For attorneys who want to provide pro bono legal services, the hardest part can be knowing where to start.
With the launch of Pro Bono CO, a statewide online portal, Brett Landis hopes to better connect Colorado attorneys with organizations seeking volunteer help.
“The barrier is knowing how to find the right opportunity,” said Landis, director of the Colorado Pro Bono Resource Center.
Attorneys can search the portal by practice area, location and availability, then filter opportunities by factors such as whether they are remote or in person and whether support needed involves a clinic, limited-scope representation or a full case.
Landis joined the Colorado Access to Justice Commission about two years ago with a mandate to develop a pro bono resource center for Colorado. Before taking the position, she served as managing attorney of the Colorado Legal Services Boulder office.
Lowering the Barrier
The Colorado Access to Justice Commission examined pro bono portals in other states before deciding to build its own system, working with AJJ Tech, which developed portals for other states.
The portal is not a referral service for people seeking attorneys. Instead, groups such as legal aid organizations, court self-help centers and community-based nonprofits can post volunteer opportunities, and attorneys can find work that fits their interests and circumstances. Organizations are vetted before they post.
Once an attorney selects an opportunity, the portal generates an email to the legal service provider. The provider then handles onboarding and the volunteer relationship.
Attorneys can set notification preferences, too, so they receive alerts when new initiatives match their criteria.
The system is particularly suited to clinics and limited-scope matters, Landis said, with opportunities that can give attorneys an entry point into pro bono work without requiring them to take on full representation.
The portal has attracted a mix of solo practitioners, attorneys at small firms and law students. Landis continues to spread the word about the portal through presentations to local bar associations, access-to-justice committees and firms.
Developing Colorado’s Pro Bono Infrastructure
The portal is one piece of an effort to build out Colorado’s pro bono infrastructure. Landis has helped spearhead the annual Colorado Pro Bono Summit, now in its second year, and is working on a forthcoming toolkit for attorneys who are unsure how to begin volunteering. The toolkit will address ethical rules, mentorship and practical questions, such as about malpractice insurance.
Eventually, she hopes to offer training to attorneys eager to take on matters outside their usual practice areas, including eviction defense, subsidized housing, public benefits and consumer debt.
‘You Get to Build Community and Hope’
Landis sees pro bono work as a way for attorneys to make a tangible difference in problems that may otherwise seem overwhelming.
She often thinks of Fred Rogers’ advice to “look for the helpers” when times are difficult. “For many years, I was one of the helpers,” she said. “And I feel like I am so incredibly lucky in my job because not only do I still get to count among the helpers, but all the people I work with are the helpers.”
Pro bono work, she said, connects attorneys with people whose circumstances may be very different from their own, as well as with other legal professionals who work on social issues every day. “You get to build community and hope,” she said.
For attorneys who have never done pro bono work or who have not participated in years, Landis’ advice is to start small: “The attorney simply needs to be able to provide more assistance than the client currently has, which is often none.”
She added that signing up for a single legal-night event or clinic shift is “help that didn’t exist before.”
Even when an attorney cannot give a client the answer the client wished for, providing accurate legal information has value. “The ability to make an informed decision is so powerful,” she said. “If you were looking at a case where there are not good options for the client, at least they know that.”