Pro Bono
| Jurisdiction | United States,Federal |
| Citation | Vol. 27 No. 2 Pg. 0056 |
| Pages | 0056 |
| Publication year | 2021 |
Mentoring in the Pro Bono Context
The pro bono community in Georgia demonstrates robust and innovative mentoring approaches. If you are interested in volunteering to make a difference for someone with a critical legal problem, you'll have the support you need.
BY MIKE MONAHAN
Mentoring in the pro bono context can address a volunteer's perceived or actual weakness or lack of confidence in a particular legal matter or target skills development. Mentoring can also improve communication in the volunteer's relationship with the volunteer lawyer program and increase pro bono case handling efficiency.
Not all public interest pro bono programs are designed to have a staff member assigned to mentor each pro bono attorney. A notable exception is the Georgia Asylum and Immigration Network (www. GeorgiaAsylum.org), a small but powerful public interest program that serves immigrant survivors of crime and persecution that by design relies on mentoring. Most legal aid-affiliated pro bono programs and stand-alone pro bono organizations have a wider mission and do not have the financial or staff resources to offer individualized mentorship to pro bono attorneys.
Pro bono programs are very aware of the impact some level of mentorship plays in successful recruitment of volunteers. While you might find a public interest pro bono program that does offer one-on-one mentorship to its volunteer lawyers, you'll also find that volunteer lawyer programs have developed unique mentoring approaches.
The role of the pro bono program is to ensure the volunteer lawyer has a rewarding experience that results in the best outcome for the client. Most programs offer professional liability insurance coverage for the pro bono cases referred to a volunteer as the primary support. From there, the program builds upon other considerations such as the legal subject matters and their complexity, the forum (such as magistrate court vs. superior court, appeals court, administrative hearing) and the type of client served by the pro bono program that may call for extra cultural and linguistic sensitivity.
Some volunteer lawyers require little subject matter mentoring, but do require support on how to work with a low-income or marginalized client such as a recent non-English speaking immigrant, an infirm senior in a nursing home or a client with a politically unfavorable matter. Often, this support...
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