Introduction

Involving paralegals in pro bono can enhance the services a pro bono program provides, both for clients and for volunteers. Services can be enhanced by the provision of supportive services for volunteer attorneys or by the provision of additional services for clients. With attorney supervision, paralegals can perform a wide variety of activities within a pro bono program, including:

• Intake interviews
• Research
• Writing
• Representation at administrative hearings

Paralegals are a large pool of potential volunteers for any pro bono program. Pro bono programs may contact the local paralegal association to recruit volunteers or develop pro bono projects. State bar associations may be another possible starting point, as many have a legal assistants section or committee. For more information on recruiting, including how to create a message and get the word out, visit the Center for Pro Bono's web page on recruiting.

Resources

The American Bar Association Standing Committee on Legal Assistants' publication, How To Utilize Legal Assistants In Pro Bono Publico Programs, provides basic information on how to paralegals may participate in pro bono. Topics covered include how to get started as a pro bono legal assistant, what supervision is necessary in a pro bono program, malpractice and ethics issues, and examples of programs that involve legal assistants in pro bono work.

The Fall 2003 UpDate, published by the ABA Standing Committee on Paralegals, contains articles on "Pro Bono & Paralegals: The Basics" and "Pro Bono Service as a Requirement: How Marymount University Launched Its Innovative Program." The Winter 2004 UpDate contains the article "Part 2: Pro Bono Service as a Requirement" as well as "Pro Bono: Getting Involved."

The National Federation of Paralegal Associations (NFPA) has a web page about pro bono efforts by NFPA and its members. Additionally, there is a NFPA Pro Bono Directory, with information about the NFPA Pro Bono Committee and pro bono opportunities.

A significant issue associated with paralegal pro bono is whether they are providing legal advice, in which case attorney supervision is required. For a discussion of the ethical issues surrounding provision of legal advice and the unauthorized practice of law, please visit Ethical Aspects of Providing Legal Advice and Legal Information, a complimentary audio-CLE program presented by the ABA Standing Committee on Pro Bono and Public Services, its project the Center for Pro Bono and ABA CLE.

For More Information

	View the resources on this topic currently held in the Clearinghouse Library by clicking on the links below.
	Paralegals

The ABA Center for Pro Bono's Clearinghouse library contains additional materials concerning ways to facilitate pro bono participation by paralegals, including brochures and articles. For more information, please contact Cheryl Zalenski by telephone at (312) 988-5770 or .