Become a Member of the 2024-2025 Access to Justice Committee
Thank you for your interest in volunteering for Community Legal Aid’s Access to Justice Campaign!
CLA relies on the financial support of attorneys and law firms in Central and Western Massachusetts in order to provide high-quality legal representation in a range of civil matters to as many low-income clients as possible. For the more than a decade, attorneys in each of the counties in CLA’s service area (Berkshire, Franklin, Hampden, Hampshire, and Worcester) have banded together to collectively ask their colleagues and others for their support. The work of the committee members is essential to the success of the campaign, as past results show that over half 56%-70%) of the gifts that come in are a result of committee contact.
Anticipated responsibilities:
- Attend planning meeting (typically held on zoom) in October. (Time commitment: 1 hour)
- Support the campaign and reach out to 10-15 people via phone call, text, email, social media or in-person meeting with to ask them to contribute to the campaign. CLA provides tools and support to help you do your outreach. (Time commitment: 1-2 hours a month)
- In addition to soliciting individual donations, you may also secure a matching donation from your law firm or its partners or host an event to encourage donations.
- If some of your contacts have not given by December 31st, we may ask you to follow up with them in January to encourage them to make their gifts. (Time commitment: 1-2 hours)
This work qualifies as pro bono time: Under Massachusetts Rule of Professional Responsibility 6.1, pro bono work includes “participating in activities for improving the law, the legal system, or the legal profession that are primarily intended to benefit persons of limited means.” By volunteering for this campaign and encouraging other lawyers and firms to donate to CLA, you are participating in activities that are intended to benefit CLA’s low-income clients.
