Volunteer Resources for Attorneys, Corporate Law Departments,
Paralegals, and Court Reporters Your commitment to making pro bono part of your
regular law practice can provide access to justice for those most in need.
Volunteer lawyers are an essential part of our system for delivering information
about the legal system and legal services in Texas.
There is a large spectrum of areas in which attorneys,
corporate law departments, paralegals and court reporters may volunteer,
from business law and civil litigation, to family law and public benefits
cases. We recognize that you may have specific needs
and goals for your pro bono work, however we encourage you to volunteer
with an approved legal services provider. A benefit of volunteering with
an approved legal services provider is that the clients for who you receive referrals will be pre-screened for
financial eligibility and to ensure their legal
problems can be solved by a lawyer.
Have you been thinking about volunteering for pro bono work but not sure
you’ll find a match for your skills? Concerned about case-related
costs? Free resources are available to you. While it may vary program to program, many legal
services agencies offer pro bono volunteers: - free continuing legal education (CLE) training
- training and experience (including courtroom
experience) for newer associates - malpractice insurance (through the State Bar
of Texas) AttorneysVisit www.TexasLawyersHelp.org,
a statewide website for Texas's legal services and pro bono community.
The site contains a library of reference materials, briefs, and pleadings
and a group listserv to facilitate information sharing. - Malpractice Insurance
Worried about malpractice insurance? The State Bar of Texas provides
malpractice coverage to volunteer lawyers who accept referrals involving
low-income clients or the nonprofit organizations that serve them. Most
local nonprofit legal service providers provide malpractice insurance for
their volunteers. If this is a concern, please contact the organization
for which you are considering volunteering to verify that you will be covered.
- Ethics
Lawyers with ethics inquiries may contact 800-532-3947. - TYLA
The Texas Young Lawyers Association
offers programs designed to assist Texas attorneys in their practice of
law and to provide public legal education services to Texans. For more
information, visit http://www.tyla.org/citizens.html.
- ABA
The ABA Center for Pro Bono brochure, Pro Bono Clients: Strategies for Success, outlines
eight tips to help attorneys understand and effectively serve their pro
bono clients. It also identifies resources for further reading on the topic
of working with low-income populations. ABA
Center for Pro Bono is a project
of the ABA Standing Committee on Pro Bono and Public Service.This site offers a library of materials for pro bono program administrators
and volunteers as well as technical assistance, news, and training resources.
Corporate Law DepartmentsPro Bono Institute at
Georgetown University Law Center provides information, training, and consulting
to large law firms and corporations interested in making a commitment to
pro bono. Corporate Pro Bono provides
information for in-house lawyers and their companies interested in starting or expanding
a pro bono program. ParalegalsThe Paralegal Division
of the State Bar of Texas offers paralegal assistance for pro bono cases.
Pro bono attorneys may contact Patricia Giuliano, Pro Bono Committee Chair, pgiulian@coxsmith.com.
Court ReportersThe Texas Court Reporters Association Pro Bono Program
offers court reporter assistance for pro bono cases. Pro bono attorneys
may contact Debbie Saenz, Texas Court Reporters Association, debbiesaenz@sbcglobal.net.
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