Pro Bono Mentor
Mentorship is a critical part of training new pro bono volunteers and ensuring pro bono clients receive excellent representation. For that reason, the State Bar of Texas developed the Pro Bono Mentor Match to help connect pro bono attorneys who need a mentor with experienced attorneys who are willing to mentor them on a pro bono case. Through mentoring, volunteer attorneys who lack experience in a particular legal area rely on the advice and counsel of more experienced attorneys to ensure competent representation of pro bono clients.
A mentor can help by:
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Reviewing documents
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Discussing professional and ethical issues
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Providing procedural and legal advice
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Assisting in court or depositions
Attorneys participating in the Pro Bono Mentor Match, or serving as a mentor with another approved program, can earn up to 5 hours of participatory MCLE credit, including one hour of ethics, annually, for time spent in consultations between the mentor and the mentee.
Individual attorneys who receive MCLE credit must serve as a pro bono mentor or mentee under the auspices of a provider of legal services to the poor, which meets at least one of the following criteria:
(a) a Texas recipient of Legal Services Corporation funds;
(b) a recipient of Texas Access to Justice Foundation funds; or
(c) a Texas non-profit, governmental entity, or bar association that provides civil legal services if at least 50 percent of the services provided are free and benefit Texans whose income is 200 percent of federal poverty guidelines or less.
If you are looking to become a Pro Bono Mentor, please find the Pro Bono Mentor Match Application here.
To claim MCLE credit for serving as a pro bono mentor or mentee an attorney must also complete an MCLE-approved training consisting of substantive legal training that helps to prepare him or her to handle pro bono cases or to manage professional responsibility challenges.
If you are looking to submit an application seeking MCLE credit as a mentor/mentee, please find the Pro Bono Mentor CLE Application here. LAD will award credit to applicants that fulfill all requirements. Incomplete forms will not be accepted.