Pro Bono Civil Legal Service

PRO BONO CIVIL LEGAL SERVICE RUNNING NUMBER SERVED: ______NON-CONFIDENTIAL SERVICE LIST

CONTROL NON-PROFIT TYPE OF LEGAL NUMBER NO. DATE SPONSOR SERVICE FIELD SERVED

______Consult/______

TOTAL THIS SHEET: ______

OTHER FOLDERS: ______

RUNNING TOTAL: ______PRO BONO CIVIL LEGAL SERVICE CONTROL NO. ______

CONFIDENTIAL CLIENT LOG SITE- DATE: ______SPONSOR: ______

NAME: ______MINORITY? Y N ADDRESS: ______POVERTY? Y N ______EMPLOYED? Y N PHONE: ______MARRIED? Y N EMPLOYER: ______CHILDREN? Y N LEGAL FIELD: ______NON-PROFIT? Y N SERVICE: Consult/ TRANSLATOR? Y N ISSUE: ______If so, who: ______INSTRUCTED: ______REFERRED? Y N TO: ______CLOSED? Y N OTHER DISPOSITION: ______COMMENTS: ______INSTRUCTIONS: (FOR LICENSED LAWYERS times each week. It is acceptable to cancel. Pro bono ONLY) clients and sponsoring organizations understand that SPONSORING ORGANIZATION: Your pro bono you have other commitments. But let the organization legal service should be rendered at a community know as soon as you know, so that they can alert the center, church, synagogue, mosque, senior center, clients. Otherwise, clients will come and wait for you library, food pantry, or other non-profit organization at substantial inconvenience to them and the location, that is visited frequently by low-income, sponsoring organization. disadvantaged clients. Access to justice has a lot to do with overcoming geographic, physical, and cultural ACTIVITY: Bring and do other work when you are barriers. You must go to a location where the not meeting with pro bono clients. It is your donated disadvantaged client is comfortable. You go to them. time. No one expects you to do nothing. But do not Do not expect them to come to you. Meet the expect to get a lot of other work done. That is not the organization’s director and board. Tell them what you point. You will probably find yourself occupied with expect to do and why, including that lawyers have the clients most of the time. It may start slow, but it will ethical obligation to render such service. Describe the get busy. Get to know the sponsoring organization’s need for civil legal services, that there is no staff. Your pro bono service does not have to be all constitutional right to civil legal representation, and direct individual client service. The sponsoring that there is very little public funding. Explain how organization may need your help with organizational civil legal service saves jobs, homes, marriages, and issues. Help where you can. Most individual client families, and generally contributes to the order and matters are resolved in a single consultation of 15 to welfare of the community. Be sure that your goals 30 minutes. Simple, straightforward, basic legal and values are consistent with the sponsoring advice is what most clients need and want. You will organization’s goals and values. Do not provide any be surprised at how much can be done to help your service without first obtaining the sponsoring clients, with so little time and resources. If you see a organization’s formal approval. particular need which can be offered in a class setting (such as tax forms or simple wills and health care SETTING: Once approved, all you need is a desk or powers of attorney), arrange with the sponsoring table and two or three chairs in a private room. Do organization to offer the class. Not every service must not expect and do not ask for anything else. You do be one on one. When a client brings a matter to you not need your own permanent space. You should outside your competence, tell the client and refer the expect to simply borrow someone else’s desk and matter if the client wishes – though you will find some office for the few hours once a week when you will be matters outside your practice area simple enough that there. It is helpful if the office you use is near the your law school training and general knowledge will community center’s reception, waiting, or lobby area. suffice to satisfactorily resolve the matter. Bring your briefcase with the forms described below, a pen, and a cell telephone if you have one available. FEES: When a pro bono client brings a matter to you That is all you need. You may bring your laptop which is more than you can handle pro bono or which computer if you wish to occupy your time when you is typically handled on a contingency fee for which are not meeting with a client. paid legal services are available, tell the client, and refer the matter if the client wishes. Be very clear if SCHEDULING: Establish a regular time you expect you determine that the matter is something which to be there, typically three hours once a week. Make should not be handled pro bono. Do not charge a fee the time convenient to you, or you will find yourself for anything you do at the community center or other canceling frequently which defeats the purpose. Also sponsoring organization, during your pro bono clinic make the time convenient to your pro bono clients. hours. A pro bono client may pay a court filing fee or Even the homeless and jobless follow schedules based other expense but should not pay a fee to you or to the on other available services for meals, laundry, and so sponsoring organization. forth. See that your service times are posted and published in newsletters and service bulletins so that FORMS: Mark a manila folder with a label “PRO clients know when you will be there. Keep the same BONO SERVICE.” Make several copies of each of the above two forms: (1) the Non-Confidential The Service List is for your use and for use by any Service List; and (2) the Confidential Client Log. sponsoring or other organization interested in tracking Clip at the top with a two-hole clip the Non- your pro bono service and evaluating community Confidential Service List copies to the left hand side needs. of the manila folder. Clip at the top with a two-hole clip the Confidential Client Log copies to the right CLIENT LOG: The Confidential Client Log is your hand side of the manila folder. This folder and its way of keeping track of the client, client problem, and forms are your permanent record, all in one place, of service performed. After you make the one-line entry the pro bono service you perform. Take it with you on the Non-Confidential Service List, write the same where ever you render your pro bono service. There control number you put on the Service List in the should be a minimum of record keeping. The purpose Control No. blank at the top of the Client Log. Use is to serve, not fill out papers. But you want to be the rest of the form to write what is necessary to track able to keep track of individual clients as well as your service. Do not attempt to fill in every blank or overall service. The Non-Confidential Service List line. Listen and respond to the client. Write only helps you track in one-line entries the basic service what you need, either as the client is interviewed or you render and the number of clients you serve. Keep immediately after the client leaves. Do be sure to accumulating the List in your Pro Bono Service record: (1) a way to locate the client, if possible, in folder. The Confidential Client Log helps you record the event of follow-up or correction; (2) any tasks whatever basic information you need to identify and which you expect to undertake after the consultation; locate the client and recall the matter on which you (3) any referral you made; and (4) the key served. Periodically remove and place in a permanent instructions (if any) which you gave the client office file the completed Confidential Client Logs regarding action the client is to take. The Client Log after rendering the service. The following tells in is for your purposes only. more detail how to complete both forms. REPORTING: Send the person or organization who SERVICE LIST: The Non-Confidential Service List provided you with these forms an annual report on the is your general record of the type of services rendered number of clients you have served. Include your and the number served. It should not have any observations on how to improve these forms and information on it from which a client can be instructions, and your pro bono work. Also include identified. When you first meet a client, make a one- non-confidential information on something special line entry on the Service List as soon as you know you experienced. Also send your sponsoring what the matter is about what you are likely to do. organization similar information on the number of Under the heading Control No., write “1” for your clients served and the service needs. first client, “2” for the second, “3” for the third, and so on. When you fill up your first Client List form, CONFIDENTIALITY: Serving pro bono in a continue the numbering “25,” “26,” etc., on a new community center presents great opportunities to Client List form. Under the heading Non-Profit contribute to the life of the community. Doing so Sponsor, write the name of the church, community requires trust and confidence. Confidentiality is center, or other non-profit sponsor (if any) of your pro critical. It is also your ethical duty. Close the office bono service. Under the heading Type of Service, door whenever meeting with a client or speaking on write “consult,” “review documents,” “draft,” the telephone about a client matter. Explain to the “correspond,” “research,” or the other type of service clients that their matters are confidential and that you render. Under the heading “Legal Field,” write anything you say or write will be kept confidential “Family Law,” “Estate Law,” “Consumer,” unless they authorize you to share it. Clients are often “Employment,” “Real Estate,” or the other practice relieved to learn that their matters will not be shared area. Under the heading Number Served, put “1” for a with anyone including the sponsoring organization’s single client, “2” if your service is for two clients staff. Do not leave any confidential paper where (e.g., mother and child), “3” if for three clients, and so someone other than the client can read it. Do not on. Use the blanks at the top and bottom of that speak about the client’s matter in the waiting area column to keep a running total of the clients served, as where others may overhear, or with the staff of the you fill up the Non-Confidential Service List sheets. sponsoring organization. Do not begin speaking with clients about their matters until you are in a private room with the door closed.