Pro bono net
Encyclopedia
Pro Bono Net is a national nonprofit organization based in New York City
and San Francisco. The organization works in close partnership with nonprofit legal aid
organizations across the United States
and Canada
, to increase access to justice for the millions of poor people who face legal problems every year without help from a lawyer. It does this by (i) supporting the innovative and effective use of technology by the nonprofit legal sector, (ii) increasing participation by volunteers, and (iii) facilitating collaborations among nonprofit legal organizations and advocates working on similar issues or in the same region. Founded in 1998 with a grant from the Open Society Institute
, Pro Bono Net has developed a broad base of support from foundations, law firms, corporate sponsors and nonprofit partners alike, to build web platforms that offer powerful and sophisticated online tools to pro bono and legal aid advocates, and to provide critical legal information and assistance directly to the public. Its model has been adopted in 30 states and regions, reaching approximately two-thirds of the poverty population and lawyers in the United States.
and pro bono
attorneys, law professors and students, and related social services advocates. The site promotes collaboration and makes it easier for pro bono attorneys to get involved, saving them time and connecting them with opportunities, training events, mentors, and searchable libraries of practice resources they won't find anywhere else. The site is organized by topical "practice areas" and geographic regions, built and maintained by public interest legal organizations and law firms throughout the country. Members include more than 50,000 advocates from hundreds of public interest organizations and private firms. The prototype of the probono.net site was launched in March 1999, with two practice areas in New York City.
based on a user's input. The LawHelp Interactive system increases opportunities for self-represented litigants to achieve justice on their own and improves efficiency for legal aid, pro bono and courts-based access to justice programs. This project is in collaboration with Ohio State Legal Services Association, with funding by the Legal Services Corporation
, and using HotDocs
software donated by LexisNexis
.
, Pro Bono Net has developed a customized, hosted web application to increase law firms' pro bono program management capacity. Operating as a secure, seamless extension of a law firm's intranet, the platform integrates content from the public interest legal community regarding training events, volunteer opportunities and news with powerful reporting, knowledge management and lawyer matching tools that draw on data from the law firm's internal personnel, billing, time keeping and docketing systems. Pro Bono Manager is being used by leading large law firms and is available as a subscription service.
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
and San Francisco. The organization works in close partnership with nonprofit legal aid
Legal aid
Legal aid is the provision of assistance to people otherwise unable to afford legal representation and access to the court system. Legal aid is regarded as central in providing access to justice by ensuring equality before the law, the right to counsel and the right to a fair trial.A number of...
organizations across the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, to increase access to justice for the millions of poor people who face legal problems every year without help from a lawyer. It does this by (i) supporting the innovative and effective use of technology by the nonprofit legal sector, (ii) increasing participation by volunteers, and (iii) facilitating collaborations among nonprofit legal organizations and advocates working on similar issues or in the same region. Founded in 1998 with a grant from the Open Society Institute
Open Society Institute
The Open Society Institute , renamed in 2011 to Open Society Foundations, is a private operating and grantmaking foundation started by George Soros, aimed to shape public policy to promote democratic governance, human rights, and economic, legal, and social reform...
, Pro Bono Net has developed a broad base of support from foundations, law firms, corporate sponsors and nonprofit partners alike, to build web platforms that offer powerful and sophisticated online tools to pro bono and legal aid advocates, and to provide critical legal information and assistance directly to the public. Its model has been adopted in 30 states and regions, reaching approximately two-thirds of the poverty population and lawyers in the United States.
Partner programs
Pro Bono Net has partnered with nonprofit legal organizations across the U.S. to develop and maintain its programs:Probono.net
Probono.net is a national, online resource for legal aidLegal aid
Legal aid is the provision of assistance to people otherwise unable to afford legal representation and access to the court system. Legal aid is regarded as central in providing access to justice by ensuring equality before the law, the right to counsel and the right to a fair trial.A number of...
and pro bono
Pro bono
Pro bono publico is a Latin phrase generally used to describe professional work undertaken voluntarily and without payment or at a reduced fee as a public service. It is common in the legal profession and is increasingly seen in marketing, technology, and strategy consulting firms...
attorneys, law professors and students, and related social services advocates. The site promotes collaboration and makes it easier for pro bono attorneys to get involved, saving them time and connecting them with opportunities, training events, mentors, and searchable libraries of practice resources they won't find anywhere else. The site is organized by topical "practice areas" and geographic regions, built and maintained by public interest legal organizations and law firms throughout the country. Members include more than 50,000 advocates from hundreds of public interest organizations and private firms. The prototype of the probono.net site was launched in March 1999, with two practice areas in New York City.
LawHelp.org
LawHelp is an online resource that helps low and moderate-income people find free legal aid programs in their communities, answers to questions about their legal rights, court information, links to social service agencies, and more. This resource was built and is maintained in partnership with hundreds of legal aid, pro bono and court-based programs across the country. LawHelp.org was recognized with the 2007 Webby Award for Best Law site and nominated for the 2008 Webby Award in the same category. The first LawHelp site designed to serve the information needs of the public was launched in New York City in April 2001.LawHelp Interactive
Pro Bono Net leads a national, centralized effort to provide online legal document assembly for poverty law and court access to justice programs across the country. This site allows subject matter experts to create interview templates that can be used to assemble court forms and other legal documents in PDF or Rich Text FormatRich Text Format
The Rich Text Format is a proprietary document file format with published specification developed by Microsoft Corporation since 1987 for Microsoft products and for cross-platform document interchange....
based on a user's input. The LawHelp Interactive system increases opportunities for self-represented litigants to achieve justice on their own and improves efficiency for legal aid, pro bono and courts-based access to justice programs. This project is in collaboration with Ohio State Legal Services Association, with funding by the Legal Services Corporation
Legal Services Corporation
The Legal Services Corporation is a private, non-profit corporation established by the United States Congress. It seeks to ensure equal access to justice under the law for all Americans by providing civil legal assistance to those who otherwise would be unable to afford it...
, and using HotDocs
HotDocs
HotDocs is an automated document generation software program currently owned and marketed by HotDocs Limited. Version 1.0 was introduced in 1993 by Capsoft Development and its founder, Marshall Morrise. HotDocs has been built upon and enhanced continuously since its introduction and continues to be...
software donated by LexisNexis
LexisNexis
LexisNexis Group is a company providing computer-assisted legal research services. In 2006 it had the world's largest electronic database for legal and public-records related information...
.
Pro Bono Manager
With the support of the Bill & Melinda Gates FoundationBill & Melinda Gates Foundation
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is the largest transparently operated private foundation in the world, founded by Bill and Melinda Gates. It is "driven by the interests and passions of the Gates family"...
, Pro Bono Net has developed a customized, hosted web application to increase law firms' pro bono program management capacity. Operating as a secure, seamless extension of a law firm's intranet, the platform integrates content from the public interest legal community regarding training events, volunteer opportunities and news with powerful reporting, knowledge management and lawyer matching tools that draw on data from the law firm's internal personnel, billing, time keeping and docketing systems. Pro Bono Manager is being used by leading large law firms and is available as a subscription service.