Volunteer Attorneys
For information on volunteering, please fill out this form, or contact our Pro Bono Recruitment Coordinator, Maria Valeri at mvaleri@ecbavlp.com or (716) 847-0662 Ext. 321.
In 2013, 2.3 million low-income New Yorkers had to navigate the civil justice system on their own. Despite the tremendous strides in the provision of free civil legal services, locally & nationally between 15-25% of people coming to our officers looking for help are unable to be served. Their needs far exceed the system’s capacity.
WNY Lawyers have a proud history of service to others. They embody the occupational goal by (Rule 6.1 of NY Rules of Provisional Conduct) donating fifty or more hours of free legal services to low-income people. They generously contribute to our regions legal services organizations.
At VLP over 2,000 attorneys have volunteered their legal expertise to our clients. We are grateful to our volunteer attorneys. It is a wonderful and rewarding experience to help those in need.
Top 10 Benefits of Volunteering
- Helping others feels great.
- Earn valuable free CLE credits for service. ( You earn 1 free credit for every 2 hours of pro bono service.)
- You can count up to 10 free pro bono CLE credits per biennial reporting period.
- Clients are screened by VLP staff before cases are assigned.
- VLP provides volunteer attorneys with professional malpractice insurance for all work attorneys do on behalf of VLP.
- VLP provides free CLE programs.
- Mentoring & Networking
- Law students can work toward achieving 50 pro bono hours
- VLP provides members of the Attorney Emeritus Program with meaningful volunteer opportunities.
- VLP makes it easy & enjoyable to volunteer your time & skills to help others who can’t afford an attorney.
VLP is grateful for all of our volunteers.
