October 22, 2015

National Pro Bono Week

National Pro Bono Week (October 25-October 31)

National Pro Bono Week is October 25-October 31. At Community Legal Aid, we are so thankful for all of the private attorneys that volunteer their time and expertise to CLA every year. This past year at CLA, there were 519 pro bono cases closed with a total of 2,527 pro bono hours donated. We hope to increase our pro bono reach even more and are excited about some of the new initiatives we are undertaking.

Legal Services Corporation Grant

CLA recently received a new Pro Bono Innovation grant from the Legal Services Corporation. Through this grant, we are partnering with UMass Memorial Medical Center and will be engaging pro bono attorneys to address legal needs that may be affecting the health of low income patients. We are so thankful for the private bar’s participation, and we are excited to get started. To learn more click here.

Lawyer for the Day Program

We will also be hosting our Lawyer for the Day training in conjunction with the Worcester County Bar Association. We are offering attorneys a unique opportunity to receive training by participating in the District Court – Small Claims Session Lawyer for the Day Project. This opportunity can help attorneys gain a new skill set that may attract future clients to their practice. The training is completely free for attorneys that participate in the Lawyer for the Day project in two sessions over the course of the next year. The training will be December 2, 2015 from 2 pm to 4 pm. If you are interested in signing up please contact Anita Conte at aconte@cla-ma.org or by calling 508-752-3718 ext. 5354. To learn more click here. 

There are lots of reasons to volunteer your time at CLA. You could prevent a family from being evicted or help a survivor of domestic abuse retain child custody. You will also gain useful skills for yourself and your practice. If you’re interested in learning more about pro bono opportunities at Community Legal Aid please check out our brochure.