This Pro Bono Month, we’re turning to legal services organizations across the Paladin Network to hear directly from the teams working with pro bono volunteers every day.
Throughout October, we’ll ask a different question each week about the possibilities, perceptions, and impact of pro bono—and what legal services organizations want current and future volunteers to know.
We’ll be adding new perspectives throughout the month, so follow along as we IMAGINE, RETHINK, ACT, and INVITE.
Week 1: IMAGINE
Tomorrow, 100 new pro bono volunteers show up ready to help. What becomes possible?
We kicked off Pro Bono Month by asking Put Something Back / Dade Legal Aid to imagine what 100 additional volunteers could make possible for their organization and the communities they serve.
Put Something Back / Dade Legal Aid
Miami, FL
Someone drowning in credit-card debt finally has a path through bankruptcy instead of endless collection calls and wage garnishment. A homeowner facing foreclosure gets counsel in time to save their home before the sale date. A widow or widower, grieving the loss of a spouse, finds a glimmer of kindness instead of living in limbo with mounting bills and a house they cannot touch. Families get their wills, powers of attorney, and estate plans done before a crisis hits. Someone dreaming of starting a small business gets the guidance to incorporate without fear. Consumers have their contracts reviewed in days, not months, so no one gets taken advantage of.
Spanish-speaking clients are matched with attorneys who can meet them in their own language.
Put Something Back runs on lawyers who say yes. One hundred more yeses means more Miami-Dade neighbors dig out of debt, keep their homes, plan for their families, settle a loved one’s estate, and leave with real help – not another referral and a longer wait.
Week 2: RETHINK
What’s one misconception that keeps lawyers from volunteering with you, and what’s the reality?
This week, we’re challenging common misconceptions about pro bono volunteering, starting with West Tennessee Legal Services and their perspective on the time commitment involved in pro bono work.
West Tennessee Legal Services
Jackson, TN
The biggest misconception keeping lawyers from doing pro bono is that they don’t have the time.
That may once have been true. Pro bono often meant messy custody or divorce cases or giving up a Saturday at a legal clinic. If you couldn’t commit to one of those, you simply didn’t participate.
Many legal aid organizations still offer those options, but they’re no longer the only way to serve in 2026.
At WTLS, many opportunities take less than two hours and fit your schedule. Some are virtual clinics where you call assigned clients to complete their estate documents. Others are as simple as reviewing law student work from your couch.
Don’t let an outdated stereotype of pro bono keep you from helping others.
Maryland Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts
Baltimore, MD
At Maryland Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts (MDVLA), we sometimes hear, “I can’t volunteer with MDVLA because I don’t have an art law background!” In reality, art law spans a broad range of common legal practice areas: contracts, intellectual property, commercial real estate, business entity formation, and estate planning.
MDVLA’s clients are creative entrepreneurs with the same legal needs as any small business. From drafting a band’s partnership agreement to negotiating a baker’s commercial lease, MDVLA volunteers help creative professionals strengthen their businesses through limited-scope, transactional engagements. For attorneys looking to build new skills, MDVLA’s Director of Legal Services offers mentorship and support along the way. Those barred outside of Maryland can gain special authorization to participate.
Volunteering with MDVLA is an opportunity to put your existing expertise to work while helping under-resourced creatives sustain their livelihoods and build successful businesses.
Week 3: ACT
What can one volunteer accomplish?
This week, we’re exploring the impact just one pro bono volunteer can make. Legal Aid for New Entrepreneurs (LANE) shares how volunteer attorneys can help entrepreneurs overcome legal barriers, build sustainable businesses, and create lasting change in their communities.
Legal Aid for New Entrepreneurs
Chicago, IL
One volunteer attorney can help transform a dream into a sustainable business. At LANE, volunteers provide free legal assistance to low-income entrepreneurs who often cannot afford counsel but are building businesses that create income, jobs, and stability in their communities.
In just a few hours, a volunteer might help a client choose the right business structure, review a contract, or resolve a legal barrier that has been holding a business back. Those interventions can give entrepreneurs the confidence and legal foundation they need to grow. Our goal is to make it easier for volunteers to utilize their existing expertise to dive in and focus on what they do best.
The impact extends far beyond a single client, strengthening families, neighborhoods, and local economies one business at a time.
Next week is Pro Bono Week, and we’re wrapping up our series with our final theme: INVITE! We’ll hear directly from legal services organizations as they share messages with attorneys who have considered volunteering but haven’t yet raised their hands. Check back next week to hear what they have to say!
Danielle Gobbo
Danielle is passionate about building strong relationships and finding thoughtful, creative solutions to challenges. With a natural problem-solving mindset and curiosity about how technology can make things better, she’s always looking for ways to improve experiences, strengthen connections, and make a meaningful impact. She brings a collaborative, people-first approach to everything she does.
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