitment: Dependent upon the opportunity.

Opportunities for staff: Yes.

South Coastal Counties Legal Services, Inc.

http://www.sccls.org/

Volunteer: http://www.sccls.org/volunteer.asp

Nature of opportunity: Ranging from full representation referrals to pro se family law workshops, consumer debt clinics, and estate planning workshops.

General Information:

• Gives free civil (non-criminal) legal help to low-income and elderly people, and victims of crime. 
• Issue areas include housing, family law, unemployment, SNAP, government benefits, SSI, elder law, bankruptcy, education law and more. SCCLS also provides group representation and community education.
• More here: https://sccls.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/PAI-Pro-Bono-Info-and-Application-2021.pdf.

Malpractice Insurance: Provided.

Training and/or mentoring: Free trainings. Reduced fee MCLEs.

Estimated time commitment: Dependent upon the opportunity.

Opportunities for staff: Yes.

Veterans Legal Services (formerly Shelter Legal Services)

https://www.veteranslegalservices.org/

Phone: (857) 317-4474
 

Volunteer Contact:  Lynn Girton,

VLS’s Pro Bono Director

Lynn@veteranslegalservices.org

Nature of opportunity: Dependent upon the opportunity.

General Information:

• Accept pro bono case referrals
• Counsel veterans at Stand Down, Yellow Ribbon events, and other periodic events
• Conduct outreach presentations at shelters and social service agencies
• Mentor less experienced attorneys

Malpractice Insurance: Provided.

Training and/or mentoring: Mentorship and support on veterans' issues provided. Free access to trainings and networking events.

Estimated time commitment: Dependent upon the opportunity.

Opportunities for staff: Yes.

Victim Rights Law Center

https://www.victimrights.org/

Volunteer: https://www.victimrights.org/pro-bono-attorneys

Contact: vrlc@victimrights.org

115 Broad Street, 3rd Floor
Boston, MA 02110

Phone: (617) 399-6720

Nature of opportunity: Dependent upon the opportunity.

General Information:

• A variety of practice areas, such as privacy rights, sexual assault protection orders, housing, immigration, employment and education.

Malpractice Insurance: Unclear.

Training and/or mentoring: Training provided.

Estimated time commitment: 10-20 hours.  

Opportunities for staff: Yes.

Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts

https://artsandbusinesscouncil.org/vla/

Volunteer Contact: Luke Blackadar, Director of Legal Services luke@artsandbusinesscouncil.org 

617-350-7600 x7016

Nature of opportunity: Dependent upon the opportunity.

General Information:

• Most VLA cases involve small business matters such as copyright, entity formation, corporate governance, and contracts.
• Some involve more “traditional” civil legal aid matters, including bankruptcy, landlord/tenant, labor and employment, immigration, family law, and tort.
• Patent opportunities also available.

Malpractice Insurance: Provided.

Training and/or mentoring: Unclear.

Estimated time commitment: Dependent upon the opportunity.

Opportunities for staff: Yes.

Volunteer Lawyers Project of the Boston Bar Association (VLP)

http://www.vlpnet.org/

(617) 423-0648

Volunteer Contact: Pro Bono Manager Miranda Black

(857) 320-6446

info@vlpnet.org

Interested volunteers should fill out the form.
 

Nature of opportunity: Ranging from short-term projects to longer term representation.

General Information:

• VLP offers a variety of volunteer opportunities, from case handling to short-term projects (including Limited Assistance Representation court projects, clinics, and advice hotlines, so that volunteers can sign up for a discrete block of time on a particular day and the commitment does not extend beyond that day).

Malpractice Insurance: Provided.

Training and/or mentoring: Provided.

Estimated time commitment: Dependent upon the opportunity.

Opportunities for staff: No.

American Bar Association Free Legal Answers Program – New Hampshire (Virtual Advice Clinic)

https://nh.freelegalanswers.org/

Volunteer Attorney Registration:

https://nh.freelegalanswers.org/Attorneys/Account/Agreement

Nature of opportunity: Virtual legal clinic.

General Information:

• Qualifying users post their civil legal question to their state's website. Users will then be emailed when their question receives a response.
• Attorney volunteers, who must be authorized to provide pro bono assistance in their state, log in to the website, select questions to answer, and provide legal information and advice.
• Volunteer attorneys will not answer criminal law questions.

Malpractice Insurance: Provided.

Training and/or mentoring: When you register as a volunteer, you can watch a brief video training before getting started.

Estimated time commitment: Completely up to the volunteer.

Opportunities for staff: No.

Disabilities Rights Center-New Hampshire

http://www.drcnh.org/index.html

Volunteer: Contact Pamela Phelan, Litigation Director, pamelap@drcnh.org

Contact: mail@drcnh.org

64 North Main Street, 

Suite 2, 3rd Floor

Concord, NH 03301-4913

Phone: (603) 228-0432

Nature of opportunity: Virtual legal clinic.

General Information:

• The Disabilities Rights Center (DRC) is dedicated to eliminating barriers existing in New Hampshire to the full and equal enjoyment of civil and other legal rights by people with disabilities.
• DRC-NH is always looking for opportunities to partner with law firms to advocate for the rights of people with disabilities in individual or class action litigation, investigations of suspected incidents of neglect or abuse, and policy development.

Malpractice Insurance: Unclear.

Training and/or mentoring: Unclear.

Estimated time commitment: Dependent upon the opportunity.

Opportunities for staff: Yes.

Lawline

https://www.nhbar.org/legal-services-programs/lawline/

(603) 224-6942

Nature of opportunity: Short term telephonic advice.

General Information:

• Volunteer attorneys are available to answer your legal questions through Lawline, the Bar’s free telephone legal advice service.
• Lawline is held on the SECOND Wednesday of each month from 6–8 p.m. 

Malpractice Insurance: Unclear.

Training and/or mentoring: When you register as a volunteer, you can watch a brief video training before getting started.

Estimated time commitment: Two-hour time commitment.

Opportunities for staff: No.

Legal Advice & Referral Center (LARC)

https://nhlegalaid.org/about/legal-advice-and-referral-center

Volunteer: Call (800) 639-5290

Legal Advice & Referral Center

15 Green Street

Concord, NH 03301

Phone: (800) 639-5290

Nature of opportunity: Depends on the opportunity.

General Information:

• LARC is a private, nonprofit law firm that provides free civil legal services to eligible, low-income people in New Hampshire. LARC receives support from the federal government and provide services to clients with incomes and assets below levels which are set by Congress and tied to federal poverty guidelines.
• LARC provides referrals to private attorney volunteers.

Malpractice Insurance: Unclear.

Training and/or mentoring: Unclear.

Estimated time commitment: Dependent on the opportunity.

Opportunities for staff: No.

Low-Income Taxpayer Project

https://www.nhbar.org/legal-services-programs/low-income-taxpayer-project/

Contact:

Low-Income Taxpayer Project
Coordinator: Barbara G. Heggie, Esq.
Call: 603-228-6028
Email: bheggie@nhbar.org

Nature of opportunity: Tax law.  

General Information:

• Created by the NH Pro Bono Referral Program, the Low-Income Tax Project helps low-income taxpayers with federal tax controversies under $50,000. A low-income taxpayer is someone whose income is not more than 250% of the federal poverty guidelines. So, a family of four making $59,625 or less qualifies for this program.

Malpractice Insurance: Unclear.

Training and/or mentoring: Unclear.

Estimated time commitment: Dependent upon the opportunity.

Opportunities for staff: No.

New Hampshire Legal Assistance

http://www.nhla.org/

Volunteer: Contact website@nhla.org

NHLA Administrative Office

117 North State Street

Concord, NH 03301

Phone: (603) 224-6942

Nature of opportunity: Ranging from brief advice to short legal services to longer term representation.

General Information:

• New Hampshire Legal Assistance (NHLA) is a private non-profit law firm with five offices which provide legal services statewide. NHLA has a proud history of aggressive, creative advocacy for low income and elderly clients in federal and state courts, as well as legislative and administrative forums. 
• Projects include: Public Benefits; Domestic Violence Advocacy Project; Housing Justice Project; Senior Law Project; and, Youth Law Project.

Malpractice Insurance: Unclear.

Training and/or mentoring: Unclear.

Estimated time commitment: Dependent upon the opportunity.

Opportunities for staff: Yes. Volunteers with all types of skills, from legal to administrative to fundraising and beyond are needed to complement the work of NHLA.

Rhode Island Bar Association’s Volunteer Lawyer Program

https://www.helprilaw.org/node/80/pro-bono-volunteer-law-program

https://ribar.com/page.aspx?id=127

Volunteer: Contact: John H. Ellis, Volunteer Lawyer Program Coordinator

Tel: (401) 421-7758 ext.103

jellis@ribar.com

Rhode Island Bar Association

115 Cedar Street

Providence, RI 02903

Nature of opportunity: Ranges from giving advice and counsel to writing a letter on behalf of a client to actual representation in court. 

General Information:

• The Rhode Island Bar Association’s Volunteer Lawyer Program/Pro Bono Project provides services to low-income clients on non-criminal civil cases.
• As a participating attorney, you are asked to accept one or two cases per year on a pro bono basis. You may specify the areas of law in which you prefer to take cases.
• You will be contacted by the VLP staff and given the background information on the client and case. You then decide whether or not to take the case. If you accept, you will meet the client directly and handle the matter to its conclusion.
• You can also provide support to Rhode Island Legal Services through the VLP.

Malpractice Insurance: Provided.

Training and/or mentoring: The Rhode Island Bar Association offers a broad range of support including: free CLE training programs and materials, free malpractice insurance to cover most pro bono cases, reimbursement for litigation costs and other out-of-pocket expenses with prior approval, and access to mentor attorneys.

Estimated time commitment: Dependent upon the opportunity.

Opportunities for staff: No. 

Rhode Island Coalition for the Homeless

https://www.rihomeless.org/

Volunteer: https://www.rihomeless.org/signup

1070 Main Street

Pawtucket, RI 02860

Tel: (401) 721-5685

info@rihomeless.org

Nature of opportunity: Depends on organization’s current needs. Clinic opportunity described below.

General Information:

• The objective of the Homeless Legal Clinic (HLC) is to serve in an outreach capacity by seeking out homeless and at-risk clients at Rhode Island shelters.
• The HLC can provide direct legal services to those who cannot afford an attorney or may be unable to travel to a legal assistance office.

Malpractice Insurance: Provided by Rhode Island Volunteer Lawyer Program (VLP).       

Training and/or mentoring: Training provided.

Estimated time commitment: Dependent upon the opportunity.

Opportunities for staff: No. 

United States District Court for the District of Rhode Island – Civil Pro Bono Program 

https://www.rid.uscourts.gov/civil-pro-bono-program

Volunteer: Contact Michael Simoncelli at (401) 752-7221 or ProBono@rid.uscourts.gov(link sends e-mail)

Nature of opportunity: Longer term representation.

General Information:

• On July 1, 2014, the United States District Court for the District of Rhode Island adopted a Plan for Pro Bono Representation in Civil Cases to provide representation to indigent defendants in a limited number of civil cases each year.
• Panel participation offers a unique opportunity to gain experience in civil litigation in federal court while providing a valuable community service.
• Attorneys seeking to join the Court’s Civil Pro Bono Panel should review the following documents before submitting an application to join the panel:

Letter from Chief Judge Smith Seeking Applications for Civil Pro BonoPanel

Plan for Pro Bono Representation in Civil Cases

Civil Pro Bono Panel Application

Guidelines for Civil Pro Bono Attorneys

Malpractice Insurance: Not provided. All Panel attorneys must, either individually or through a firm, maintain professional liability             insurance.

Training and/or mentoring: Training provided.

Estimated time commitment: Longer term representation, dependent on appointments.

Opportunities for staff: No. 

ACLU of Vermont

Volunteer: Fill out online form https://action.aclu.org/webform/vt_volunteer_signup

Contact: fschilling@cluvt.org;

 info@acluvt.org 

Phone: (802) 223-6304

Nature of opportunity: Dependent on the opportunity.

General Information:

• You’ll receive monthly updates with information about current needs.
• Choose the activities you are most excited to help with, based on how much time you can give.
• Tasks vary from month to month and there are no regular hours you must commit to.

Malpractice Insurance: Provided.

Training and/or mentoring: Volunteers must attend an orientation to learn more about the ACLU of Vermont's advocacy and community work and responsibilities when representing the ACLU at public events.

Estimated time commitment: Dependent on the opportunity.

Opportunities for staff: Yes, depending on the opportunity.

AIDS Project of Southern Vermont

http://www.aidsprojectsouthernvermont.org/who-we-are/

Volunteer: Email apsv@sover.net for information

15 Grove Street

PO Box 1486

Brattleboro, VT 05302

Phone: (802) 254-8263

324 Main Street

PO Box 4264

Bennington, VT 05201

Phone: (802) 447-8007

Nature of opportunity: Dependent on the opportunity.

General Information:

• Regional AIDS service organization providing direct services to people living with HIV/AIDS, and HIV prevention services to those at most risk in Windham, Bennington, and southern Windsor counties.
• Mission: provide direct services to those whose lives are affected by HIV/AIDS, offer education to help prevent its spread, and promote understanding within the communities served.
• Volunteers can donate time on a variety of issues including legal issues.

Malpractice Insurance: Unclear.

Training and/or mentoring: Dependent on the opportunity.

Estimated time commitment: Dependent on the opportunity.

Opportunities for staff: Yes, depending on the opportunity.

 

American Bar Association Free Legal Answers Program – Vermont (Virtual Advice Clinic)

Volunteer:

https://vt.freelegalanswers.org/Attorneys/Account/Agreement

Nature of opportunity: Virtual legal advice clinic. Attorneys can structure the opportunity as a clinic by coordinating a set time when they will answer questions.

General Information:

• Free Legal Answers is a virtual legal advice website. Qualifying users post their civil legal question to their state's website. Users will then be emailed when their question receives a response.
• Attorney volunteers, who must be authorized to provide pro bono assistance in their state, log in to the website, select questions to answer, and provide legal information and advice. Volunteer attorneys will not answer criminal law questions.

Malpractice Insurance: Provided.

Training and/or mentoring: You can register as a volunteer and watch a brief video training before getting started.

Estimated time commitment: Completely up to the volunteer.  

Opportunities for staff: No.

 

Community Justice Network of Vermont

Volunteer: Find closest center http://cjnvt.org/center/

Nature of opportunity: Restorative justice. Longer term commitment.

General Information:

• The Community Justice Centers believe in the importance and efficacy of restorative responses to conflict and crime as an alternative to traditional criminal prosecution, punishment, and retribution.
• The mission is to broaden and strengthen Vermont’s restorative practices through leadership, advocacy, education, and partnerships.
• Volunteers include victim liaisons, restorative justice panel members, and Circles of Support and Accountability (COSA) members.

Malpractice Insurance: Unclear.

Training and/or mentoring: Volunteers undergo initial training for their particular role and then have subsequent professional development trainings.

Estimated time commitment: Long time commitment. Some volunteer roles have a minimum length of one year.

Opportunities for staff: Yes.

 

Legal Services Vermont’s Pro Bono Program

Contact: Bradley Showman, Pro Bono Coordinator, at volunteer@legalservicesvt.org

(formerly volunteer@lawlinevt.org )

Volunteer: Please fill out online inquiry form

Legal Services Vermont

274 North Winooski Avenue

Burlington, VT 05402

Nature of opportunity: Pre-Screened Cases, Clinic-Based Opportunities, and Direct Referrals.  These include family law, rent escrow, asylum, bankruptcy and more.  There are several “lawyer for the day” clinics where volunteers can help clients under Vermont’s limited appearance rules and only commit for a few hours of work.

General Information:

• Legal Services Vermont’s Pro Bono Program is a comprehensive, statewide project to connect our volunteer lawyers with Vermonters in need.
• Wide range of civil issues.
• Interested advocates can sign up to work on clinics, be part of our pro bono panel, or take cases in a specific area of law. More information to orient pro bono volunteers is here.

Malpractice Insurance: Provided.

Training and/or mentoring: Volunteers are eligible to receive low-cost or free CLE training. Topics for events include, but are not limited to: foreclosure, eviction defense, public benefits, senior citizen issues and mentoring for new attorneys.

Estimated time commitment: Dependent upon the opportunity.

Opportunities for staff: Yes, the volunteer form includes paralegals and non-legal advocates.

Vermont Legal Aid

(Burlington, Montpelier, Rutland, Springfield, St. Johnsbury)

Refers pro bono volunteers to Legal Services Vermont’s Pro Bono Program, listed above.

Vermont Judiciary Environmental Division Free Legal Clinic

802-951-1740

Nature of opportunity: The environmental division offers a free legal clinic in collaboration with the Vermont Bar Association Pro Bono/Low Bono Program.

General Information:

• A free legal clinic on environmental and land use issues.
• The lawyers who staff the clinic have knowledge and experience in environmental law and land use issues.

Malpractice Insurance: Unclear.

Estimated time commitment: 30-minute clinics.

Opportunities for staff: No.

Vermont Network Against Domestic and Sexual Violence

Contact: info@vtnetwork.org

Vermont Network Against

Domestic and Sexual Violence

P.O. Box 405 Montpelier, VT 05601

Phone: (802) 223-1302

 

Nature of opportunity: Advocacy.

General Information:

• Statewide non-profit 501c3 membership organization which was founded in 1986. Members are 15 independent, non-profit organizations which provide domestic and sexual violence advocacy to survivors of violence in Vermont.
• The Network does policy and advocacy work in areas such as justice reform & transforming responses to marginalized survivors; economic justice & prevention; creating safer communities; & support for critical services.

Malpractice insurance: Likely unnecessary.

Training and/or mentoring: Unclear.

Estimated time commitment: Dependent on the volunteer.

Opportunities for staff: Yes.