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The Indiana Pro Bono Network is a centralized platform that connects attorneys with pro bono opportunities offered by civil legal aid organizations across the state. Supported by The Indiana Bar Foundation and Pro Bono Indiana, and powered by Paladin, this platform streamlines the process of engaging in pro bono work. Attorneys can easily browse and accept available cases and volunteer opportunities with just a few clicks, making it simpler than ever to serve communities in need and fulfill professional service goals.

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Does everyone have to report their pro bono activities?

Only the following categories of attorneys are exempt from the reporting requirement:

  • Members of the judiciary or judicial staff;
  • Government lawyers prohibited by statute, rule, regulation, or agency policy from providing pro bono legal services; and
  • Retired and inactive attorneys, even if they hold an active Pro Bono Publico license.

Everyone else must complete the reporting fields as part of their annual registration.

I don’t remember what I did for pro bono last year. What do I do?

Estimates are okay. Just make your best guess!

I didn’t do any pro bono last year. What do I do now?

If you aren’t exempt, and you didn’t perform any pro bono services or donate to a qualified organization, just enter -0- into those fields, then sign up for a pro bono opportunity now so you don’t have to enter -0- next year.

Do pro bono services rendered independently of a program qualify as pro bono for reporting purposes?

Absolutely! Accepting clients and opportunities through an organized pro bono program has many benefits, but is not required. As long as the services are being provided directly to individuals reasonably believed to be of limited means, and either there is no expectation of payment or the work is done at a substantially reduced fee, it counts toward your reportable pro bono hours.

Can I get CLE credit for doing pro bono?

Indiana does not offer CLE credit for pro bono service, but other states, including Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Louisiana, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, and West Virginia, do. If you are licensed in one of these states, check that state’s rules to see if your pro bono service can be converted into CLE credit.

Who qualifies for pro bono legal services in Indiana?

The general definition of “poverty law” is representation of a client that “does not have the financial resources to compensate counsel.” For real world applications, we look to Indiana’s civil legal aid organizations and their rules and guidelines for determining eligibility for their services.

Each civil legal aid organization has their own rules for what types of clients and cases they can and will accept. These rules are dictated by grant funders, organizational priorities, and availability of legal professionals to provide the services.

Typical eligibility factors include:

  • Financial, such as the applicant’s household income and available assets;
  • The type, difficulty, and urgency of the legal issue presented;
  • Residency and/or jurisdiction;
  • The applicant’s citizenship or legal residency status; and/or
  • If the applicant is a member of a special population, such as veterans, LGBTQ, or over 65 years old.

Of course, not everyone that qualifies for civil legal aid services will get them, because there are simply not enough legal aid attorneys to meet the need.

What is considered “low-income”?

“Low-income” for civil legal organizations goes deeper than just not being able to afford legal services. Being “income-qualified” means that the person meets approved specific income and documentation requirements, and these requirements may vary by the type of client, the type of services, and who is funding the program.

Most organizations use the Federal Poverty Guidelines (FPG) to determine eligibility. In this model, annual household income must be below a certain percentage, typically between 125% and 200%, of FPG. Some organizations just look at gross income; others allow certain deductions, such as rent, medical bills, or child care, when determining eligibility. For example, an individual with a household of four applying for assistance from an organization that requires gross household income under 200% would qualify with household income under $62,000, while the same individual applying to an organization that uses 125%, but allows deductions, cannot have more than $39,000 of annual household income remaining after the allowed deductions.

Some programs use state median income figures to determine eligibility. This is more commonly used for housing assistance programs, but legal assistance programs funded by a housing agency, such as HUD or the IHCDA, may be required to follow HUD’s income restrictions.

Other programs, such as programs that serve veterans, the elderly, and victims of domestic violence, may have no income restrictions at all, although applicants must meet other, non-income requirements to be eligible for services.

How do civil legal aid organizations and programs in Indiana operate?

Indiana has several organizations that provide access to free and low-cost legal services, but each organization has a different approach to providing these services. The main approaches used by organizations to provide free and low-cost legal services are:

  • Non-profit law firms. These organizations employ staff attorneys and other legal professionals to provide direct legal services, but most will work with volunteer attorneys for certain projects, cases, and/or services. Funding comes primarily from public and private grants, private donations, and fundraising events, and some may charge a less-than-market fee for their services.

    Indiana organizations that use this model include Indiana Legal Services (ILS), the Neighborhood Christian Legal Clinic, the Indianapolis Legal Aid Society, the Legal Aid Corporation of Tippecanoe County, the Metro Legal Clinic, and the Center for Victim and Human Rights.

  • Pro Bono Organizations. These organizations recruit private attorneys and other legal professionals to provide legal services for low-income clients, either on a pro bono or reduced fee basis. These organizations may have attorneys on staff, but their main role is to manage client referrals and support the volunteer attorneys instead of representing clients. Funding comes primarily from public and private grants, private donations, and fundraising events.

    Indiana organizations that use this model include Pro Bono Indiana, the Volunteer Lawyer Program of Northeast Indiana (VLPNEI), and the Whitewater Valley Pro Bono Commission.

  • Specialized Programs. These organizations focus on a specific population, such as children, immigrants, or victims of domestic violence, and legal assistance may be one of several services provided to members of that population. Legal assistance is typically managed by staff attorneys, but volunteer attorneys are used to provide day-to-day representation and services whenever possible. Funding comes primarily from public and private grants, private donations, and fundraising events.

    Indiana organizations that use this model include Kids Voice Indiana, the Indiana Coalition Against Domestic Violence (ICADV), and the National Immigrant Law Center (NILC).

  • Bar Associations. Many bar associations offer pro bono opportunities for their members. Some events are also done in partnership with another civil legal aid organization, such as a non-profit law firm or a pro bono organization. Funding comes primarily from member dues, with some receiving funding from a related bar foundation that accepts charitable donations. Volunteers typically must be members of the bar association in order to participate.
  • Law Schools. Every law school in Indiana encourages its students to use their new legal skills to help low-income people, whether by applying for a clinic program, participating in a student-run legal information clinic, or volunteering for a non-profit organization. Some of these clinic programs also use volunteer attorneys as supervisors or advisors.
What types of pro bono programs and opportunities are available in Indiana?

There are a variety of programs and opportunities:

  • Services to individuals: Opportunities include taking a shift for an in-person or virtual help desk, answering questions on Indiana Free Legal Answers; giving legal advice during a clinic, helping clients prepare standard forms; drafting letters, pleadings, or other documents under a limited scope agreement, or providing extended representation services. Many available opportunities of this type can be found on this website. These types of services are typically considered “reportable” pro bono under Rule 6.7.
  • Services to organizations: Assist a new non-profit organization with their tax, business, or legal needs. Common needs include business formation and governance, securing tax-exempt status, drafting or reviewing legal documents, protecting intellectual property, and developing HR policies. [Example: Pro Bono Partnership]
  • Service to the community: Look around and see what your community needs. This can take the form of doing a know-your-rights presentation to a school, church or civic organization;
  • Service to the profession: You can serve on your bar association’s Pro Bono Committee (No committee? Start one!), volunteer to present a CLE for a pro bono organization or bar association, or work with your local judiciary to improve access for unrepresented litigants. Of course, always be willing to share your support of doing pro bono.
Does everyone have to report their pro bono activities?

Only the following categories of attorneys are exempt from the reporting requirement:

  • Members of the judiciary or judicial staff;
  • Government lawyers prohibited by statute, rule, regulation, or agency policy from providing pro bono legal services; and
  • Retired and inactive attorneys, even if they hold an active Pro Bono Publico license.

Everyone else must complete the reporting fields as part of their annual registration.

I don’t remember what I did for pro bono last year. What do I do?

Estimates are okay. Just make your best guess!

I didn’t do any pro bono last year. What do I do now?

If you aren’t exempt, and you didn’t perform any pro bono services or donate to a qualified organization, just enter -0- into those fields, then sign up for a pro bono opportunity now so you don’t have to enter -0- next year.

Do pro bono services rendered independently of a program qualify as pro bono for reporting purposes?

Absolutely! Accepting clients and opportunities through an organized pro bono program has many benefits, but is not required. As long as the services are being provided directly to individuals reasonably believed to be of limited means, and either there is no expectation of payment or the work is done at a substantially reduced fee, it counts toward your reportable pro bono hours.

Can I get CLE credit for doing pro bono?

Indiana does not offer CLE credit for pro bono service, but other states, including Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Louisiana, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, and West Virginia, do. If you are licensed in one of these states, check that state’s rules to see if your pro bono service can be converted into CLE credit.

Who qualifies for pro bono legal services in Indiana?

The general definition of “poverty law” is representation of a client that “does not have the financial resources to compensate counsel.” For real world applications, we look to Indiana’s civil legal aid organizations and their rules and guidelines for determining eligibility for their services.

Each civil legal aid organization has their own rules for what types of clients and cases they can and will accept. These rules are dictated by grant funders, organizational priorities, and availability of legal professionals to provide the services.

Typical eligibility factors include:

  • Financial, such as the applicant’s household income and available assets;
  • The type, difficulty, and urgency of the legal issue presented;
  • Residency and/or jurisdiction;
  • The applicant’s citizenship or legal residency status; and/or
  • If the applicant is a member of a special population, such as veterans, LGBTQ, or over 65 years old.

Of course, not everyone that qualifies for civil legal aid services will get them, because there are simply not enough legal aid attorneys to meet the need.

What is considered “low-income”?

“Low-income” for civil legal organizations goes deeper than just not being able to afford legal services. Being “income-qualified” means that the person meets approved specific income and documentation requirements, and these requirements may vary by the type of client, the type of services, and who is funding the program.

Most organizations use the Federal Poverty Guidelines (FPG) to determine eligibility. In this model, annual household income must be below a certain percentage, typically between 125% and 200%, of FPG. Some organizations just look at gross income; others allow certain deductions, such as rent, medical bills, or child care, when determining eligibility. For example, an individual with a household of four applying for assistance from an organization that requires gross household income under 200% would qualify with household income under $62,000, while the same individual applying to an organization that uses 125%, but allows deductions, cannot have more than $39,000 of annual household income remaining after the allowed deductions.

Some programs use state median income figures to determine eligibility. This is more commonly used for housing assistance programs, but legal assistance programs funded by a housing agency, such as HUD or the IHCDA, may be required to follow HUD’s income restrictions.

Other programs, such as programs that serve veterans, the elderly, and victims of domestic violence, may have no income restrictions at all, although applicants must meet other, non-income requirements to be eligible for services.

How do civil legal aid organizations and programs in Indiana operate?

Indiana has several organizations that provide access to free and low-cost legal services, but each organization has a different approach to providing these services. The main approaches used by organizations to provide free and low-cost legal services are:

  • Non-profit law firms. These organizations employ staff attorneys and other legal professionals to provide direct legal services, but most will work with volunteer attorneys for certain projects, cases, and/or services. Funding comes primarily from public and private grants, private donations, and fundraising events, and some may charge a less-than-market fee for their services.

    Indiana organizations that use this model include Indiana Legal Services (ILS), the Neighborhood Christian Legal Clinic, the Indianapolis Legal Aid Society, the Legal Aid Corporation of Tippecanoe County, the Metro Legal Clinic, and the Center for Victim and Human Rights.

  • Pro Bono Organizations. These organizations recruit private attorneys and other legal professionals to provide legal services for low-income clients, either on a pro bono or reduced fee basis. These organizations may have attorneys on staff, but their main role is to manage client referrals and support the volunteer attorneys instead of representing clients. Funding comes primarily from public and private grants, private donations, and fundraising events.

    Indiana organizations that use this model include Pro Bono Indiana, the Volunteer Lawyer Program of Northeast Indiana (VLPNEI), and the Whitewater Valley Pro Bono Commission.

  • Specialized Programs. These organizations focus on a specific population, such as children, immigrants, or victims of domestic violence, and legal assistance may be one of several services provided to members of that population. Legal assistance is typically managed by staff attorneys, but volunteer attorneys are used to provide day-to-day representation and services whenever possible. Funding comes primarily from public and private grants, private donations, and fundraising events.

    Indiana organizations that use this model include Kids Voice Indiana, the Indiana Coalition Against Domestic Violence (ICADV), and the National Immigrant Law Center (NILC).

  • Bar Associations. Many bar associations offer pro bono opportunities for their members. Some events are also done in partnership with another civil legal aid organization, such as a non-profit law firm or a pro bono organization. Funding comes primarily from member dues, with some receiving funding from a related bar foundation that accepts charitable donations. Volunteers typically must be members of the bar association in order to participate.
  • Law Schools. Every law school in Indiana encourages its students to use their new legal skills to help low-income people, whether by applying for a clinic program, participating in a student-run legal information clinic, or volunteering for a non-profit organization. Some of these clinic programs also use volunteer attorneys as supervisors or advisors.
What types of pro bono programs and opportunities are available in Indiana?

There are a variety of programs and opportunities:

  • Services to individuals: Opportunities include taking a shift for an in-person or virtual help desk, answering questions on Indiana Free Legal Answers; giving legal advice during a clinic, helping clients prepare standard forms; drafting letters, pleadings, or other documents under a limited scope agreement, or providing extended representation services. Many available opportunities of this type can be found on this website. These types of services are typically considered “reportable” pro bono under Rule 6.7.
  • Services to organizations: Assist a new non-profit organization with their tax, business, or legal needs. Common needs include business formation and governance, securing tax-exempt status, drafting or reviewing legal documents, protecting intellectual property, and developing HR policies. [Example: Pro Bono Partnership]
  • Service to the community: Look around and see what your community needs. This can take the form of doing a know-your-rights presentation to a school, church or civic organization;
  • Service to the profession: You can serve on your bar association’s Pro Bono Committee (No committee? Start one!), volunteer to present a CLE for a pro bono organization or bar association, or work with your local judiciary to improve access for unrepresented litigants. Of course, always be willing to share your support of doing pro bono.
I am a prosecutor or a deputy prosecutor.   Would pro bono work on sentence expungements be allowed under the Rules of Professional Responsibility? 

Probably yes, but you should check with your office policy before committing to such work. Prosecutors, including deputy prosecutors, have a duty of loyalty to the state of Indiana. Further, RPC 1.8(l) outlines limitations on part-time prosecutors and deputy prosecutors when they are representing private clients, which would include pro bono clients. However, the rule recognizes that upon express written limitation of responsibility to exclude prosecutorial authority in matters related to family law, a part-time deputy prosecutor may fully represent private clients in cases involving family law. If pursuing pro bono work as a prosecutor or deputy prosecutor, it would be wise to enter into a written agreement with your private client that notes the exclusion of the use of prosecutorial authority as a part of the private, pro bono representation.

I am a public defender. Would pro bono work on sentence expungements be allowed under the Rules of Professional Responsibility? 

Likely, yes, but you should check with your office policy before committing to such work.

If I am assigned to work on expungements as a prosecutor or public defender, would that work count as pro bono work under RPC 6.1?  

No, any work assigned by your employer does not qualify as pro bono work. In contrast, if your employer allows you to participate in pro bono work similar to your daily workload, but outside of government employment hours, this could be considered pro bono work.

I am a state or local government agency lawyer.   May I represent pro bono clients before the judicial tribunal that hears my government client matters?

You may do so under certain circumstances. Ind. RPC 1.7 addresses current conflicts of interest and requires that affected clients give informed consent, confirmed in writing, should a direct conflict of interest present itself. Beyond the circumstance of a direct conflict of interest, representing pro bono clients before judicial tribunals in which you conduct or could conduct your government representation might cause confusion. If you are providing outside legal work, you must ensure that all parties involved realize that you are acting solely in a personal capacity rather than in your official capacity on behalf of the government. As with all pro bono work by government lawyers, every step should be taken to check to make sure that such work is within the bounds of your agency or office’s pro bono policy.

I am a state or local government agency lawyer. May I represent pro bono clients before judicial tribunals before which I do not appear as a part of my paid job?    

Yes, but out of an abundance of caution, you should ensure that all parties involved realize that you are acting solely in a personal capacity rather than in your official capacity on behalf of the government. As with all pro bono work by government lawyers, every step should be taken to check to make sure that such work is within the bounds of your agency or office’s pro bono policy.

I am a state or local government lawyer whose agency or office would benefit from otherwise self-represented-litigants appearing before our agency being represented by pro bono lawyers; may I work to connect these potential clients to outside providers of pro bono services?

As with all pro bono work by government lawyers, every step should be taken to check to make sure that such work is within the bounds of your agency or office’s pro bono policy. Beyond that, connecting otherwise self-represented-litigants (SRLs) before your agency or office to pro bono resources (e.g., Indiana Legal Help) would also have to be approved by your agency leadership and follow laws regarding government recommendations and communications. For example, RPC 4.3 limits what a lawyer can tell an unrepresented litigant. Under this rule, you would have to tell the unrepresented litigant (or SRL, self-represented-litigant) that you are not representing the litigant’s interest.

Further, if you are a government lawyer who works for the courts or a judge, you may not show any preference to a firm, agency, or office. See CJC 1.3, requiring the judge and staff to not abuse the prestige of the judicial office by advancing the personal of economic interests of others.

A pilot program might involve the following steps:

  1. Draft a formal pro bono implementation plan that includes a screen for indigency and need for an attorney.
  2. Create or share publicly available training materials for SLRs and/or attorneys interested in providing pro bono services in agency/office matters.
  3. Give the otherwise self-represented-litigant contact information for potential pro bono representation (Indiana Legal Services, Pro Bono Indiana, Indy Bar).
  4. In some appropriate manner, recognize the pro bono service by the lawyer (in issued orders or otherwise).
As a government lawyer, am I exempt from reporting my pro bono service to the Indiana Supreme Court in conjunction with my annual registration as a member of the Indiana Bar?

Maybe, RPC 6.7(a)(4) provides an exemption to any pro bono reporting obligation for government lawyers who are prohibited by statute, rule, regulation, or agency policy from providing legal services outside his or her employment. If you are not prohibited from providing pro bono legal services outside of your government employment, you are obligated to report your annual pro bono hours, even if the number is zero.

Does Indiana law prohibit any government lawyers from providing legal services outside of government employment?

Yes. For example, full-time prosecutors and full-time deputy prosecutors are required to devote their full professional time to the duties to the prosecuting attorney office. I.C. 33-39-6-6.
Even if no law prohibits pro bono service, you should always check with the leadership of your agency or office about practicing law outside of your government employment before commencing such work.

As a government lawyer, should I assume that my agency or office prohibits pro bono work?

No, you should not assume a prohibition of pro bono work. However, you should recognize that many government lawyers are prohibited from practicing law outside of their employment and that even if such legal work is not prohibited, it may be strictly limited. For example, a policy may limit such work to that which does not involve the entry of an appearance in any federal, state, or local court or work that does not “involve a matter of public controversy.” As a public employee, you should always check with the leadership of your agency or office about practicing law outside of your government employment before commencing such work.

I regularly do a lot of unpaid public interest work that is not required to be reported by of RPC 6.7; may I report those efforts in my annual registration?

As it currently exists, you are invited to include additional information about helping others in a short survey included with the annual registration process. In addition, you may opt to share your perspectives on this work with future law students.

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