Public
Counsel, the nation’s largest public interest pro bono law firm,
provides volunteer legal services for the poor and underrepresented
in our community.
Each year thousands of children, youth, adults, families, and eligible
community organizations benefit from our services. In 2005 alone, our
staff along with over 3,600 Public
Counsel volunteers provided $63 million in free legal services to
over 26,000 clients. Since Public Counsel was founded in 1970, it has
recruited over 20,000 volunteers and provided over a quarter of a billion
dollars in free legal and other services to the most vulnerable members
of our society.
Public Counsel provides the opportunity for its volunteers to work on
a wide variety of projects. Some of the casework is relatively simple,
suitable for new attorneys seeking to develop new skills or more experienced
attorneys seeking to expand their legal experience. Other cases are highly
complex. In addition to work on litigation matters, Public Counsel volunteers
can also assist with transactional and administrative matters as well
as work in specialized areas such as bankruptcy and health care. Public
Counsel’s speakers’ bureaus provide lawyers opportunities to
educate our clients about the lawyer’s area of specialty. Volunteer
opportunities are by no means limited to lawyers. Paralegals, legal assistants,
law students, expert witnesses, and individuals employed in other professions
are needed and welcomed (see Non-legal volunteer opportunities).
Public Counsel provides substantive backup for all of our cases. Depending
on the case, this can include training, reference guides or sample pleadings.
Our staff members are available to consult with volunteers as they work
on their cases.
For
more information about volunteering at Public Counsel, contact our
volunteer
coordinator, Ted Zepeda, at (213) 385-2977 x125 or tzepeda@publiccounsel.org.
