Additional Pro Bono Projects

4ALL Statewide Service Day is an annual call-a-lawyer pro bono program that engages hundreds of volunteer attorneys to provide free legal information to thousands of North Carolinians, from the mountains to the coast. 4ALL is the NC Bar Foundation’s largest annual pro bono program. This year, 4ALL will be held on March 4, 2022 in a virtual format that allows volunteers to serve from the safety and comfort of their own homes or offices. Attorney and paralegal volunteers are needed to serve in 2-hour shifts from 11am – 7pm. Attorney volunteers may designate practice areas in which they are willing to take calls for 4ALL. Incoming calls will be screened by volunteer paralegal call screeners and forwarded to attorneys best able to answer the caller’s questions. Volunteers can expect to receive 5-10 calls an hour, depending on practice area.

This is a virtual legal advice portal where income-eligible individuals can ask civil legal questions. On the ABA Free Legal Answers Federal site, attorneys with VA accreditation can sign up to volunteer to answer veterans questions about VA benefits, discharge upgrades, and similar veteran legal issues. To answer state-specific legal questions, such as a family law or housing question, visit the main ABA Free Legal Answers website and sign up with your State.

Attorneys can register to volunteer time to receive calls or emails from military attorneys in need of attorney-to-attorney advice on state-specific legal topics relating to your legal area of expertise, so they can better assist their service member clients.

The Appellate Pro Bono Project seeks pro bono attorneys to help pro se litigants for cases before the NC Court of Appeals or the NC Supreme Court that meet the following requirements: (1) The appeal involves one or more pro se litigants who would qualify for in forma pauperis status, as set out in N.C. Gen. Stat. § 1-288, regardless of whether the litigant has applied for in forma pauperis status; (2) The appeal presents at least one non-frivolous issue; and (3) The pro se litigant consents to be represented by a pro bono attorney and an attorney, chosen from a list maintained by the NCBA’s Appellate Practice Section, consents to represent the litigant free of charge. The Program will be coordinated by the Pro Bono Committee of the N.C. Court of Appeals, which will consist of Court of Appeals judges selected by the Court, and by the NCBA’s Appellate Practice Section and its Pro Bono Committee.

The BIA Pro Bono Appeals Project matches vulnerable immigrants with pro bono counsel to defend their cases before the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA). One of the nation's most successful pro bono initiatives, the BIA Project partners with attorneys and law school clinics to provide pro bono legal representation to indigent immigrants. Through a network of committed volunteers, trainers, and mentors, the BIA Project facilitates access to justice, a critical component to safeguarding the rights of vulnerable asylum-seekers and long time lawful permanent residents. Since the Project’s inception in 2001, it has reviewed over 7,200 appeals cases. The Project's cases regularly result in significant decisions, including favorable, published BIA decisions, as well as Federal and Supreme Court decisions. In a published study, the Department of Justice found that immigrants who had been provided representation through the Project were up to four times more likely to win a favorable decision before the BIA.

The BCLT group seeks legal assistance to create a 501(c)(3), achieve tax exempt status, and establish the BCLT as a Community Housing Development Organization (CHDO).

Need family law attorneys to volunteer do complete 1 Custody with Visitation or Child Support Modification case per year.

Community Legal Project is a joint collaboration with UNC Law School. Law Students meet in-person (virtual options available to clients during COVID) with a client to assess their situation regarding family law or domestic violence. After the initial assessment, the student writes an official law school memo that is reviewed by an attorney. The volunteer attorney provides feedback and edits to the memo, which is presented to the client in person.

Charlotte Center for Legal Advocacy helps people in the Charlotte, North Carolina, region who cannot afford legal services, but desperately need them. Without legal representation in civil matters, thousands of families can lose access to financial security, healthcare, housing and opportunity. Through its Community Redevelopment Project, Charlotte Center for Legal Advocacy helps low-income N.C. residents get their criminal records expunged. Expunctions remove past dismissed charges and convictions of misdemeanors and minor felonies on eligible criminal records by a court order. We are seeking pro bono attorneys to take on expungement cases. Without pro bono volunteers, these would otherwise appear on background checks when applying for housing and employment. More than one in five North Carolinians has a criminal record. Too often, individuals are automatically denied employment, housing, and other opportunities, based on past involvement with the criminal justice system, including dismissed charges and long-ago convictions. Through our individual representation and advocacy, we seek to help people with a criminal record have a fair chance at productive citizenship. We offer trainings to attorneys outside of their practice area. We also provide a tool kit with the necessary materials to take the case. The Advocacy Center staff provide ongoing assistance and co-counsel is welcome and encouraged! You would enjoy expunction work if: You want to work directly with clients. You are excited about eliminating barriers to opportunity in North Carolina. You want to volunteer but have limited or inconsistent time to do so. You want to learn more about re-entry and criminal justice reform.

LANC’s legal information pro bono project where legal information videos are webcast across the state to community partners for the general public. Then a live Q&A is provide afterwards with a volunteer attorney.