Federal Government Pro Bono Program Volunteer Guide: New York City

Legal Services Organizations

Access Justice Brooklyn

203 Jay Street, Suite 300, Brooklyn, NY 11201 
www.accessjusticebrooklyn.org 
Contact Eloy Ruiz, Pro Bono Coordinator, 718-624-3894 
https://www.accessjusticebrooklyn.org/volunteer-sign-up/

Access Justice Brooklyn assists Brooklyn residents who are financially eligible and are in need of legal assistance.

Opportunities Offered:

• Direct Representation: The Brooklyn Bar Association Volunteer Lawyers Project offers opportunities for representation in family law, foreclosure intervention, and guardianship for intellectually or developmentally disabled individuals. Brooklyn VLP provides the pro bono attorney with support throughout the case, including templates, resources, and supervision. In addition, experienced practitioners in each of the referral areas serve as mentors to all pro bono attorneys.
• Uncontested Divorce Program: Pro bono attorneys assist pro se litigants in filing for uncontested divorces. This program occurs during normal business/court hours.
• Prepare Wills, Health Care Proxies, and Powers of Attorney: Attorneys prepare these life planning documents for people who cannot afford to pay for them.
• Civil Legal Advice & Resource Office (CLARO): Brooklyn VLP's CLARO project is similar to other borough CLARO projects in that it is a weekly advice-only clinic for pro se defendants with consumer debt cases. This project operates on Thursdays from 2:30-4:30 p.m. and from 5:00-7:00 p.m. Attorneys not admitted in NY may participate in this program.
• National Grid Foundation Senior Legal Education and Assistance Program (LEAP): Pro bono attorneys visit senior centers in Brooklyn to discuss the importance of Advanced Directives, i.e. Healthcare Proxies, Living Will, Powers of Attorney and Wills. Attendees wishing to execute a Healthcare proxy will be able to do so with the attorney.

Does the organization offer malpractice insurance? Yes.

Training: Access Justice Brooklyn provides CLE trainings and training manuals to pro bono attorneys for all opportunities.

Supervision/Mentoring: The supervising attorney is on-site during clinics to assist pro bono attorneys. Access Justice Brooklyn attorneys provide supervision and mentoring as needed.

City Bar Justice Center

42 West 44th Street 
New York, NY 10036 
(212) 382-4713 
Pro Bono Opportunities Contact: Cassandra Celestin 
CCelestin@nycbar.org 

The City Bar Justice Center (CBJC), the largest division of the City Bar Fund which is the nonprofit affiliate of the New York City Bar Association, furthers access to justice by addressing unmet civil legal needs of New Yorkers struggling with poverty and systemic socioeconomic barriers. CBJC mobilizes law firms, corporate legal departments, and other legal institutions to provide pro bono legal services; educates the public on pertinent legal issues; fosters strategic community relationships; and impacts public policy. CBJC’s dozen civil justice projects, including the largest civil legal hotline in New York, are led by a staff of dedicated attorneys and professionals who each year, provide more than 24,000 New Yorkers with high-quality civil legal services through brief advice and information, referrals, and both limited scope and extended representation.

Opportunities Offered:

• Cancer Advocacy Project (CAP): CAP provides cancer patients, survivors, and their families with legal information and pro bono assistance on issues relating to advance directives, wills, health insurance appeals and cancer-related employment discrimination.
• Civil Court Project: This project provides brief services assistance to unrepresented litigants with small claims, name change, consumer debt, and other civil matters through Brooklyn and Manhattan Civil Court’s Help Center.
• Elderlaw Project (ELP): ELP aims to maintain the dignity and independence of elderly people by providing clients with end-of-life planning assistance. ELP also provides community education on areas of law that are important to seniors.
• Homeowner Stability Project (HSP): HSP provides legal assistance to homeowners threatened with the loss of their home including foreclosure and predatory practices.
• Legal Clinic for the Homeless (LCH): LCH provides advice, advocacy, and representation to residents of homeless shelters on a variety of matters related to public benefits.
• Monday Night Law Program: This program is provided by the New York City Bar Association’s Monday Night Law/Moderate Means Committee with support from the New York City Bar Legal Referral Service and the City Bar Justice Center. Volunteers provide 30-minute consultations to answer legal questions in landlord/tenant housing law, family law, small business matters, consumer, and employment law.
• Neighborhood Entrepreneur Law Project (NELP): NELP provides legal assistance to microentrepreneurs with matters such as incorporation, contracts, and intellectual property rights to ensure their businesses start off on sound legal footing.
• Planning and Estates Law Project (PELP): PELP provides legal advice and assistance to New Yorkers with matters pertaining to end-of-life planning, wills and estates.

Does the organization offer malpractice insurance? Yes.

Training: Each project is directed by an attorney who provides substantive law training relevant to the project. CBJC trainings are a prerequisite for all volunteer attorneys and occur when a volunteer agrees to take on a case.

Supervision/Mentoring: Supervision and mentoring are provided for all pro bono opportunities.

Other Resources: Pro bono CLE credit is available for qualifying pro bono work. Substantive CLE credit may be available for trainings depending on the project. Paralegals and attorneys licensed in states other than New York may be able to participate in City Bar Justice Center’s pro bono programs on a case-by-case basis depending on the project director’s supervisory availability and project needs. 

Justice Resource Center

122 Amsterdam Avenue, Room 504A 
New York, NY 10023 
(212) 580-5905 
Contact: Debra Lesser, Dlesser@schools.nyc.gov

The Justice Resource Center is New York City’s leading provider of law-related and civic education programs and curricula for the school-age population. The Justice Resource Center offers a wide array of comprehensive programming, professional development, and curriculum materials, accompanied by school-level implementation support. The Justice Resource Center’s dynamic, student-centered civic education programs cultivate future leaders, as students from elementary to high school take ownership of their rights and responsibilities as citizens. The Justice Resource Center’s comprehensive law-related curricula, which focus on the practical knowledge students will take with them into their post-secondary education, are ideal for both existing and start-up law academies.

Opportunities Offered:

• New York High School Mock Trial Tournament: This program is organized by the New York State Bar and coordinated by the Justice Resource Center in NYC. Pro bono attorneys are sought to serve as coaches to the student competitors and judges for the trials. Competitions are held in the evenings on zoom until it is safe for in-person matches in the federal courthouses.
• MENTOR Moot Court: The Justice Resource Center, in partnership with Fordham law school administers a citywide high school MENTOR moot court competition. Lawyers serve as coaches or judges. Judging is during the day at Fordham Law school. Coaching takes place after- school hours. To date, this has been held virtually.
• Judiciary and the Arts. Judiciary and the Arts is a project of the Justice For All: Courts and the Community initiative in partnership with the Justice Resource Center (“JRC”) and the New York City Department of Education Office of Arts and Special Projects (“OASP”). The Matisse Foundation has provided support to the JRC for this project. The goals of the project are to introduce students to the organization and functions of the federal judiciary, and to encourage students to learn about the historic and present-day role of the federal courts in the development of the law in the United States through the visual arts. Projects include designing a modern courthouse, developing art work based on equal protection clause or the oath of office. Lawyers could serve as virtual guest speakers or can assist the teacher with legal resources.
• We The People: The Citizen and The Constitution. The primary goal of We the People: The Citizen and the Constitution is to promote civic competence and responsibility among the nation’s elementary and secondary students. What makes the program so successful in reaching that goal is the design of its instructional program, including its innovative culminating activity, the simulated congressional hearing. The instructional program enhances students’ understanding of the institutions of American constitutional democracy. At the same time, students discover the contemporary relevance of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. 
  
  The JRC serves as the New York State coordinator of the national We The People program. Lawyers could serve as judges for the statewide competition that is held each year in January. Lawyers receive questions in advance enabling students to display their in-depth understanding of the Constitution.
• Guest Speakers. The Law Cluster schools invite lawyers in-person or virtually to the classroom to present on a topic related to the law curriculum. Visits are 40 minutes or, if more than one class, 80 minutes. Lawyers can also serve on designated career days.

Does the organization provide malpractice insurance? Not applicable.

Training: Orientation sessions are held for coaches and judges for the mock trial program.

Other Resources: The Justice Resource Center provides curriculum materials for pro bono attorneys.

Legal Services NYC

40 Worth Street, Suite 
606 New York, NY 
10013 (646) 442-3600 
http://www.legalservicesnyc.org  
Contact: Adam Heintz, aheintz@ls-nyc.org, 646-442-3582

The neighborhood offices of Legal Services for New York City (“LSNYC”) provide representation in civil legal matters to poor persons who meet the financial eligibility and other guidelines established by the Legal Services Corporation and other grantors.

Opportunities Offered:

• Housing Repair Actions: Thousands of low-income New Yorkers live in apartments that are in a state of shocking disrepair: without functioning appliances, exposed to wind and water, insufficiently heated, or infested with mold and vermin. Landlords who refuse to fix these conditions are in violation of the New York City Building Code. Yet virtually no tenants who attempt to enforce that code can afford an attorney. These cases provide experience for attorneys seeking experience arguing in court, negotiating with opposing counsel, drafting papers, and working with clients. They also have a major impact on client’s lives. Matters usually take no more than 25 hours, and, if an early settlement is achieved, may take less than 10. LSNYC will mentor and is happy to co-counsel.

Does the organization offer malpractice insurance? Yes.

Training: Appropriate training is provided for each project and conducted by LSNYC staff attorneys.

Supervision/Mentoring: Pro bono attorneys are supervised and mentored by LSNYC staff attorneys.

Other Resources: LSNYC offers sample materials for pro bono attorneys to use, as well as office space and Westlaw access when possible.

Mobilization for Justice, Inc.

100 William Street, 6th Floor 
New York, New York 10038 
http://mobilizationforjustice.org/ 
Contact: Jacqueline Adorno, jadorno@mfjlegal.org, 212-417-3806

In New York City, approximately 200,000 children are being raised by grandparents, other relatives and friends because their biological parents are unable or unwilling to care for them. By formalizing these relationships, Mobilization for Justice promotes children’s wellbeing and helps to secure additional supports for caregivers, all of which prevents children from entering the foster care system. In addition to handling custody, guardianship, and visitation cases, MFJ attorneys train private pro bono lawyers from law firms and corporations to provide assistance in adoption proceedings.

Opportunities Offered:

• Adoption/Kinship Caregiver Cases - represent grandparents and other family or friends caring for non-biological children outside the foster care system, in adoption proceedings. These cases are most commonly filed in the Family Courts of Bronx and Brooklyn. The representation generally requires 7 to 10 hours of work per month; an adoption can be finalized within a year. Tasks: interview clients; prepare petitions; conduct family court hearings.
• Children’s Rights/Special Education - represent parents of students with disabilities seeking appropriate education placement and services for their child. Pro bono opportunities include participating in a clinic to counsel parents on a discrete special education topic (3-5 hours training plus 2-5 hour commitment for clinic), representation of a parent at an Individualized Education Program (IEP) meeting (training plus 8 hours+ time commitment), and representing parents in an administrative due process hearing (training plus 40 hours+ time commitment). Tasks: interview clients and potential witnesses; document review; analyze legal issues; draft due process complaints; negotiate with the DOE; conduct administrative hearings.

Does the organization offer malpractice insurance? Yes.

Training: Periodic training sessions providing an overview of relevant law are available.

Supervision/Mentoring: An MFJ mentor will be assigned to each pro bono matter for ongoing support. MFJ attorneys make themselves available to review litigation papers and critical correspondence before filing, as necessary.

Other Resources: MFJ offers pro bono attorneys sample forms, office space for client meetings and Westlaw access if needed (although independent legal research likely not necessary in most cases). Tailored resources are also available on http://www.probono.net/ny.

Small Claims Arbitrators Association

111 Centre Street, Rm 1258 
New York, NY 10013 
917-482-3593 
www.smallclaimsarbitrators.org 
Contact: Darren Marks, darren@smallclaimsarbitrators.org

The Association of Arbitrators of the New York City Civil Court, Small Claims Part was founded in 1970 and is the only bar association that exists solely to service the court system. The volunteer attorneys come from every area of practice including corporate, criminal, government, and private practice. Each arbitrator brings a unique perspective and experience to the court. Arbitrators handle all types of matters from small corporate claims to dry cleaning disputes. The main purpose of the association is to provide education and support to the nearly 2000 lawyers who serve as pro bono arbitrators in the New York City Civil Court, Small Claims Part.

Opportunities Offered:

• Arbitration: Join the over 2800 Small Claims Court Arbitrators in New York City who preside over 95% of the cases heard in the Small Claims Court. With the consent of the parties, a volunteer Arbitrator hears and decides everyday New Yorkers' Small Claims disputes. Arbitrators handle all types of matters from small corporate claims to dry cleaning disputes.

Does the organization offer malpractice insurance? Not required as this opportunity is a service to the court, not a client.

Training: Attorneys interested must be admitted to the New York State bar at least five years and complete training consisting of a two-hour class (in which you earn two free CLE credits) plus one or two evenings observing an experienced arbitrator. Once you have completed the training, you will be sworn in and may choose where and how often you would like to sit throughout the year.

Supervision/Mentoring: The supervising attorney is on-site to assist pro bono attorneys.

NOTE: Volunteers must join the Association, which has an annual dues requirement.

Queens Volunteer Lawyers Project, Inc.

90-35 148th Street 
Jamaica, NY 11435-4097 
(718) 291-4500 ext. 225 
www.qcba.org/pro-bono 
Contact: Mark Weliky, MWeliky@QCBA.org

The Queens Volunteer Lawyers Project (QVLP) is a not-for-profit legal assistance program sponsored by the Queens County Bar Association, is dedicated to providing attorneys, on a pro bono basis, to residents of Queens County who cannot afford to retain a private lawyer to resolve their civil legal problems.

Opportunities Offered:

Volunteer lawyers assist indigent persons:

• Defendants in Consumer Debt Cases
• Homeowners in Foreclosure
• To secure uncontested divorces
• Various other civil law matters such as the Drafting & Execution of a Simple Will

Civil Legal Advice & Resource Office (CLARO) - Consumer Debt Clinic: This CLARO project is similar to other borough CLARO projects in that it is a weekly advice-only clinic for pro se defendants with consumer debt cases. The Queens clinic operates on Fridays.

Does the organization offer malpractice insurance? Yes.

Opportunities for Paralegals and Attorneys not licensed in NY: There are administrative and clerical tasks which paralegals can volunteer to do. Attorneys licensed in other states may be able to do intake/triage with people seeking assistance at the CLARO clinic.

Training: QVLP provides CLE training to pro bono attorneys utilizing DVD and training manuals in the areas of consumer debt and foreclosure. Recorded materials also are available in the other areas of law offered by QVLP. Training manuals and materials are available for uncontested divorces. CLE credits are available for training and for services provided. Pro bono attorneys can earn one CLE credit for every two-50 minute hours of service, up to a maximum of ten service hours per biennial reporting period.

Supervision/Mentoring: The Pro Bono Coordinator and experienced attorneys are available to support pro bono attorneys. New pro bono attorneys can also shadow experienced pro bono attorneys before working on their own.

VOLS

40 Worth Street, Ste. 820 
New York, NY 10013-2904 
212-966-4400 
www.volsprobono.org  
Contact Adama Fonah, afonah@volsprobono.org

Volunteers of Legal Service (VOLS) harnesses the power of New York City’s legal community and neighborhood-based groups to provide free, civil legal services when and where they are needed most. VOLS’ public interest staff attorneys work alongside 1,000+ pro bono lawyers and collaborate with 200+ community-based groups to address critical legal challenges in our communities. We serve New Yorkers who are unable to access legal support due to low household income or underserved socio-economic background.

Opportunities Offered:

• Senior Law Project – Volunteers attorneys assist clients with drafting and executing wills, powers of attorney, advance directives, and other future planning documents. Mentors are available to review drafts and final documents. An in-person meeting to execute the documents is required. Attorneys may work individually or with co-counsel, but at least one of the counsel must be a NY Bar member. Volunteer notaries and witnesses are needed to assist with the execution of the documents.

Does the organization offer malpractice insurance? Yes.

Training: VOLS provides trainings, both live and recorded online, and training manuals to pro bono attorneys.

Supervision/Mentoring: The supervising attorney is available to advise pro bono attorneys. VOLS attorneys provide supervision and mentoring as needed in representational matters. 

Volunteer Lawyers for Justice

P.O. Box 32040 
Newark, New Jersey 07102 
(973) 645-1951 ext. 104 
http://www.vljnj.org/become-a-pro-bono-volunteer 
Contact: Diana Onuschak, donuschak@vljnj.org

Volunteer Lawyers for Justice (“VLJ”) is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit legal assistance program. VLJ’s mission is to improve the lives of economically-disadvantaged adults, children, and families in New Jersey by empowering them with tools, advice, and pro bono representation with the goal of securing fair and equal treatment within the legal system.

Opportunities Offered:

VLJ provides pro-bono attorneys with a variety of opportunities. The pro-bono attorney can take a full representation case, volunteer at a limited-scope legal clinic, become a mentor, and more.

• Full Legal Services: VLJ provides attorneys the opportunity to represent clients who experience a variety of legal issues, such as: divorces, landlord-tenant issues, children facing issues with special education services. VLJ also caters to assisting women, children, families, veterans, and human trafficking victims and also provides services to families in Newark’s South Ward – specifically assisting families who face eviction, special education services, or family law issues. Some of the programs are listed below.
  • Children’s Representation Program – VLJ pairs pro bono attorneys with parents and guardians who struggle to obtain special education services the child requires. The attorney would compel the school district to act through negotiation settlements or providing representation at the Office of Administrative Law.
  • Divorce Program: Pro bono attorneys file the initial complaint paperwork, help prepare pleadings, collect necessary documentation, and file cases with the court.
  • Tenancy Program: Pro bono attorneys advise tenants who are behind in rent, who are facing eviction, and/or tenants who are experiencing habitability issues. There are virtual clinics and remote representation options.

Does the organization offer malpractice insurance? Yes. VLJ provides malpractice insurance in the amount of $1,000,000 on all pro bono cases referred by the office.

Opportunities for Paralegals and Attorneys not licensed in NJ: Non-attorneys can provide assistance in a number of ways, such as help VLJ clients complete paperwork and interpretation. Attorneys licensed in other states can volunteer with VLJ. Before starting, the attorney must send the following to VLJ: (1) letter of good standing from the state in which you are admitted; and (2) proof of graduation (degree/transcript)

Training: VLJ hosts regular trainings on a variety of legal issues. VLJ also maintains a library of previous trainings that volunteers can access through the Volunteer Resource Portal.

Supervision/Mentoring: The staff attorneys at VLJ are available to support pro bono attorneys.

Other Resources: VLJ provides pro bono attorney with a referral network for pro bono and low-cost services, including interpreters, process servers, court reporters, legal research platforms, law students who can provide research and support, and experts. Resources are limited, so VLJ cannot guarantee that client will have every service needed during the course of a case, but VLJ will help find alternatives. VLJ also has a conference room space available for meetings with clients in their Newark office.