Legal Service Champions: Houston Volunteer Lawyers (Houston, TX)
Houston Volunteer Lawyers (HVL) has been using Paladin for the past five years to support their pro bono volunteer recruitment efforts. HVL is able to share opportunities through the Pro Bono Texas Portal, as well as through Paladin’s marketplace for law firm and corporate legal teams. Brittany Krohn, HVL’s Pro Bono Coordinator, took a few minutes to share more about this incredible organization.
What you should know about HVL:
Houston Volunteer Lawyers was founded by the Houston Bar Association in 1981 and is the largest provider of pro bono legal services in Harris County and the surrounding areas. Thousands of private attorneys volunteer their time and expertise each year to provide free legal assistance on civil matters to eligible, low-income area residents. We offer an array of pro bono opportunities, including direct representation on matters such as name changes, divorce, guardianship, landlord/tenant disputes, bankruptcy, and criminal records relief. We also have limited scope opportunities including a weekly remote legal advice clinic, and in-person veterans clinics at the VA Hospital.
What inspires me most about pro bono:
I have been working with HVL’s pro bono program for over 9 years.
My favorite part of the work is helping pro bono attorneys find their perfect pro bono match.
Discovering what projects, populations, and experiences they’re passionate about, and matching those passions to the needs of HVL clients.
How Paladin helps support our program:
Paladin has been great in helping us recruit volunteer attorneys from firms that we don’t have established relationships with. It allows us to share remote case and clinic volunteer opportunities outside of our established volunteer pool.
What I want pro bono attorneys to know:
When you accept a pro bono case through HVL, a staff attorney is there to provide support throughout the entire case.
Your staff attorney mentor will provide recorded CLE trainings, checklists, sample forms, and templates. Volunteer attorneys are also covered under HVL’s malpractice insurance.
Thank you to Brittany and the entire HVL team for the incredible work to increase access to representation for civil legal issues in the Houston area! Learn more and sign up for HVL projects here.
