13. ABA HELPS GOVERNMENT, PUBLIC SECTOR LAWYERS FIND PRO BONO OPPORTUNITIES
The organized bar encourages lawyers to provide free legal services to those in need. But for public lawyers, pro bono (or volunteer) legal work is sometimes problematic. Government lawyers may face conflict of interest restrictions, limitations on the use of office resources and statutory restrictions constraining their ability to perform pro bono work.
The ABA Government and Public Sector Lawyers Division this year created a pro bono Web page to demonstrate that the constraints are not insurmountable. Because of the variety of volunteer opportunities that exist and the increased sensitivity about the restrictions faced by public lawyers, opportunities for government lawyer pro bono work are increasing. The Web page contains a step-by-step guide on how to establish a pro bono program in a government law office and includes sample pro bono policies from federal, state and city/county agencies, articles from Division publications, and links to existing pro bono projects.
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