Kentucky Volunteer Lawyer Program
News
Celebrate Pro Bono!
The ABA Standing Committee on Pro Bono and Public Service is excited to announce plans for the first annual National Pro Bono Celebration. Scheduled for October 25 through 31, 2009, the National Pro Bono Celebration is designed to be a coordinated national effort to showcase the incredible difference that pro bono lawyers make to our nation, to our system of justice, to our communities and, most of all, to the clients they serve.
For more information visit www.celebrateprobono.org or contact your local pro bono office.
Thank You, Mr. Medaris!
We want to express our great appreciation to Mr. Frank C. Medaris, Hazard, Kentucky, who received the Donated Legal Services Award at the 2008 KBA Annual Convention. Mr. Medaris has been an invaluable volunteer with the Volunteer Lawyers of Appalachian Kentucky and has donated over a hundred hours to the program and, most importantly, to low-income clients in need of legal assistance.
Support the KBA New Mentoring Pilot Program
The Kentucky Supreme Court has approved a new pilot program to help new lawyers develop skills, judgment and values critical to the practice of law. A portion of that program requires the mentor to introduce the new lawyer to legal services and pro bono opportunities. The KyVLP and local pro bono programs look forward to helping participants in the Mentoring Program find opportunities. Please feel free to contact your local pro bono program or the KyVLP with any questions you may have.
Join the Move
The KyVLP and each of the local pro bono programs across the state joined together this past spring for our first statewide recruitment campaign. Over 125 new volunteers signed up with their local pro bono programs and are willing to donate their legal services to help others. Now more than ever, lawyers are needed to donate their time and efforts to those who cannot afford legal assistance. Civil legal aid programs turn away half of the people who qualify for because of the lack of funding, staff and resources to provide legal assistance needed. More people will be turned away this year because of the 66% funding cut in state appropriation funds to civil legal aid programs.
Please help make a difference in the lives of others. It will make a difference in yours.
Services for volunteer attorneys
Coordinating pro bono online! The KyVLP makes it easy for lawyers to volunteer. Lawyers can now come to this website and sign up with their local pro bono program. Signing up on this website is the same as signing up with your local program. After filling out a brief sign-up page on this website, you may receive weekly emails of persons in need of legal representation in your designated practice and geographic areas if you choose. If you prefer to be advised of volunteer opportunities by telephone, your coordinator will contact you accordingly. You are not obligated to take a case simply by signing up to receive the emails. When you are ready to take a case, simply reply to the email notice or web link. You will then be contacted for a conflicts check by your local pro bono coordinator. After clearing the conflicts check, additional information may be available to you. Once the case is completed, you will be able to close the case online as well. Try it out and let us know your opinions and suggestions so together we can help those in need.
Forms and mentors. By working through your local pro bono program, often forms are available, particularly in family law cases, to assist you. If your local program does not have the needed forms, your local coordinator may be able to find what you need by contacting the KyVLP or through another pro bono program. If need further assistance or would like to discuss a legal issue, the pro bono coordinator will try to help by finding another lawyer who practices in that particular area of law.
Court Reporter Services. The Kentucky Court Reporters Association is generously offering free services on pro bono cases. If you are in need of court reporting services on your pro bono case, contact your local legal aid office to see if members of the association are available in your area.