Why do we need attorneys to do pro bono?

The 2019 Indiana Civil Legal Needs Study and Legal Aid System Scan found that Indiana’s legal aid providers were able to provide full representation to only about 20% of all eligible applicants, with another 25% receiving limited advice or services, and 10.4% referred to pro bono attorneys. The rest received the most basic of help, such as an advice letter, directions to a clinic, or links to self-help materials.

Those numbers are just the people who actually applied for assistance. The same study estimated that only 25% of Hoosiers with a legal need take action and seek legal assistance for that need, and that 96% of all civil legal problems experienced by low-income Hoosier households are not served at all by Indiana’s civil legal aid system.