ABA urges 10 hours of volunteer service to meet urgent legal needs

The American Bar Association urges attorney to commit to 10 hours of pro bono – just under a quarter of the Model Rules of Professional Conduct aspirational goal of 50 hours annually per lawyer.

The ABA suggests these opportunities:

• ABA Free Legal Answers (www.abafree legalanswers.org) is an on-line virtual legal clinic through which income-eligible clients can post civil legal questions to be answered by pro bono attorneys from their jurisdiction. Currently, 40 jurisdictions are fully live. Malpractice insurance coverage is provided..

• Evictions threaten the safety of renters and the livelihoods of landlords. A letter to the legal community from U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland provides specific steps for lawyers to volunteer.

• The ABA Pro Bono Disaster Relief Portal (https://aba.joinpaladin.com/aba-disaster-relief) is a free, centralized, sortable database  Disaster-related legal issues include landlord/tenant problems, insurance claims, FEMA claims and consumer issues such as contractor fraud.

• The ABA Afghanistan Response Project website (www.americanbar.org/advocacy/rule_of_law/afghanistan-response) is a central source of information and opportunities for lawyers to get involved in the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan..

• The ABA Commission on Immigration seeks volunteers to help Haitian migrants apply for Temporary Protected Status (TPS). Fill out the form at https://ona.salsalabs.org/tpshaitivolunteer/index.html to learn more and sign up.

• Pro Bono Matters for Children Facing Deportation (https://cilacademy.org/pro-bono/pro-bono-matters) offers pro bono opportunities nationwide.

• The Commission on Immigration provides several opportunities for pro bono work  at www.americanbar.org/groups/public_interest/immigration/pro-bono-at-the-commission-on-immigration/pro-bono-opportunities.

• The ABA Military Pro Bono Project (www.militaryprobono.org) accepts case referrals from military attorneys on behalf of junior-enlisted, active-duty military personnel facing civil legal issues and works to place cases with pro bono attorneys. The Project is also the platform for Operation Stand-By, through which military attorneys and other pro bono attorneys may seek attorney-to-attorney guidance.

• The ABA Death Penalty Representation Project’s (www.americanbar.org/groups/committees/death_penalty_representation/get_involved/volunteering) greatest need is for attorneys who can represent a prisoner in his or her state post-conviction proceedings. The Project occasionally has smaller, discrete matters.

• The National Pro Bono Opportunities Guide (www.probono.net/oppsguide) will assist attorneys in identifying organizations near them that could use pro bono volunteers in civil legal assistance.)