Pro Bono

Runaway and Abandoned Teens on a Rough Legal Road

As the economy nosedived and a number of struggling states sharply cut their social services budgets, the number of juveniles running away from troubled homes has soared. The number of juveniles living on their own rose by 40 percent last year, reports the New York Times in a magazine-length article.…

Oct 26, 2009 7:39 PM CDT

Miami Law Grads Get $10K Foreclosure Fellowships to Fill Legal Services Gap

New legal tactics are showing promise for some homeowners in foreclosure, if only they had lawyers to help. The shortage of foreclosure lawyers has reached “emergency proportions,” Time magazine reports. As many as 86 percent of homeowners in foreclosure in hard-hit areas last year didn’t have a lawyer, according to…

Oct 26, 2009 1:41 PM CDT

Public Interest Lawyer Says Loaned Associates Should Be Permanent Program

Deferred law firm associates are providing much-needed legal help for legal aid and public interest groups battered by a reduction in private grants. In fact, the program has proved so beneficial that at least one lawyer says it should become permanent. Law firms have paid stipends to hundreds of associates…

Oct 23, 2009 12:31 PM CDT

Faced With Foreclosure, Homeowners Can’t Get Lawyers to Help

The foreclosure crisis is also a legal crisis, a new study says. When homeowners struggling to pay their mortgages try to find lawyers help them fight to hang onto their homes, many can’t do so, reports USA Today. Hiring a private lawyer to help with the complex proceedings can easily…

Oct 6, 2009 7:05 PM CDT

Finding New Ways to Help

Dire financial conditions make the need for pro bono services even more acute

Oct 2, 2009 4:00 AM CDT

Visionary Work

Demand for free legal help surges during hard times, but at one unusual legal clinic in Chicago the demand is always great.

Oct 2, 2009 3:00 AM CDT

Legal Rebels Roundup: Beyond Jail; Int’l Pro Bono; Blogging In-House; Why Social Media?

This week at LegalRebels.com read the following profiles: Charles J. Hynes: Jail Breaker Suzanne E. Turner: Global Pro Bono Rex Gradeless: Follow the Tweeter PLUS: Q&A With Rex Gradeless on Why Social Media Matters for Lawyers Mike Dillon: Open Blog Policy

Sep 30, 2009 3:59 PM CDT

Defense Lawyers Buy Toilet Paper for Grateful Prison Inmates

Criminal defense lawyers in Birmingham stepped up to the, er, commode after learning that officials at the local Jefferson County Jail were severely rationing toilet paper. They donated not only 2,700 rolls of TP for the facility’s 1,200 inmates but soap and other supplies for the cash-strapped lockup, reports the…

Sep 22, 2009 6:02 PM CDT

ABA Group Launches Pro Bono Website on Domestic Violence

The ABA Commission on Domestic Violence this week announced the first national online directory of resources for attorneys seeking to help victims on a pro bono basis. The new website includes a directory of national programs and the types of services they provide. It also points volunteer attorneys to pro…

Aug 21, 2009 12:06 AM CDT

Holland, Hogan, Skadden Help Win Sailors’ Freedom in Norfolk Four Case

Three sailors in the controversial Norfolk Four case have won their freedom, with aid from three law firms working pro bono on the matter for the last five years. On Thursday, Virginia Gov. Tim Kane granted conditional pardons to the men, who claim their confessions to the crime were coerced,…

Aug 7, 2009 11:34 AM CDT

NJ Attorney General Seeks Unemployed Lawyers Willing to Work for Free

The New Jersey Attorney General’s office is battling the effects of a hiring freeze with a new internship program for unemployed lawyers and law grads. Previously, the program hired only law students, the New Jersey Star-Ledger reports. Under the new, expanded program, licensed lawyers could handle some trial work, conduct…

Jul 15, 2009 3:45 PM CDT

Quintuple Murder Charges Dropped Against Men Imprisoned 20 Years

Marvin Reeves and Ronald Kitchen walked out of a Chicago courthouse free men yesterday after the Illinois Attorney General’s Office dropped the quintuple murder charges against the men, who have spent the last 20 years in prison. Assistant Attorney General Richard Schwind told Criminal Court Presiding Judge Paul Biebel on…

Jul 8, 2009 10:25 PM CDT

Jenner & Block Ranked Top Pro Bono Law Firm

Jenner & Block is the top pro bono law firm, according to a new survey of lawyer hours devoted to free legal services. Jenner & Block was top-ranked by American Lawyer for two years in a row, according to a law firm press release. The average time devoted to pro…

Jul 6, 2009 1:54 PM CDT

Aid in disasters

The ABA is teaming up with the Legal Services Corp., the national Legal Aid & Defender Association, and Pro Bono Net on a website to help disaster victims locate legal assistance. National Disaster Legal Aid, at disasterlegalaid.org, is a central resource for legal aid and pro bono lawyers across the…

Jul 2, 2009 12:40 AM CDT

Judge Warns Firms: Be Sure to Supervise Pro Bono Counsel

A Bronx trial judge used a divorce case as an opportunity to warn law firms that they ought to be more careful when sending inexperienced lawyers to do pro bono legal work. The caution came from Acting Supreme Court Justice Ellen Gesmer, who granted a woman’s motion to void a…

Jun 18, 2009 1:11 PM CDT