What is the difference between PRO BONO NET and LAWHELP?

Pro Bono Net is the name of our organization, which has developed two primary Web sites: probono.net is our lawyer-based site, and contains resources designed to help pro bono and public interest lawyers. Lawhelp.org is our client-based site, and is designed to offer the public easy access to legal information in a wide variety of poverty law issues, including referrals and legal self-help. Outside New York State, many organizations are adopting both our lawyer- and client-based models to build statewide legal information Web sites under the name LawHelp – this is the LawHelp project.

What is a “practice area”?

A practice area is a section of probono.net dedicated to a specific poverty law issue, such as Family Law/Domestic Violence or Community Development. A practice area may focus on a strictly regional practice (e.g., New York City Housing Law) or it may be national in scope (e.g., Death Penalty, Asylum, and Civil Rights). Each practice area provides an array of resources for pro bono and public interest lawyers, such as an online library containing training and reference materials, updated case law, pro forma documents, and sample pleadings. Practice areas also provide access to a Clearinghouse of available pro bono opportunities, a threaded Message Board, a News page, and a Training Calendar of upcoming lawyer seminars.

What is a “host organization”?

One or more organizations with expertise in the section of poverty law addressed by a practice area act as its host(s). They are responsible for selecting and organizing content for the library, news page, Clearinghouse, and Calendar, for keeping content up to date, for setting membership criteria, and for processing applications for membership on each practice area.

Who can join a practice area?

Each host organization sets slightly different membership criteria. Generally, lawyers in law firms performing pro bono work, legal aid staff lawyers, solo and small-firm practitioners who wish to do pro bono work, pro bono coordinators at law firms, members of the court system, and members of other public interest groups whose clients also need help with legal issues. Membership is free.

How does Pro Bono Net help?

The availability of training and reference information right at lawyers’ desktops saves volunteers hours of research and streamlines the entire process of selecting and conducting a pro bono case. For legal services organizations, Pro Bono Net’s resources provide their volunteers and staff lawyers with detailed training materials and more effective methods of communication. For the public, the LawHelp site offers well-organized, reliable, and easily accessible legal referrals and information.

Where is Pro Bono Net now?

Pro Bono Net’s models are now being adopted in 30 states. These states contain more than 70% of the poor people and lawyers in the country. In New York City alone, we support 7 legal practice areas, one of which is dedicated to issues that arose out of the September 11th disaster. Annual page views of probono.net are fast approaching 1,000,000. In short, Pro Bono Net is now poised to launch and manage the country’s first national online legal information system.