Become a Pro Bono Attorney
About VLAS
FAQ
Why should you do pro bono?
The Need is Great
- Over 80% of the civil legal needs of the poor in Virginia and nationwide go unmet
- There are presently more than 1 million people in Virginia who are living in poverty
- 1 in 8 Virginians are eligible for free legal services from Virginia’s legal aid programs
- There is 1 attorney for every 349 persons in Virginia
- There are approximately 130 legal aid attorneys in Virginia
- There is 1 legal aid attorney for every 7,237 low income persons in Virginia
- Nationwide, 50% of the potential clients who request legal assistance from legal aid programs are turned away due to a lack of resources
- People seeking assistance with family law cases were turned away 80% of the time
- Funding Decreases
- IOLTA funding is down which has resulted in a 20% loss in legal aid funding
- There has been a 32% increase in Virginia’s poverty population in last decade
Virginia Rules of Professional Conduct
- Rule 6.1 – every lawyer should devote 2% of his or her professional time to pro bono legal services activity
- Approximately 40 hours per year
- If Virginia lawyers were in compliance this would equal approximately 900,000 hours of pro bono services
- Best available data shows lawyers are providing just 80,000 hours of pro bono services
VLAS Service Areas
Please click the link below to volunteer in the service area closest to you.
» Lynchburg Area
Serves the City of Lynchburg, and the counties of Amherst, Appomattox, Campbell, and Halifax
» Danville Area
Serves the Cities of Danville, Martinsville and the counties of Henry, Patrick and Pittsylvania
» Suffolk Area
Serves the Cities of Emporia, Franklin and Suffolk and the counties of Greensville, Isle of Wight, Southampton, and Sussex
» Farmville Area
Serves the counties of Amelia, Buckingham, Charlotte, Cumberland, Lunenburg, Mecklenburg, Nottoway, Prince Edwards, and Brunswick
Resources
Thank You
Virginia Legal Aid Society would like to thank all of the attorneys who have volunteered for this program. We would also like to thank our Pro Bono Attorneys for their continued dedication to our cause. Pro Bono Attorneys allow VLAS to serve more clients than our staff alone would be able to. We can never have too many volunteers or help too many people in need.