Pro Bono Opportunities for Central Ohio Attorneys

Click here for a list of the most recent attorneys who have heeded the call to do pro bono through the Columbus Bar.

Attorneys who provide services through the Columbus Bar Association and the Columbus Bar Foundation help those in need in every walk of life.

Columbus Bar Lawyers for Justice (LFJ)

Attorneys can volunteer for two cases or 20 hours each year to provide civil legal services for low income clients in various areas, including administrative law, bankruptcy, consumer, non-profit corporations, landlord/tenant, personal injury, wills, powers of attorney, etc. Click here for more information.

Community Refugee and Immigration Service (CRIS) Pro Bono Project

Volunteer attorneys assist immigrants (including refugees and asylees) with various legal problems confronting them in Central Ohio and their new country. Click here for more information.

Legal Aid Referral Project (LARP)

Volunteer attorneys accept referrals from Legal Aid of low-income clients seeking assistance in civil matters, including landlord/tenant, divorce, custody, bankruptcy, social security, personal injury, consumer, workers’ compensation, probate, etc. matters. Click here for more information.

LFJ Volunteer Guardian Panel

Attorneys can assist court-appointed guardians perform their responsibilities. Volunteer attorneys review the legal paper work associated with the guardianship appointment, file the application and attend the hearing as the attorney of record for the guardian. Click here for more information.

Civil Legal Assistance for Soldiers and Sailors

The Columbus Bar Association has a network of attorneys, educated in the special protections afforded under military law, who provide free legal assistance to men and women in the military. Legal assistance is provided in a variety of areas, including family law, debtor-creditor, real estate, bankruptcy, landlord-tenant disputes, probate and estate planning, employment rights, and civil litigation.

Columbus Bar Homeless Project

Attorneys spend four evenings each year visiting one of four area homeless shelters or two domestic violence shelters to offer brief advice and counsel to residents referred by the shelters' staff. The project is staffed so that two attorneys visit each of the four shelters each week together. Click here for more information.

Interfaith Legal Services

Working with clergy in local communities, Interfaith Legal Services is establishing pro bono clinics in various Ohio communities where volunteer lawyers can meet with low-income individuals with legal problems. Clergy support the project by providing space, and by recruiting lawyers and clients. Clinics are currently operating in Belmont, Delaware, Fairfield, Franklin, Licking, Pickaway, Richland, Summit and Tuscarawas counties, and several more in the works. The project is supported by the Ohio Legal Assistance Foundation and Southeastern Ohio Legal Services. For more information, contact Katie Crates at 614/221.7201, ext. 114.

Court-Appointed Guardian Ad Litem Program

Attorneys can volunteer to be a court-appointed Guardian Ad Litems in domestic and juvenile cases in Franklin County. To assist unmarried partners in custody disputes. In order to volunteer, attorneys must first attend a three-hour training program concentrating solely on the duties of a Guardian Ad Litem. Attending (or viewing a video of ) an Ohio-approved Continuing Legal Education course about Guardians Ad Litem automatically qualifies the attorney for eligibility to volunteer. After completing the training, a letter verifying completion of the training and requesting placement on a list of eligible attorneys is sent to the Domestic Administrative Magistrate or the Juvenile Assistant Court Director. The attorney will then be placed on the Court’s guardian ad litem list and become eligible for appointment. See Rule 15 of the Franklin County Court of Common Pleas Domestic Division Rules of Practice or Rule 27 of the Franklin County Court of Common Please Domestic Division, Juvenile Branch Rules of Practice. The time commitment varies from case to case. For more information, contact Don Martin, Juvenile Assistant Court Director, at 614/462.3396.

Pro Bono Tenants Advocacy Project

This project provides in court assistance on first causes of action (possession) to low income clients who are being evicted by their landlord. Advocates negotiate on behalf of clients to avoid a judgment and/or an eviction on their record. Most matters are resolved at the initial hearing with an occasional need for counsel to make a second appearance.

Can't volunteer but want to help?

Although our volunteers donate hundreds of thousands of dollars of legal services annually, the Columbus Bar needs funds to operate the program, identify and interview clients, organize training seminars, pay for liability insurance and interpreters, etc. Your financial support is greatly appreciated. Please make checks payable to the Denis Murphy Fund of the Columbus Bar Foundation.

For more information about pro bono programs at the Columbus Bar, please email She'lia Bolding.