Pro Bono

The Columbus Bar coordinates a numbers of Pro Bono opportunities for attorneys including:

Columbus Bar Lawyers for Justice (LFJ)

Lawyers for Justice (LFJ) is a program of the Columbus Bar Association and the Columbus Bar Foundation that was initiated in 1993. It attempts to reduce the unmet need for civil legal services among indigent residents of Central Ohio.

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.

The Legal Aid Society of Columbus

The Legal Aid Society of Columbus welcomes litigators who are interested in co-counseling on cases with Legal Aid attorneys or who have skills in an area that falls outside one of the listed projects. Contact: Dianna Parker (dparker@columbuslegalaid.org).

Legal Aid Referral Project (LARP)

The Legal Aid Society of Columbus is a private, non-profit corporation that was created by the Columbus Bar Association in 1954 and represents low-income and elderly persons in civil legal matters. Volunteer attorneys may receive referrals of low-income clients in a field of their choice from Legal Aid. Typically, this consists of low-income clients seeking assistance in civil matters, including landlord/tenant, divorce, custody, bankruptcy, social security, personal injury, consumer, workers' compensation, probate, etc. CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION.

Mediation Assistance Project

This project is a reduced fee/pro bono project. Attorneys agree to provide consultation for individuals who are participating in mediation, to review mediation agreements, and/or to memorialize mediation agreements. Referrals for these cases come from the mediation programs. For more information, see Family Law Information Clinic below. Contact: Dianna Parker (dparker@columbuslegalaid.org).

Volunteer Resource Center Consumer Project

Consumer lawyers from The Legal Aid Society of Columbus review credit card debt collection cases, and in-house volunteers at the Legal Aid Volunteer Resource Center (VRC) make referrals to pro bono attorneys for meritorious cases. The Legal Aid VRC offers a consumer CLE training, which is available in electronic form for interested volunteers. Legal Aid staff members are available for mentoring, and Legal Aid malpractice insurance extends to the pro bono attorneys' representation. The VRC is seeking volunteers for both its in-house pool and its roster of attorneys who are willing to take cases. Contact: Dianna Parker (dparker@columbuslegalaid.org).

Pro Bono Bankruptcy Project

The Legal Aid Society of Columbus and Southeastern Ohio Legal Services refer low-income individuals to a panel of pro bono attorneys for assistance with filing Chapter 7 bankruptcies. Clients must meet certain income and asset criteria (100% Federal Poverty Level; no non-exempt assets or real estate) and are then scheduled to meet with a law student from The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law Civil Legal Clinic. Students will explain the bankruptcy process generally and assist clients with document collection in preparation for their meetings with pro bono attorneys. Each attorney has agreed to handle a minimum of two cases per year. Legal Aid offers a Basic Bankruptcy CLE to interested volunteers. Contact: Dianna Parker (dparker@columbuslegalaid.org).

Columbus Bar Lawyers for Justice (LFJ) Volunteer Guardian Panel

the Lawyers for Justice Volunteer Guardian Panel was initiated by the Franklin County Probate Court to address the increasing number of requests from local nursing homes for court-appointed guardians for some of their residents. 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.

Columbus Bar Homeless Project

The Columbus Bar Homeless Project was created by the Columbus Bar Association & the Legal Aid Society of Columbus. It is funded by the City of Columbus, the Reinberger Foundation and the Yassenoff Foundation. 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.

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. CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION.

Family Law Information Clinic

This clinic meets for 1.5 hours on the first and third Thursdays each month at The Legal Aid Society of Columbus. Volunteer attorneys observe one clinic and then may teach one or more sessions throughout the year. Client materials are distributed and the teaching attorney shows and comments on a custody mediation video, discusses allocation of parental rights and child support, and concludes with a power point presentation covering divorce, dissolution, marital and separate property and legal separation. No specific legal advice is offered, nor is an attorney/client relationship established, as the purpose is to inform low-income clients about the mediation option. A related component will refer clients to attorneys at a reduced fee for: pre-mediation consultation ($50), questions during mediation ($50), evaluation of a mediated agreement before signature ($100) and drafting a court order from a mediation agreement ($100). Fees are paid directly to the attorney, and the attorney's own malpractice insurance covers this work. Contact: Dianna Parker (dparker@columbuslegalaid.org).

PACO/LASC Pro Bono Wills Clinics

Coordinated by the Paralegal Association of Central Ohio (PACO) and the Legal Aid Society of Columbus (LASC), Wills Clinics provide local senior citizens with wills and other legal documents. Volunteer attorneys and paralegals travel to senior centers and other locations throughout central Ohio. For more information, please contact Teresa Scharf, PACO Pro Bono Committee Chair, at ProBonoColumbus@gmail.com.

Low Income Taxpayer Clinic

The Low Income Taxpayer Clinic assists taxpayers who seek guidance because they are denied their much needed income tax refund or threatened with collection action by the IRS. This is a frightening and overwhelming experience for all of them. There is a great need for private attorneys to become involved in helping these applicants in whatever way possible. Attorneys can help by taking cases for individual representation to stop collection action. This program is especially well suited for transactional and corporate attorneys who desire to offer pro bono service outside of the courtroom setting. Legal Aid provides mentors, materials, support, and occasionally co-counsel to volunteer attorneys with these LITC opportunities. Contact: Megan Sullivan (msullivan@columbuslegalaid.org).

Foreclosures

Legal Aid staff review foreclosure cases and make referrals to pro bono attorneys for representing clients in foreclosure mediation. Pro bono attorneys may also take on full representation in foreclosure cases. The Legal Aid Society of Columbus offers a foreclosure mediation CLE, and Legal Aid staff members are available for mentoring. Contact: Rosalind McGary (rmcgary@columbuslegalaid.org).

Volunteer Resource Center Housing Project

VRC in-house volunteers interview clients, review eviction cases, and make referrals to pro bono attorneys for meritorious cases. Pro bono attorneys who accept referrals agree to take on both first and second causes of action in the eviction cases. Legal Aid staff members are available for mentoring, and an electronic version of the 2012 Landlord-Tenant Law CLE is available for interested volunteers. Legal Aid malpractice insurance extends to the pro bono attorneys' representation. The VRC is seeking volunteers for both its in-house pool and its roster of attorneys who are willing to take cases. Contact: Dianna Parker (dparker@columbuslegalaid.org).

Interfaith Legal Clinics (Brief Advice and Referral)

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 Clinics are supported by Southeastern Ohio Legal Services and the Legal Aid Society of Columbus. CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION.

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. CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION.

Consumer Debt Clinics

The Columbus Debt Clinic begins with a PowerPoint presentation detailing the process for a debt collection case. After the presentation, participants interested in bankruptcy information have the option to attend a break-out session with a bankruptcy attorney. All attendees, who so desire, are able to meet with an attorney one-on-one to write an answer and ask case-specific questions. CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION.

Franklin County Municipal Court Pre-filing Mediation Program

Franklin County Municipal Court is seeking volunteer mediators to staff its pre-filing and rent escrow mediation program, held every other Thursday evening starting at 6:00pm. The average mediation session is two hours, but varies based the dynamic among the parties, mediator, and conflict that is the subject of the mediation. Mediators will be scheduled to mediate approximately two times per quarter, with the option to pick up additional mediations if interested. Mediators must have a minimum of 12 hours Basic Mediation Training and 2 hours of Uniform Mediation Act (UMA) Training, or equivalent course work. Mediators will be asked to observe at least one mediation and will be observed at least once before being added to the mediation roster. CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION.

Just Take One

One meeting, one letter, one phone call, or one piece of advice can make a big difference to a low-income person with a legal matter. The new Just Take One program encourages all attorneys to make a difference by providing pro bono legal representation annually to at least one individual or family that otherwise cannot afford an attorney. CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION.