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Become a volunteer

Two ways to volunteer!

1. Take a full-representation case on a volunteer basis. You always have the option of rejecting a case if your schedule does not permit. We hope volunteers will accept one to two cases per year. Cases are available in a variety of legal areas with a primary emphasis in family law; family law is the most needed area of representation for low-income people.
   
   
2. Provide information at Dakota County Family Law Self Help Center.
   
   (http://www.courts.state.mn.us/district/1/?page=1600)
   
   This all-volunteer staffed self-help center, allows pro se litigants with family law problems an opportunity to talk for 30 minutes with an attorney. Each session is a total of three hours, and there are several sessions each month at three locations: Apple Valley, West St. Paul, and Hastings. As a volunteer, we hope you will take at least two sessions per year.

Why do pro bono?

In addition to the personal benefit you receive from contributing to your profession and community, there are also tangible benefits to volunteer service with our program:

• Awards and peer recognition, including scholarships to the Family Law Institute
• Free access to ProJusticeMN.org and specialized forms for use with low-income clients
• Access to malpractice insurance
• Reduced tuition to the Minnesota Legal Services Coalition CLE programs
• Free listing in the Dakota County Bar Association Attorney Referral Service

Over 80 attorneys are active volunteers with our program.  Fifteen attorneys have been volunteering with us for over ten years.  Why? Overwhelmingly our volunteers say that they volunteer to contribute in a meaningful way to their community and to fulfill their sense of professional responsibility.

Join us!

To become a member of a volunteer panel and/or to join our attorney referral service, download the following forms and return them by U.S. Mail or fax. We are excited about your interest and hope to hear from you soon.

• Volunteer Attorney Registration Form
• Attorney Referral Service Registration Form

Other links of interest

• www.ProJusticeMN.org (Minnesota's online poverty law resource for anyone advising low-income or disadvantaged clients—free to volunteers.)
• A two minute video on what it means to live in poverty.
• Other Resources