South Coastal Counties Legal Services
- To Volunteer, Contact:
- Organization Type: Nonprofit Legal Services Provider
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Location:
99 South Main Street Suite 200PO Box 2507Fall River, MA 02722
- Phone: 774-488-5953
- Website: https://sccls.org/pro-bono/
Why should you volunteer with SCCLS?
Our mission is to achieve justice for low-income eligible clients through community based legal advocacy. Through our Private Attorney Involvement (PAI) Program, we work to increase our service capacity to deserving clients in Southeastern Massachusetts, Cape Cod, and the Islands.
Private attorneys are essential to the provision of legal services for low income and otherwise vulnerable members of our communities. Volunteers increase SCCLS’ ability to meet the demand for our services and ensure that clients get the help they need to address critical legal issues through pro bono and reduced fee case placement, and workshops/clinics.
SCCLS supports its volunteers by providing:
- Case support
- Free trainings
- Hands-on and in-court experience
- Mentorship
- Meeting space
- Logistical and administrative support
- Reduced fee MCLEs
- Malpractice insurance
- Translation Services
- Inclusion in our compensated attorney panel lists and referral list for over-income applicants.
- Can you help represent our clients in need?
SCCLS refers pro bono and reduced fee cases in the following subject areas:
- Divorce/Custody/Parenting Time
- Guardianships
- Bankruptcy
- Basic Estate Planning
- Foreclosure Defense
- And Others
Only have a few hours to spare?
SCCLS understands that not all of our volunteers are in a position to accept full case placements. Our PAI Program offers volunteers the opportunity to volunteer on a limited basis through our workshops and clinics.
Family Law Attorneys:
We need you! We regularly hold virtual Pro Se Family Law Workshops every other Tuesday from 2:00PM -4:00PM. Volunteer Attorneys provide brief counsel, advice, and assistance with basic forms to pro se litigants for a variety of family law issues. These workshops are a great way to assist our clients when you only have a few hours to spare. Additionally, there is no ongoing commitment required!
Estate Planning Attorneys:
In the end of October, SCCLS will be launching our first Estate Planning Clinic that will be held quarterly throughout our service areas. These clinics allow low-income older adults (60+) to connect with a private attorney to discuss the basics of estate planning and potentially provide pro bono drafting services for: health care proxies, durable powers of attorney, and simple wills. Attorneys will meet in person at the one-day event and SCCLS will take care of the logistics needed to properly execute the documents.
Listing and projects up-to-date as of March 2024.
- County(s) of Volunteer Opportunity: Barnstable, Bristol, Dukes, Nantucket, Norfolk, Plymouth
- Area of law: Consumer, Debt/Credit/Bankruptcy, Education, Elder Law, Family & Juvenile, Foreclosure, Housing, Life Planning
- Populations Served: Children, Communities of Color, Domestic Violence Victims, Elderly, General Public, Human Trafficking Survivors, Individuals with criminal histories, Individuals with physical/mental disabilities, Lesbian, gay, bisexual & transgender, Low Income, Persons with Disabilities, Women, Working poor and unemployed
- Opportunities For: Interpreters, Law Students, Lawyers, Mentors, Nonlitigation Projects, Paralegals, Senior Lawyers, Small and medium law firm attorneys
- Need for non-English services: Haitian Creole, Portuguese, Spanish, Cape Verdean Creole
- Hours for Pro Bono Opportunities: Monday-Friday 9am-5pm
- Malpractice insurance is provided for volunteers: Yes
- Training Provided: Yes
- Training Required: No
- CLE credit for trainings: No
- Training / Supervision Comments: Vouchers for reduced tuition MCLE trainings upon completion of a pro bono case.
- CLE credit for pro bono: No
- Mentoring or supervision offered: Yes
- Volunteer lawyers need to meet a caseload or hours requirement: No
- Types of projects in need of Pro Bono help: Client counseling (e.g., brief advice), Draft legal documents (e.g., briefs), Litigation: Trial/Direct Representation, Mentor volunteer lawyers or law students
- Other Project Types: Legal Education Presentations
- Volunteers may participate long-distance: No
