Editor’s note: You’re not one of those life-time pro bono volunteers who will be recognized at the Bar Benefit next month. In fact, you’re vacillating over whether to finally take that first step to volunteer. In a recent committee discussion on how to increase pro bono activity, a member of a small firm whose area of practice did not include family law emphasized that many lawyers don’t volunteer because they don’t believe they know enough about this area of law and so don’t think they could handle cases. But his own experience was that there was a wealth of resources available, not just text and information, but helpful humans who are ready to help out. If there were a way to let wary potential volunteers know of such resources, he thought more lawyers would get involved. We asked Volunteer Lawyers Network (VLN) to tell us what “anxious pro bono rookies” could find for help if they were willing to tip-toe—or plunge—into the pro bono pool. While the resources discussed are mostly those that VLN provides, other volunteer attorney programs (VAPs) provide similar support.
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After a couple of years thinking about it, Minneapolis attorney Dave Burns took his first family law pro bono case, which was a relatively simple marital dissolution. He quickly followed up with a challenging child custody case, helping a young father gain parenting time with his daughter. Like many attorneys new to the area of family law, Dave was hesitant to take such a case—fearing an excessive time commitment, or not knowing the best response to a crisis, or both.
In the end, Dave said it took less time than he expected and he found it a thoroughly rewarding experience. “My client expressed such heartfelt thanks to me. In private practice, you just don’t experience that every day. It was unexpected to me to see what a concrete difference my services made in both of my pro bono clients’ lives. It was very rewarding to see this positive impact. At the same time, I gained valuable experience which I can apply to my practice.”
For Dave, a key factor that made the pro bono work doable was the mentor attorney, Mary Cincotta, that VLN connected him to. “My mentor attorney was tremendously helpful. It was great to have the advice from someone with hands-on experience and knowledge of the family court. I also found very valuable the disk of family law forms and instructions I was provided, and the web-site resources, which were informative and easy to use.”
Having mentors is just one of many supports available to attorneys volunteering on a family law case. Among the resources provided by the pro bono attorney programs in Hennepin County are:
• Pre-screening of cases for merit
• CLEs on issues specific to family law
• Family law boilerplate forms on disk, with instructions for how to complete them
• Mentor attorneys to advise
• Law students to conduct research and write legal memoranda
• Volunteer paralegals to assist with document preparation
• Staff support, such as filing documents at the court, or bringing proposed orders to the courthouse for the judge's review
• Family law attorneys on staff to consult with or review pleadings
• Malpractice insurance coverage
• Administrative support such as conference rooms for meetings, letterhead, use of mailing address; volunteer computer use
• Volunteer receptions attended by local judges and fellow volunteers
In addition, most volunteer attorney programs provide representation agreements tailored to pro bono (vs. paying) clients. While an attorney with a paying client knows that money will often act as a brake against a client making frivolous claims, pro bono attorneys have other ways of preventing such claims. For example, the VLN representation agreement provides that the attorney may withdraw if: “the attorney concludes there is very little chance of winning the claim but the client insists on pursuing the claim; the client has not told the truth; and if lawyer ethics prohibit the attorney from continuing to represent the client.”
Another very helpful tool for pro bono attorneys is www.projusticemn.org which is Minnesota’s online poverty law resource. Pro bono attorneys taking a case in an unfamiliar area of law can find helpful guides and forms to facilitate their volunteer work. Most VAPs also provide Web sites with relevant forms, links to statutes and rules of court and to other resources, seminar calendars, timely articles and more.
Furthermore, most VAPs work with clients to set reasonable expectations for working with their attorneys. And, if the client is not behaving in a reasonable manner, the attorney may always call the VAP to ask for some intercession. Finally, most VAPs and judges are particularly grateful for the attorneys who take family law cases. Not only do attorneys get the satisfaction of helping others, and gain excellent practice experience, their efforts are greatly appreciated. When asked regarding the importance of the volunteers to the family court bench, Judge Bruce Peterson, chief judge of Hennepin County Family Court stated, “Many people can’t afford lawyers, and often they just struggle along without a solution to their legal problems. That is unacceptable for people with family law problems. For many years we have depended on the Volunteer Lawyers Network and other pro bono lawyers to help us resolve family disputes and protect children. We greatly value the generous hearts and high quality skills of the volunteer lawyers we see here so often.”
