Last month, we had the pleasure of hosting a team from Legal Services Corporation’s Pro Bono Innovation Fund, which helps legal aid organizations develop robust volunteer programs for attorneys.
Back in 2022, we received a Pro Bono Innovation Fund grant that has allowed us to transform and expand our pro bono team, engage private sector attorneys to better meet the needs in our communities, and launch new legal services offerings, including expungements, guardianship, gender marker and name changes. This visit allowed us the opportunity to both showcase the growth of our pro bono program and to learn more about what other organizations are doing successfully with pro bono.
LSC’s Pro Bono Innovation Fund team focuses on community learning among its grantees, and we had the honor of having advocates and pro bono leaders from Utah Legal Services, Neighborhood Legal Services of Los Angeles County, and Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee and the Cumberlands.
The team and our visitors heard from ICLS staff across the organization – from leadership to staff who collaborate with pro bono attorneys to our LegalServer managers. We discussed how ICLS has successfully engaged pro bono efforts, how we’ve built clinics, and how we’ve focused on using pro bono to fill service gaps in our communities.
As the region’s leading legal aid nonprofit, demand for legal assistance oftentimes outweighs our capacity. Using volunteer attorneys helps us assist clients we otherwise wouldn’t be able to help. When we were first granted a Pro Bono Innovation Fund grant, we had one attorney dedicated to pro bono who was running a Small Business Clinic to help business owners in the community. With the progress we’ve made with our pro bono initiatives, we have been able to expand assistance provided with expungements, guardianships, LGBTQIA+ name and gender marker changes, disaster relief, and public benefit appeals.
In 2023, we saw nearly $2 million in value for time private attorneys spent volunteering with ICLS. We are looking forward to continuing our pro bono growth and expanding our reach to help more clients.