Pro Bono Partnership Volunteer Opportunities

The Pro Bono Partnership is a highly regarded legal assistance organization that provides free business legal advice to nonprofit organizations in New Jersey, Connecticut, and New York.  The Partnership was created in 1997 to provide pro bono opportunities for in-house counsel consistent with their skills and time constraints.  The Partnership serves as a free outsourced in-house legal department for local nonprofit organizations that would otherwise lack access to legal advice.  None of the Partnership’s work involves litigation. 

With the ongoing support of the Partnership’s staff attorneys and access to an extensive library of model documents and legal resources, more than 700 volunteers from corporations and law firms throughout the tri-state area annually provide legal assistance to moe than 500 Partnership clients.  There is no minimum hour requirement for volunteers, who select matters that interest them from a list of volunteer opportunities, all of which have been pre-screened by staff attorneys.

Volunteers:

§  Undertake traditional business transaction projects, such as bylaw review, contract review, IP,  and environmental compliance, 90% of which do not require any specialized knowledge of the law of tax-exempt organizations; or   

§  If they wish, more comprehensive transactional matters, such as mergers, where they may work as part of a team of corporate/law firm attorneys;

§  Serve as consultants for staff attorneys by providing quick advice in response to questions received through the Partnership’s Legal Resource Helpline;

§  Present at Partnership workshops or teleconferences in the areas of their legal specialty;

§  Write articles for the Partnership’s “Publications” web page.  

Available pro bono matters include, among others:  bankruptcy; bylaw review; contracts; corporate; corporate governance/compliance; e-commerce/internet; employment/labor; environmental/land use; HIPAA; immigration; incorporation/tax exemption; insurance; intellectual property; lending/finance; litigation; privacy; real estate; tax; trust; and estates.  Volunteers may be eligible for CLE credits or an exemption from mandatory court-appointed pro bono assignments.

Interested in volunteering?

Call the Partnership’s New Jersey office (973 240-6955) and a staff attorney will walk you through the process, or sign-up directly through the Partnership’s website.  See volunteers and clients discuss the Partnership or read the Partnership’s annual report.