Pro Bono

Pro Bono Opportunities

	Case Work
	Guardian ad Litem Program
	Projects
	Contributions

Pro Bono Signup

2005 Award Winners

Pro Bono Policy

Judges

Government/Corporate

Fla. Supreme Court

Pro Bono History

Available Pro Bono Documents

Pro Bono: Casework
Attorneys Providing Safety and Stability to Families

Consumer:

Low-income families have many consumer related problems for which they need legal assistance to maintain their fragile financial situation. Attorneys are needed to assist in Chapter 7 and 13 Bankruptcies, car repossessions, deficiency judgments, used car sales, repair disputes, debt and contract disputes. About 200 consumer cases were referred last year to pro bono attorneys in these areas.

Family:

Families most requested need for services is in family law cases. We concentrate our efforts on protecting domestic violence survivors. We provide legal services primarily in initiating and defending dissolution of marriage with custody, child support, and domestic violence issues. We handle a limited number of other paternity/custody disputes, enforcement of support and post judgment custody disputes. There are an increasing number of relatives who are seeking guardianship cases for adults and Chapter 751/Temporary Custody for minor children. Last year we helped over 200 families in this area with pro bono attorneys.

Housing:

Low-income families have a number of legal problems related to their housing. We need pro bono attorneys to help in eviction defense of a private landlord/tenant rentals. We also have clients who need help in disputes over conditions of their rental unit, in mortgage foreclosures, in boundary disputes, and in fraudulent transfers, all of which relate to the homestead of the client. Pro bono attorneys helped over 150 families in this area last year.

Guardian ad Litem:

We have a unique program that serves children in Orange County. Pro bono attorneys and lay volunteers serve as advocates for children in the juvenile, criminal and domestic relations division of the circuit court. The majority of cases involve abused, abandoned, and neglected children who are the subject of juvenile dependency cases. GALs are appointed in domestic relations cases involving divorce, paternity, and post judgment disputes. The role of the GAL and the GAL Volunteer Assistant is to serve as the "eyes and ears" of the Court and to advocate for the best interests of the child. Currently about 1500 children in Orange County are represented through the Guardian ad Litem Program. Approximately 300 attorneys and 80 lay volunteers participate. Training, manuals and staff support services are available. For more information about the Guardian ad Litem Program, please contact Susan Khoury, Program Coordinator, at skhoury@legalaidocba.org.

Miscellaneous:

Additional areas of law such as immigration, unemployment compensation, non-profit incorporation, appellate, health, and social security, are also referred.

Support Services:

We have manuals and forms for many of these cases, and offer trainings and staff attorney assistance. We can reimburse certain litigation costs such as witness fees, postage and long distance calls. Our office provides malpractice insurance primary coverage for pro bono cases. For more information please contact Cathy Tucker, Pro Bono Coordinator, at ctucker@legalaidocba.org.

Available Documents:
	Case Closing Memorandum
	LAR Referral Information Sheet For Attorneys
	Indigency Forms (updated 09-19-05)
	Indigency Package For Posting

The files listed above are provided in Adobe Acrobat format. To save the file to your personal computer, right click on link and save. If you do not have the Acrobat Reader, you can download it for free on the Adobe website.