Every October a national celebration known as Pro Bono Week takes place. Pro Bono Week provides attorneys and law students with a chance to get give back in their communities by volunteering pro bono. Here at PSJD, we are passionate about Pro Bono Week and want to highlight some of the active pro bono opportunities on our site:

PSJD Opportunities by Region:

     Mid-Atlantic:

• Volunteer Attorney, National Law Center on Homelessness & Poverty, (Washington, D.C.)
• Outreach, Washington Legal Clinic for the Homeless, (Washington, D.C.)

     Southeast:

• Short-Term Volunteer, Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services, (El Paso, TX.)

      Midwest:

• Volunteer Attorneys and Students, First Defense Legal Aid, (Chicago, IL.)
• Pro Bono Project Coordinator, Heartland Alliance for Human Needs & Human Rights, (Chicago, IL.)

     West Coast/Rocky Mountain:

• Pro Bono Attorney, Rocky Mountain Immigrant Advocacy Network, (Westminster, Colorado)

Outside Opportunities

In addition to PSJD opportunities, we have included other coordinated events in major cities. If you want to participate, but don’t see an event in your local area look at the American Bar Association’s comprehensive list of pro bono events organized by state by clicking here. There are thousands of events happening across the nation. A few of these events are:

     Northeast:

• Boston Bar Association (Boston, MA): Boston Bar Association has highlighted several events going on in greater Boston area. For a full list, please click here.
• NYCourts.Gov (New York): NYCourts.gov has several ways to get involved in the New York area. For a full list, please click here.
• Mass Pro Bono (Massachusetts): Mass Pro Bono has several pro bono events taking place throughout the month of October. To view their full calendar, please click here.
• Maine Volunteer Lawyers Project (Portland, Maine): This organization will be hosting a “Free Legal Answers May Kick-Off Event”. For the full details, please click here.

Mid-Atlantic:

• Washington Council for Lawyers (Washington, D.C.): Washington Council of Lawyers plans extensive Pro Bono Week events in the Washington, D.C. area. To see their full schedule of events, please click here. To see affiliated events up on their site, please click here.
• D.C. Law Students in Court Program (Washington, D.C.): This organization will be hosting a training titled “Sealing DC Criminal Records.” For full event details, please click here.

     Southeast:

• Jacksonville Area Legal Aid, Inc. (Jacksonville, FL.): This organization will host an event titled “Hurricane Recovery Pro Bono Opportunities!”, which will provide more information on how local attorneys can get involved in hurricane relief efforts. For more information, please click here.
• Houston Bar Association Legal Line (Houston, TX.): This organization is hosting an event called “Special Hurricane Relief Legal Line” where Texans impacted by Hurricane Harvey can call in with legal questions. To learn more about the event, please click here.
• Lone Star Legal Aid (Jacksonville, TX.): This organization will be hosting an event titled “Pro Bono Awards Ceremony and Cherokee County Bar Association Meeting-Recruiting Event” which will honor the Cherokee County Pro Bono Attorney of the Year. For more information, please click here.

     Midwest:

• Public Interest Law Initiative, Chicago Law School Consortium (Chicago, IL.): These organizations have joined efforts to host an event titled, “Explore the Possibilities: Public Interest Law Opportunities for Law Students”, which will provide law students in the area with more insight into public interest opportunities within the community. For more details, please click here.
• Wayne County Friend of the Court (Detroit, MI.): This organization will be hosting an event titled “PPO Affidavit Assistance Project”, which will provide aid to victims of domestic violence and stalking by helping to fill out PPO applications. For more information, please click here.
• Legal Action of Wisconsin, University of Wisconsin Law School (Madison, WI.): These two organizations have teamed up to host an event called “Housing Advice Clinic” which will assist individuals with security deposit and small claims damages against landlords. For more information, please click here.

     West Coast/Rocky Mountain:

• Practicing Law Institute (San Francisco, CA.): This organization will host an event titled “California Special Education Law 2017”, is a conference which will highlight the changes in California Special Education law that have occurred over the past year. For more information, please click here.
• Denver Bar Association -Metro Volunteer Lawyers, Denver Access to Justice (Denver, CO.): These two organizations have teamed up to host an event titled, “Get Introduced to Volunteering with Metro Volunteer Lawyers.” This event will include speakers and a training on pro bono volunteering. For more information, please click here.

If you have any questions about Pro Bono Week, please do not hesitate to reach out to us at PSJD@nalp.org. Over the next several days our social media accounts will be highlighting additional ways for attorneys and law students to get involved.