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Now more than ever, pro bono is more than just the right thing to do.
For the fifth year, the State Bar of Michigan has designated October as Pro Bono Month, joining the American Bar Association and many other states in selecting October as a time to highlight the need for and importance of pro bono civil legal assistance to low-income people. All across the country, lawyers will be taking part in events to educate the public and the legal profession about pro bono legal services.
Our goal this year is to increase the number of visible pro bono events held in October.
If you already have a pro bono event planned, make sure to register your event here on the State Bar’s Pro Bono Month website. If you haven’t planned an event yet, please join us in celebrating pro bono month this year by organizing an October event. Our website includes much more information, suggestions for organizing events, and links to talking points for Michigan’s “Now more than ever” theme. Keep visiting for updates that will be posted as they are developed. We will publicize your event on the State Bar’s Pro Bono Month website.
If you have any questions or would like additional information, please contact Robert Mathis, SBM’s Pro Bono Service Counsel, at (517)346-6412 or rmathis@mail.michbar.org.
Volunteer Online! Find out how you can obtain a referral for a pro bono case. Complete the online volunteer form or contact your local legal aid program.
Contribute Online! Make a financial donation through the Access to Justice Fund to support legal aid by visiting www.atjfund.org.
Submit Your Event! Have your Pro Bono Month event added to our calendar.
Menu of Opportunities
October 2012 Events submit your event
Locally
Contact the SBM Pro Bono Initiative to get your event posted, check back often for updates of pro bono opportunities and to get involved.
A Lawyer Helps—Lawyers make a difference for people and for society. They solve legal problems, provide free legal help to the poor, and give time to many other community efforts.
Circle of Excellence 2012—Recognizing firms and corporations who have demonstrated full compliance with the Voluntary Pro Bono Standard adopted by the Representative Assembly in 1990.
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Governor Snyder Proclaims Pro Bono Month
On behalf of the people of Michigan, I, Governor Rick Snyder, Governor of Michigan, do hereby proclaim the month of October 2012 as Pro Bono Month.
Read the Entire Proclamation PDF |
Law School Resources
Cooley Law School offers pro bono programs to assist people or groups who cannot afford to pay. Each program provides law-related assistance and provides an opportunity for Cooley students to engage in legal work under the supervision of an attorney. [more] PDF
University of Michigan Law School Voluntary Pro Bono Pledge PDF
Links of Interest
2011 Pro Bono Month Activities
- 2011 Pro Bono Month Theme and Talking Points
- 2011 Pro Bono Month Event Ideas
October 2011 Events
| 3 |
Tenant Law Project—Thomas M. Cooley Law School, Grand Rapids Area Coalition to End Homelessness, Legal Aid of Western Michigan, and the Legal Assistance Center, Grand Rapids |
| 4 |
Cooley Pro Bono Pledge—Thomas M. Cooley Law School, Lansing |
| 6 |
Oakland & Macomb County Pro Bono Fair |
| |
Dégagé Ministries—Legal Services Program, Thomas M. Cooley Law School, Grand Rapids |
| 7 |
Project Salute Pro Bono Attorney Training—U.D. Mercy School of Law, Lansing
Immigration Outreach—Cooley Law School, Pontiac
Pro Bono Pledge—Grand Rapids campus of Thomas M. Cooley Law School
Service to Soldiers Program—Cooley Law School, Tuscola County |
| 11 |
Detroit Pro Bono Fair
Grand Rapids Pro Bono & Community Service Fair
Pro Bono & Community Service Fair |
| 12 |
Bankruptcy Education Series, Cooley Law School, Detroit
Washtenaw Pro Bono Breakfast |
| 13 |
Cooley Pro Bono Pledge—Thomas M. Cooley Law School, Ann Arbor |
| 14 |
Free Legal Advice Day—Washtenaw County Bar Ass'n, 14-A-2 District Court, Ypsilanti |
| 17 |
Lansing Pro Bono Fair presented by the Pro Bono Initiative of the State Bar of Michigan, Thomas M. Cooley Law School, Lansing
Tenant Law Project—Thomas M. Cooley Law School, Grand Rapids Area Coalition to End Homelessness, Legal Aid of Western Michigan, and the Legal Assistance Center, Grand Rapids
Pro Bono Night—Hispanic Bar Association, Lincoln Park |
| 19 |
Cooley Pro Bono Pledge—Thomas M. Cooley Law School, Auburn Hills
Pro Bono Breakfast—Oakland County Circuit & Probate Courts |
| 20 |
Michigan Litigation Assistance P'ship Program QDRO Admin. Group meeting
Dégagé Ministries—Legal Services Program, Thomas M. Cooley Law School, Grand Rapids |
| 21 |
Center for Ethics, Service, and Professionalism, Thomas M. Cooley Law School—attorney training on the Nuances of Representing Military Clients
Veterans Housing Law Rights—MSU College of Law Housing Clinic, Lansing |
| 24 |
Ask The Lawyer Night—Legal Services of Eastern MI and Saginaw County Bar Ass'n
—Pro Bono Appreciation Luncheon with special guest speaker Justice Marilyn Kelly—Legal Services of Eastern MI and Saginaw County Bar Ass'n |
| 25 |
Prisoner Rights, U.S. District Court, Detroit |
| 26 |
Legal Information Night—Mel Trotter Ministries— Thomas M. Cooley Law School, Michigan Chapter of the Christian Legal Society, and Mel Trotter Ministries, Grand Rapids
Free Legal Aid Clinic—Oakland County Bar Ass'n and Straker Bar Ass'n |
| 28 |
Immigration Outreach—Cooley Law School, Pontiac
—Legal Advice Clinic—staffed by Saginaw County Bar Ass'n attorneys, Legal Services of Eastern MI
Dégagé Ministries—Legal Services Program, Thomas M. Cooley Law School, Grand Rapids
Lansing Area Pro Bono Lunch—Willingham Cote' and Legal Services of South Central MI |
Nov.
1 |
Nuts and Bolts of Divorce—Common Ground Legal Clinic |
| 3 |
Representing Asylum-Seekers—Freedom House, Schoolcraft College |
2010 Pro Bono Month Activities
| 1 |
Master Lawyers Section Guide to Pro Bono, Grand Rapids |
| 7 |
Will Clinic—General Motors, Detroit Metro. Bar, Legal Hotline for MI Seniors, Detroit |
| 8 |
Project Salute FREE Veteran's Federal Disability Training, Lansing
Homeless Assistance and Prevention Project—Open Door Ministries, 215 North Capitol Ave., Lansing |
| 11 |
Senior Pro Bono Outreach—Auburn Hills Community Center, 1827 North Squirrel Rd., Auburn Hills |
| 14 |
Pro Bono Education Workshop: Street Law Initiative—Univ. Club of Grand Rapids, 111 Lyon NW, Fifth Third Center, Grand Rapids
Pro Bono Mentor Match Program—Oakland County Bar Ass'n, Oakland County Comm'rs Aud., special guest Chief Justice Marilyn J. Kelly |
| 15-17 |
"Service to Soldiers" Legal Assistance Program—Fort Custer Army National Guard Base, near Battle Creek |
| 15-30 |
Wills and Powers of Attorney Workshop—Various Locations, Grand Rapids |
| 15 |
Pro Bono Consumer Bankruptcy Program—Legal Aid Western MI, 89 Ionia Ave., Grand Rapids |
| 18 |
Free Legal Aid Clinic, Madison Heights City Hall |
| 19 |
Common Ground Hosts Family Law Assistance Project Intake Presentation, Oakland County. |
| 20 |
Legal Aid and Defender Pro Bono Awards, Lathrup Village Comty. Ctr. |
| 21 |
Dykema, Ann Arbor, hosts meeting for the presidents of the local offices of the statewide firms to discuss why and how the statewide firms should become engaged with their local legal aid program. |
| 22 |
Free consultations—Hispanic Bar Ass'n and Consul of Mexico, Holy Redeemer Church, Detroit |
| 25 |
Ask the Lawyer Night at Saginaw Public Library (free and open to the public) |
| 26 |
Ask a Lawyer, Gone Wired Cafe, Lansing
Homeless Assistance and Prevention Project—Open Door Ministries, 215 North Capitol Ave., Lansing
Legal Advice Clinic for Low Income Seniors, Saginaw |
| 27 |
Powers of Attorney—Legal Services of South Central MI, Burnham Brook Senior Ctr., Battle Creek |
| 28 |
Foreclosure Law Panel, Flint—Legal Services of Eastern MI—Pro Bono Appreciation Luncheon
Legal Aid of Western MI honors Joy Fossel with the Michael Barnes Award for her voluntary legal work |
| 29 |
Domestic Violence Pro Bono Family Law Training—Legal Advice Clinic for Low Income People at LSEM Office (by appointment) |
| November 15 |
Federal Bar Ass'n presents Basics of Employment Discrimination Law Pro Se Clinic. |
2009 Pro Bono Month Activities
Locally
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