The ABA Commission on Immigration Policy, Practice and Pro Bono has assisted more than 70 bar associations in creating or enhancing pro bono programs for immigrants, refugees, and newcomers. Based on evaluation of successful bar-affiliated mini-grant programs, the Commission has compiled the information below, which offers strategies on developing a program and provides answers to commonly asked questions.

Q: Why should a bar association consider developing a pro bono project for immigrants?

A: Approximatel y 22 million persons in the United States are foreign born. In some cit ies, the foreign born account for 1/3 to 1/4 of the population. The quality of life of such large groups of people can have profound effects on the overall quality of life of host communities. State and local bar associations can contribute to improvements in the quality of life of newcomers and the community at large by increasing access to legal services that are gateways to fuller membership in American society for millions.

Q: Which bar associations should consider developing pro bono projects for immigrants?

A: Every bar a ssociation in a community where there exists significant concentrations of underserved immigrants should consider developing an immigration pro bono project. Whether a concentration is significant depends on the size of the immigrant population relative to the size of the community: even small communities may be substantially impacted by the presence of a few thousand newcomers.

Q: How large must a bar association's membership be to operate a successful immigration pro bono project?

A: Bar associations with as few as 50 members have run successful projects.

Q: How much money would a bar association need to operate a program?

A: Successful immigration pro bono projects have been operated with as little as $5,000 in capital and in-kind resources.

Q: In what areas of law could a bar association develop a pro bono program?

A: Ma ny bar associations have developed programs to assist newcomers in imm igration law areas of asylum, ot her defenses to removal from this coun try, and the filing of immigrant benefit applications. Immigrants also h ave legal needs similar to those of other low-income populations, including domestic violence, discrimination in housing and employment, and some public benefits. Often non-citizens face unique legal issues which require special attention by attorneys trained to detect and address them. In many cases, interpreter assistance for non-English speaking persons seeking to access existing pro bono legal services is what is needed.

Q: What are the essential elements of a successful pro bono program for immigrants?

A: The basics of any successful pro bono program include strategies to recruit and train volunteer attorneys, and a system of case referral and monitoring. In addition, the essential elements of a successful pro bono project for immigrants are (1) a close working partnership between the bar association and a local immigrant legal services organization (2) a corp of volunteer or paid translators to assist non-English speaking clients and (3) supervision by experienced immigration attorneys willing to provide moral support and professional advice to volunteer attorneys.

Q: How can a bar association determine which immigrant population to target and what area of law to work in?

A: A bar association should rely on its local immigrant organization partner, which works with the immigrant community and knows its needs, to identify and contact potential clients and help to identify what services the pro bono attorneys will provide.

Q: How would volunteer attorneys for the pro bono project be recruited?

A: The bar associ ation bears primary responsibility for recruiting volunteer attorneys. Bar associations with established pro bono programs can easily recruit v olunteers by following their established recruiting strategies. Other bars can recruit volunteers through mass mailings, telephone calls, bar publication articles, contact with law firms, and mailings to other non-profit organizations. Once a program gets started, word of mouth usually brings in other volunteers.

Q: How many volunteer attorneys does a project need to be successful?

A: Obviously, the number of volunteers a project needs depends on the number of persons it plans to assist. Bars for which the project is an entirely new experience should set their goals significantly lower than bars with ongoing, established immigration pro bono projects. Projects have operated successfully with as few as six and as many as 85 attorneys.

Q: How many persons should each pro bono attorney assist?

A: Most bars require the attorney to agree to accept one or two cases in exchange for the training provided.

Q: Must pro bono attorneys have prior immigration law experience?

A: No. Successf ul pro bono projects for immigrants have utilized the services of attorneys with no prior immigration law experience. Attorney volunteers have come from legal backgrounds as diverse as general practice, litigation, family, criminal, personal injury, commercial, and real estate law.

Q: How would pro bono attorneys be trained in the immigration law?

A: A bar association can best locate trainers by relying on its local immigration law service organization partner. The organization wil l have in-house expertise and contacts in the private immigration bar. Some bar associations may have standing immigration law committees whose members may be willing to conduct trainings. The local organization partner should have the primary responsibility of developing the training curriculum, as it will be in a better position to identify the potential clientele and determine its legal service needs.

In addition, it is important for volunteers to be sensitive to cultural backgrounds of th eir clients. For instance, in some cultures it is a sign of disrespect to look someone in the eye. In other countries, attorneys and figures of authority are distrusted, as they are associated with persecutors. Working closely with the local immigration service provider organization will ensure that such issues are addressed, both in the training of pro bono attorneys and throughout representation of clients.

Q: Must the project conduct a comprehensive training program in all aspects of the immigration law?

A: No. Successful projects limit their scope to a particular, confined area of the immigration law, such as asylum representation or how to fill out a particular visa application form, rather than overwhelm pro bono attorneys with an extended study of the complicated field of immigration law. These projects are more feasible for volunteer attorneys with little or no prior immigration law experience and limited time to dedicate to learning an entirely new field of law.

Q: How many hours can a volunteer attorney expect to devote to a single case, and over how long a period of time?

A: Volunteers can expect to devote 10 hours or less for a simple visa or na turalization application to 50 hours for an asylum or defense from de portation case involving a hearing in front of a judge, to a single day in projects that run one-day consultation clinics. The length of the representation will depend on the type of case. A simple form application may only require representation over a period of a few months; a case involving a hearing could take up to a year or more

. Q: Should a bar association undertake a project that requires pro bono attorneys to represent their clients in the immigration courts?

A: Bar associations have successfully trained non-immigration attorneys with no litigatio n experience to represent client s in immigration court. Immigration court representation deman ds significantly more time and skill than d oes assisting the filing of form applications, but is substantially less complex or intimidating than representation in state or federal court. Pro bono attorneys with trial experience may have little difficulty making the transition to immigration court; pro bono attorneys with no trial experience may need substantially more training, encouragement, and supervision. Immigration court representation provides both with opportunities to develop and sharpen litigation skills in a new field of law and a new forum, and a reasonably manageable opportunity to appear in court. Successful programs have found that it is best to assign court cases to those pro bono attorneys who show considerable enthusiasm for the challenge.

Q: How will the bar association deal with language barriers between pro bono attorneys and their clients?

A: Many clients with years of residence in the United States will speak English well enough to preclude the need for interpreters. Bar associations may also consider targeting bilingual bar members in their recruitment. Volunteer interpreters can be recruited, however, through local immigration service organizations (both legal and non-legal), universities, and churches. Clients may also be required to provide their own interpreters from the ranks of their English-speaking family and friends, although this is the least preferred option.

Q: How will pro bono attorneys know they are representing their clients well, and to whom can they look for assistance?

A: A ll successful pro bono progra ms assign experienced mentors to the pro bono attorneys. These mentors help the attorneys with tricky as pects of their clients' cases and monitor the progress of cases. Because immigration law is a complex field, good mentoring by experienced immigration lawyers is absolutely necessary. Mentors can be recruited from the same pool of persons from whom trainers are located; many projects have found that their most enthusiastic mentors are former volunteers. The average mentor to attorney ratio is one to six, but a lower ratio is obviously preferable.

Q: Where is the best place for pro bono attorneys to meet their clients?

A: The most successful projects make their pro bono attorneys as accessible as possible to the target clientele by choosing a location familiar and in close proximity to the clients. The best locations are the offices of the local organization partner, local churches, or the classrooms where English as a Second Language courses are held. The most successful projects require the attorneys initially to travel to the clients, rather than the other way around. In later stages of the relationship, the attorney and client can make other, more convenient arrangements if necessary.

Q: What has been the response of pro bono attorneys to participation in pro bono projects for immigrants?

A: The resp onse of pro bono attorneys has been overwhelmingly positive. A well o rganized program which works collaboratively with community organizatio ns serving immigrants, has a strategy to address language issues, and has a network of experienced attorneys willing to mentor new volunteers is the key to attracting and maintaining a corp of committed, enthusiastic attorneys. Assisting newcomers gives volunteer attorneys the opportunity to provide direct, essential, and sometimes lifesaving representation to some of the most marginalized persons in our country. It exposes attorneys to a challenging and interesting area of the law, to clients from difference countries and cultures, and to an issue which is becoming more important in national policy debate.