Building Your Practice with Pro Bono for Lawyers

by Nelson P. Miller

Overview

Lawyers know that pro bono service is often the most interesting and fulfilling work of their careers. Yet few understand the financial and career benefits that pro bono work can yield. Building Your Practice with Pro Bono for Lawyers explains 10 pro bono opportunities that will broaden, deepen and strengthen your paying practice and legal career. Nelson Miller, an experienced pro bono practitioner, offers practical advice about helping underserved populations such as veterans, prisoners, immigrants, needy children, the homeless, and people with disabilities. This book will help you:

•Develop the inter-cultural skills to serve pro bono clients
•Learn from other lawyers by sharing pro bono cases
•Gain new confidence and skills doing pro bono work
•Fulfill your interest in specific pro bono client populations
•Serve charitable organizations promoting pro bono
•Comply with ethics rules governing pro bono work
•Rejuvenate your paying practice through pro bono

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781614386315
Publisher:	American Bar Association
Publication date:	12/07/2013
Pages:	288
Product dimensions:	6.97(w) x 10.00(h) x 0.66(d)

About the Author

Nelson P. Miller practiced civil litigation for seventeen years, working with cases involving personal injury, products liability, airliner and helicopter crashes, civil rights, securities, employment, real estate, and business disputes. Miller went on to join the Thomas M. Cooley Law School (Lansing, MI) as a professor, teaching classes on subjects including torts, tax-exempt organizations, and professional ethics, and is now the associate dean of the Grand Rapids campus.
Dean Miller is editor or author of over a dozen books and dozens of articles on law practice, legal education and ethics, torts, civil procedure, and other law subjects.

Table of Contents

About the Author vii

Acknowledgments ix

Preface xv

Part I Skills, Practices, and Attitudes 1

Chapter 1 Introduction: Building a Practice with Pro Bono 3

Chapter 2 Intercultural Skills: Serving Unlike Others 13

Chapter 3 Consultation: Discerning Achievable Goals 25

Chapter 4 Agency Relationship: Supporting Community Organizations 37

Chapter 5 Professional Relationship: Working with Other Lawyers on Pro Bono 47

Chapter 6 Judicial Relationship: Accepting and Completing Assignments 55

Part II Serving Underserved Populations 71

Chapter 7 The Prisoner: Civil Rights Claims over Prison Conditions Visiting the Prisoner 73

Chapter 8 The Releasee: Collateral Consequences of Conviction-Helping the Ex-Offender 93

Chapter 9 The Homeless: Legal Review and Referral-Giving Hope to the Down-and-Out 105

Chapter 10 The Debtor: Debt and Bankruptcy Proceedings-Offering Debt Relief 121

Chapter 11 The Divorced: Family Law and Paternity Proceedings-Helping Broken Families 141

Chapter 12 The Foreclosed: Home Protection and Mortgage Relief-Helping Families Save Their Homes 165

Chapter 13 The Soldier: Servicemember Laws-Helping the Soldier Return Home 177

Chapter 14 The Immigrant: Access to Justice-Guiding the Immigrant and Undocumented Alien 191

Chapter 15 The Disabled: Disability and Access Laws-Assisting the Differently Abled 207

Chapter 16 The Children: Child Protective Legal Services-Helping Families with Children 223

Part III Serving the Charitable Organization 241

Chapter 17 The Nonprofit Board: Advising Organizations-Structuring Service 243

Chapter 18 The Self-Help Center: Supporting a Legal Assistance Center-Helping the Unrepresented 257

Chapter 19 The Pro Bono Program: Coordinating Pro Bono Service-Helping Others Serve 263

Chapter 20 Conclusion: A Pro Bono Reflection 273

Appendices

Appendix A Non-Confidential Service List 279

Appendix B Confidential Client Log 280

Appendix C Guided Confidential Client Log 281

Index 283