Upcoming Pro Bono Opportunities

By Matt Krueger-Andes and Will Quick

As a tumultuous 2020 nears to a close, there has never been a better time to give back to those who are most in need. One way to give back is to share your legal expertise through current and upcoming NCBA pro bono opportunities, a few of which we have highlighted below.

We hope you will help us carry on our Section’s strong tradition of supporting and participating in pro bono and community service activities as we move together into the new year.

Thank you for considering these worthwhile projects.

4ALL Statewide Day of Service

One day each year, volunteer attorneys across the state come together to field and answer legal questions from fellow North Carolinians. This year’s 4ALL Statewide Day of Service will take place on Friday, March 5, 2021 — and it will be conducted remotely, meaning that you take questions from the comfort of your own home or office.

Even better, volunteers this year will be able to sign up to receive calls in their practice area(s) of choice. The idea is that a volunteer will take fewer calls than she would with the traditional 4ALL setup but will be well positioned to take on callers’ questions focused on the practice areas that the volunteer has chosen. There will also be a “generalists” category for those volunteers brave enough to field questions that do not fall into a specific practice area category — in classic 2020 fashion, expect the unexpected!

4ALL volunteers will be able to sign up for 2-hour shifts, running from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. — and there will also be opportunities to socialize virtually with other volunteers.

We will send out an update when sign-up is available. In the meantime, mark your calendar for March 5 and help us spread the word about this great opportunity to provide an important public service from the comfort of your own home.

NC Free Legal Answers Initiative 

Another great pro bono opportunity — and again one that is available from the comfort of your own home — is the NC Free Legal Answers program. Through this program, you can volunteer to offer your legal expertise virtually and remotely 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.

How does it work? Qualifying NC residents post their civil legal questions to the website. Attorney volunteers will be able to log in to select questions to answer and provide legal information and advice — all anonymously. The “client” will then be emailed when their question receives a response. Where more in-depth legal representation is needed, information about referrals and other legal services projects will be made available. Volunteer Now.

Wills for Heroes

Many of us are already familiar with Wills for Heroes —  the long-running estate planning program that provides free legal assistance to first responders and their families.  Now, the NC Bar Foundation is rising to the challenge and will soon begin offering virtual Wills for Heroes clinics.  As part of the new program, volunteer attorneys will be able to prepare estate planning documents utilizing a new software application built for this purpose.

Stay tuned for the kickoff of this virtual program in the coming weeks. (In the meantime, check out the details of the Wills for Heroes program here.)

NCBA Legal Feeding Frenzy

The annual Legal Feeding Frenzy is a food and fund drive competition among all North Carolina law firms, law schools, and organizations to assist Feeding the Carolinas’ Food Banks. Organizations that raise the most food (based on a per person average — attorneys and staff) will be recognized by the NCBA (categories include sole practitioner, small firm, medium firm, large firm, law school, public interest, and corporate/in-house counsel). The official competition period will run from March 1-31, with a kick-off date to be announced in the coming weeks. Stay tuned for details!