Thank you for your interest in volunteering with Pro Bono Partnership. To help ensure a positive experience for both our volunteers and nonprofit clients, please review the following guidelines before taking on a project.
DETERMINE ELIGIBILITY
To serve as a volunteer attorney on PBP client matters, you must be a licensed attorney in Connecticut, New Jersey, or New York, or a recent law school graduate or paralegal who is actively supervised by a licensed attorney in an employment setting. Attorneys who are licensed for less than 3 years must also have supervision from a senior licensed attorney. The supervising attorney must be on all client calls and review work product. PBP cannot directly supervise law students or recent graduates who are awaiting admission to the bar.
LEARN ABOUT OUR VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES
Complete our Become a Volunteer form online to join our mailing list. Once submitted, you will automatically receive regular email updates highlighting our latest volunteer opportunities. You can also browse active matters at any time on our website’s Volunteer Opportunities and express interest in specific projects directly through the website or by replying to our updates at volunteer@probonopartner.org.
Joining the mailing list or expressing interest does not obligate you to accept a matter. Because we are fortunate to have high volunteer participation, requesting a matter does not guarantee placement on that specific assignment.
STARTING A PROJECT
Once you express interest in a particular matter, our team will send you an email confirming whether the project is still open. If available, this email will include detailed information about the scope of the project and the parties involved so you can perform a conflict check. Please refrain from reaching out directly to the prospective client during this initial review stage.
Before officially committing to the representation, take time to review the scope carefully, ask any clarifying questions you may have, and ensure the legal issues fall squarely within your area of expertise.
Confirm that you have cleared all personal and firm/corporate conflicts of interest and obtained any necessary internal approvals from your department or firm leadership. Once you have completed these steps, simply reply to let us know you are ready to proceed, and we will formally introduce you to the client.
Once you let us know you are ready to proceed, you will receive an email introducing you to the PBP staff attorney working with the client. To kick off the engagement, your coordinating attorney will schedule an initial joint conference call with you and the client. After this kickoff call, you are free to consult and work with your client directly.
REPRESENTING A PBP CLIENT
While volunteers are expected to handle their matter independently, PBP staff attorneys remain available throughout the project to answer questions, share model forms, or consult on nonprofit governance and tax-exemption issues.
We ask that you contact us immediately if any challenges arise or if you are no longer able to devote sufficient attention to the case. If you are unable to continue with or complete a project, we are happy to take it back and reassign it to another volunteer.
Please send your PBP staff attorney copies of any significant work product, such as key legal memoranda or finalized governance documents.
Make sure to track all hours spent on the matter from day one, as you will report these back to us upon completion.
Should you bring in a colleague, notify us right away so we can update our internal records, verify their volunteer eligibility, and ensure they receive proper credit.
If your client requests help with new legal issues outside the original scope, please refer them back to PBP first; while we are happy to let you continue working together, all new matters must route through our intake process.
Throughout the engagement, remember to protect client confidentiality under Rule 1.6 of the Rules of Professional Conduct. Always obtain explicit client approval before sharing any details or highlights about your pro bono work on social media or public platforms. Volunteers must also adhere to the current rules, regulations, and ethical guidelines in their applicable jurisdictions regarding the use of Artificial Intelligence in connection with their representation of PBP clients.
All active volunteer attorneys are fully covered under Pro Bono Partnership’s malpractice insurance policy throughout their representation.
CONCLUDING A MATTER
When your representation comes to a close, notify PBP and submit your final tracked hours. Reporting your completed hours allows us to measure the full impact of our volunteer network, celebrate your hard work, and officially close out the matter in our system.