For decades, federal government attorneys and legal staff have been fulfilling their professional duties and making a difference through pro bono work.
According to a 2022 report by the Legal Services Corporation, 74% of low-income households had at least one civil legal problem in the prior year—and 55% of low-income Americans who personally had a civil legal problem said those problems substantially impacted their lives in some way, including affecting things like their finances, mental health, physical health and safety, and relationships. Overall, Americans with low incomes reported not getting any or enough help for 92% of the civil legal problems that substantially impacted them.
All attorneys have a professional duty to provide legal assistance or support to those who cannot afford to pay for that help. Many state bar associations support this obligation in a variety of ways, including requesting that their attorneys report their pro bono contributions, offering their attorneys continuing legal education credit for their pro bono work, and creating special authorization for attorneys licensed in other states to do pro bono work within their jurisdiction. The Federal Government Pro Bono Program helps federal government attorneys to navigate these rules and to fulfill this professional duty.
Today, federal government attorneys regularly handle cases and projects for a wide variety of organizations, volunteer at brief advice clinics, draft wills and life planning documents for pro bono clients, provide relief on family law issues, assist Veterans with civil legal needs, and provide educational opportunities to high school students to encourage them to consider legal careers.
While the Program began in Washington, D.C., it has expanded throughout the years to have branches in numerous major cities throughout the United States, including Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Los Angeles, New York City, and San Francisco. In all these locations, committees consisting of local federal government attorneys and legal staff members work with Pro Bono Program staff to train their fellow federal government volunteers, cultivate relationships with local legal services organizations, and host volunteer-recruitment events. Regardless of location, the Program is available to assist any federal government attorney or legal staff member with finding suitable pro bono opportunities in their jurisdiction, including through resources like the Program’s Pro Bono Volunteer Guides and the DOJ Pro Bono Portal (available only to DOJ attorneys).
Throughout each year, the Program and agency internal pro bono committees host pro bono-focused events and activities, such as informational presentations, legal briefings, pro bono clinics, and case placement programs. The Program’s premier event is the annual Federal Government Pro Bono Week, which the Program has sponsored every October since 2003 with the goal of encouraging and honoring pro bono work performed by federal government attorneys and legal staff.
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