Securing pro bono legal services in New York

This guest blog was written by Hayley Samuelson, Storytelling Officer at Catchafire.

As an organization that connects nonprofits with pro bono services, we were particularly interested in attending the Lawyers Alliance of New York’s Pro Bono Day Panel because providing pro bono legal services is not our specialty.

The Lawyers Alliance connects nonprofits in need of legal support with lawyers who can help them with issues ranging from intellectual property to real estate to employment classifications. You can learn more about the services they provide here. They also provide a series of affordable workshops and seminars for nonprofit managers.

If you’ve identified a problem that you need help with or are unsure if the Lawyers Alliance can help, feel free to call their resource call line 212.219.1800 x 224. You can leave a message detailing your issue and they will get back to you with the appropriate next steps. Once you apply for services and match with your pro bono attorney, they’ve laid out a few guidelines for working with them.

Remember to:

• Be responsive. Return all of your volunteer’s emails and calls within a few days.
• Provide materials upfront. Keep the lines of communication open to ensure that the volunteer receives all important documents and information that fits within their timeline.
• Update your volunteer. If you are leaving or expect to be away, make sure the volunteer is aware.
• Don’t wait until it is too late for them to help. If you have a problem, reach out immediately.
• Be respectful of the volunteer’s time and don’t forget to thank them.

If you have any other questions about legal services, reach out to the Lawyer’s Alliance!

Other legal services providers in NYC

• New York Lawyers for Public Trust
• Urban Justice Center
• Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts
• International Senior Lawyers Project

Looking for other pro bono services? Taproot can help.