Volunteer with VLN

Only You Can Do It!

Over 500 volunteer attorneys, paralegals, interpreters, law students, and community members volunteer with VLN every year. Without you, thousands of members of our community would have no help in accessing our justice system or the law’s protections. Whether you volunteer to give back to the community or are interested in developing new skills or expertise, we need your help! 

Not an Attorney?

Volunteer Lawyers Network has limited volunteer opportunities for paralegals, law students, and people who fluently speak languages other than English who may be able to translate or interpret. Please complete our non-attorney volunteer application, and VLN staff will contact you to determine what volunteer opportunities may be available.

Levels of Volunteer Services

VLN has volunteer opportunities in most areas of civil law and opportunities for all experience levels. Types of volunteering include: 

Extended Representation – Represent a client in a matter. Depending on the case type, this may include drafting pleadings, negotiating on behalf of the client with the opposing party, or representing a client at an administrative hearing. Extended representation is the area of highest need. 

Workshops – At VLN’s workshops, volunteer attorneys advise and help clients complete forms or pleadings for filing. The typical time commitment is 1 – 2 hours per session.  

Clinics

VLN operates walk-in and scheduled clinics located throughout the community. Volunteers are typically scheduled for shifts 3 to 6 months in advance. At most clinics, volunteer or staff Clinic Coordinators help manage client sign-ups, ensure clients complete a clinic datasheet, and are available to help find resources.

In-Person Legal Clinics – Advise clients at walk-in or scheduled legal advice clinics. Clinics are located throughout the community, including at courthouses, libraries, social service agencies, and churches. 

Virtual Legal Clinics – Advise clients at virtual legal clinics connected with the housing court eviction calendar. Click here for more information.   

Phone Advice – Advise 4 – 6 clients over the phone during a 2-hour time block on various topics, including family law, employment, consumer, tax, and more. 

Areas of Law

General Civil Law

Housing

Immigration

Real Estate

Tax

Don’t see the legal topic or type of service that you are interested in? Please contact the Programs Director Glen Drew at glen.drew@vlnmn.org to find a volunteer opportunity that works for you!

Not an Attorney?

Volunteer Lawyers Network has limited volunteer opportunities for paralegals, law students, and people who fluently speak languages other than English who may be able to translate or interpret. Please complete our non-attorney volunteer application, and VLN staff will contact you to determine what volunteer opportunities may be available.

Our Clients

Potential clients contact VLN is three primary ways: 1) by calling VLN’s Client Intake Phone Line or filling out a intake form, 2) by being referred by another legal services organization, or 3) by attending a VLN legal advice clinic

All clients helped by VLN are screened for financial and issue eligibility. Financial guidelines vary on the level of service and issue area. 

Depending on the issue area, the client may be scheduled for an appointment with an attorney during the initial phone call, scheduled for additional screening with a staff or volunteer attorney, or be added to the list of cases for placement with a volunteer attorney.

Connecting Clients & Volunteers

After a qualifying client contacts VLN and completes an intake, our skilled case coordinators begin looking for a volunteer attorney. When an attorney registers with VLN, they list the types of cases they are interested in being contacted about (we call these “panels”). The case coordinator handling that case type email or call potential volunteers and provide a case summary. If an attorney is interested, we send additional information to allow the volunteer to perform a conflict check. Assuming there is not a conflict, we send the potential volunteer additional information or documentation (if available).   

Accepting a Case

Case Placement

Connecting qualifying clients with a volunteer who will help them is referred to as “placing a case” or “case placement”. Once a case is placed with a volunteer attorney, it is that attorney’s responsibility to diligently represent their client.  

Representation Agreements

We ask all volunteers to complete a VLN Client Representation Agreement at their first meeting with their client and return the form to VLN. VLN can help facilitate obtaining an electronic signature on the document. Please ask the case coordinator assigned to your case for help.  

Ongoing Support

VLN case coordinators will check in periodically to ask how the case is going and if you need help or support. Volunteers are actively encouraged to reach out to VLN with any question. Our resources attorneys are available for questions or to help troubleshoot issues. We also have volunteer mentor attorneys available in many areas of law.  

Case Closing

When your case is finished, please complete a case closing form to let us know how much time you volunteered, what happened in the case, and the impact of your representation for your client. 

Why Volunteer with Volunteer Lawyers Network?

Volunteer Lawyers Network (VLN) provides free legal services to low-income Minnesotans through volunteer attorneys who are dedicated to providing access to justice for all Minnesotans. Every year, hundreds of volunteer attorneys provide thousands of legal services to clients who would otherwise have to navigate a complex legal system on their own. VLN depends on volunteer legal professionals, law school students, and interpreters to provide lifechanging services to clients in need of help. 

What our Clients Say

“My lawyer went above and beyond […] I appreciate everything she has done for me because with her I was able to get my dream job […] and start over with a clean record. A lot of people don’t get second chances in life, but I did, and I’m so thankful that [my lawyer] took my case. […] I thank her so much because with her I’m able to live a normal life again and to do better in life. Thank you so much!”  

“They were extremely helpful in helping advocate on my behalf. I was already on the right I just was not sure of all the technical terms and laws. VLN jumped right in and helped win my case and protected my housing rights.”  

“The attorney literally made it possible for me to gain full custody of my grandson at a time that was imperative to his well-being.”

Frequently asked questions

VLN provides a telephone interpreter service that volunteer attorneys can use when working with clients who speak a language other than English. VLN may also be able to provide an in-person interpreter depending on the circumstances. The courts are also required to provide interpreters in many instances.

That depends on you, what type of case you take, and how much time you are willing to spend. In general, volunteering to provide advice to small number of clients over the telephone or at an in-person legal clinic usually takes about 2-4 hours. Representing a client from start to finish in an immigration or court case generally takes more than 4 hours and will vary greatly depending on the case type.

Yes, attorneys volunteering through VLN may report one standard CLE credit for every six hours of pro bono work done through VLN. For every three-year reporting cycle, attorneys volunteering through VLN can claim up to six credits this way. For more information, see CLE Rule 6C.

Yes, VLN has meeting spaces available to meet with your pro bono client. Please let the Case Coordinator you are working with know when you would like to reserve a meeting room to determine if space is available.

Yes, please let the Case Coordinator you are working with know if you would like to use VLN’s address to receive mail at. The address is: Volunteer Lawyers Network, 600 Nicollet Mall, Suite 390A, Minneapolis, MN 55402. 

Yes, please contact the Resource Attorney or Case Coordinator you are working with if you have questions about how your pro bono client can request waiver of the court’s filing fees.

To close your full representation case with VLN, please consult the following checklist: 

  1. Closing Form – Complete the case closing form, including telling us about the impact of your work, feedback about our support, suggestions for improvements, etc. 
  1. Final Order – Send VLN a copy of the final order. You can attach an electronic copy to the online closing form or mail/fax in a hard copy. 
  1. Representation Agreement – Send VLN a copy of the representation agreement if you have not already done so. 

Still have questions?

If you cannot find an answer to your question in our FAQ, you can always contact us.