Volunteer Guidelines

The Pro Bono Partnership greatly appreciates your interest in our volunteer opportunities. We ask that you review the following guidelines before contacting us to arrange the first meeting with the client and a Partnership staff attorney:

1. Make sure that you will have no conflicts of interest.

2. Treat the client with the same dignity and respect that you would accord any other client.

3. Conduct all legal work in a timely manner and with the same degree of professionalism that you would accord any other client. A Partnership staff member will contact you periodically to see how the matter is progressing. If you find that you are unexpectedly not able to devote sufficient attention to the pro bono matter, please contact the Partnership immediately.

4. After the initial meeting with the client and the Partnership staff attorney, you may consult directly with the client. However, please feel free to consult with the Partnership to review drafts, provide model forms, consult on nonprofit management and tax exemption issues, or to offer any other assistance you may need.

5. Keep track of the amount of time you work on the matter, and when the matter is completed, please let us know the time commitment involved.

6. In order to assist the Pro Bono Partnership in leveraging the impact of services provided by volunteers, we ask that you send us copies of significant memoranda or other documents prepared in the course of your representation that could be helpful for other clients.

7. Inform the Partnership when the matter is complete.

8. In the course of providing assistance, you may determine that this is the type of project that could benefit from an additional partnership with a private law firm or in-house counsel. Factors to consider include:

• the complexity of the matter

• the amount of work involved

• the need for additional expertise, and

• deadlines.

Please let us know if you feel that partnering with other counsel would be helpful for your project.

9. The Partnership strives to offer volunteers discrete and manageable pro bono projects. Accordingly, we inform our clients that you are helping with this particular matter only, and that all subsequent requests for assistance must come through our office. Should the client contact you directly in the future with other matters, please ask them to contact the Partnership.

If any problems or questions arise in the course of representing your pro bono client, please contact the Pro Bono Partnership immediately.