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Thank you for your interest in the St. Louis Volunteer Lawyers Program (VLP).
Legal Services of Eastern Missouri (LSEM) is the primary provider of legal services to indigent people in Eastern Missouri. Unfortunately, while the number of requests for LSEM’s assistance rises every year, the size of our staff of attorneys and advocates remains essentially the same. The availability of legal assistance to people in need is, therefore, increasingly dependent on the involvement of private volunteer attorneys.
To address this problem, Legal Services of Eastern Missouri and the organized bar developed the VLP almost thirty years ago to address the legal needs of low income individuals in our region. The VLP serves over 500 clients and their families every year and enjoys the services of over 1400 volunteer panel attorneys to provide these essential services.
How to Volunteer Upcoming Training Events VLP Newsletter
How the VLP Operates
The VLP operates by matching eligible clients with attorneys who have agreed to sit on a panel of willing volunteers. Most volunteers on the panel have offered to accept between one and three cases every year, in an area of law they individually designate, but volunteers always retain control over the number of cases they accept, the types of cases they accept and whether they can accept a case at all.
The VLP refers only non fee generating cases for clients whose household incomes are below the federal poverty guidelines. The cases are all civil matters and are most commonly in the areas of Social Security, consumer law, landlord-tenant disputes, family law and public benefits. The average amount of time reported for referred cases is under ten hours.
In addition to providing direct services on cases, volunteers also serve as consultants, participate in outreach programs, make community education presentations, and co-counsel with other volunteers and staff attorneys. Volunteers are an integral part of the services provided by LSEM.
Benefits of Pro Bono Work through the VLP
LSEM designed the VLP to benefit not only the clients, but participating volunteer attorneys as well. Among the advantages of doing pro bono work through the VLP are the following:
Clients are pre-screened to ensure they meet eligibility guidelines (income, priority services, etc.) and legal merit criteria and essential documents and evidence is gathered prior to referral.
The VLP offers free training in substantive areas of the law relevant to referred cases.
The VLP offers volunteer attorneys its research, secretarial and office resources when possible.
The VLP provides Certificates of Inability to Pay where appropriate, allowing volunteers to vigorously participate in litigation without paying some court costs.
The VLP provides secondary malpractice coverage for the duration of a case.
Registration
To join the VLP, please proceed to the "How to Volunteer" section above and complete the brief registration form. We will then contact you to begin your involvement in the program.
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