lowbono.org

The Pro Bono Legal Corps is developing quality volunteer opportunities for law students by linking them with private attorneys providing pro bono legal services.

This program will expand the legal services available to low-income and underserved communities and provide low-income persons with improved access to the legal system. This project comes at a crucial time in Minnesota, when legal services funding is being drastically cut.  The Minnesota State Bar Association is currently paying great attention to this need, devoting important resources to expanding the pool of private attorneys committed to pro bono and connecting these attorneys to agencies that use private attorneys in delivery of service. The Pro Bono Legal Corps will build on this momentum, engaging the many talented law students in Minnesota.

The Pro Bono Legal Corps is an Equal Justice Works/AmeriCorps funded project. In Minnesota, it is a joint project of the Volunteer Lawyers Network and the Minnesota Justice Foundation. One AmeriCorps/Equal Justice Works attorney has been placed with each organization.

Some Initial Project Activities

• Assess current structures for attorneys and students in Minnesota to volunteer their time
• Create and support partnerships among law students, volunteer attorneys, and the community
• Link volunteer law students to:
• Volunteer attorneys giving brief, in-person advice at Volunteer Lawyers Network Legal Clinics throughout the city
• A member of their law school's alumni in private practice to volunteer at local legal services organizations
• Attorneys in private firms performing in-house pro bono work
• Facilitate the creation of new pro bono opportunities for volunteer law students and attorneys, including a new Advice Clinic at the Family Justice Center and a new Criminal Expungement Legal Clinic at the Hennepin County Self Help Center
• Develop training materials for both attorneys and law students participating in the various projects

The Pro Bono Legal Corp Attorneys:

Martha Delaney, University of Wisconsin Law School Class of 1991, works out of the Volunteer Lawyers Network office in Minneapolis. Before joining VLN, Ms. Delaney worked in private practice and as a child support enforcement attorney in Wisconsin. Ms. Delaney received, along with her business partner, Legal Action of Wisconsin's Pro Bono Law Firm of the Year Award. Since moving to Minneapolis in 2001, she has volunteered at the Indian Child Welfare Law Center, the Crazy Horse Defense Project, and the Lincoln English Language School.

Volunteer Lawyers Network
600 Nicollet Mall, Suite 390A
Minneapolis MN  55402
(612) 752-6676 (direct line)
(612) 752-6656 (fax)
martha@hcba.org

Melissa K. Smith, University of Minnesota Law School class of 2001, works out of the Minnesota Justice Foundation office at St. Thomas University Law School. Ms. Smith was an active participant with the Minnesota Justice Foundation while in Law School, volunteering for Minnesota Advocates for Human Rights, Legal Aid, and the Asylum Law Project, as well as clerking for Southern Minnesota Regional Legal Services.  Before joining MJF, Ms. Smith worked as a Judicial Law Clerk, and was a field representative for a legal publishing company.

Minnesota Justice Foundation
229 - 19th Avenue South
Minneapolis, MN 55405
(651) 962.4859(direct line)
(612) 626-0056 (fax)
melissa@mnjustice.org