Celebrating Pro Bono Week

In honor of the American Bar Association’s Pro Bono Celebration Week, the West Virginia State Bar and Legal Aid of West Virginia are highlighting some of the reasons why attorneys donate their time.  

Rule 6.1 of the West Virginia Rules of Professional Responsibility guides attorneys on how to fulfill their professional responsibility to engage in pro bono, so Legal Aid of WV is sharing 6.1 more reasons you should do it too! Click Here for 6.1 Reasons to do Pro Bono

Pro Bono Opportunities

Free Legal Answers

WV Free Legal Answers is a website operated by the American Bar Association (ABA) and the WV State Bar. The purpose of the website is to increase access to advice and information about non-criminal legal matters for those who cannot afford it. There is no fee for the use of the system or for the advice and information provided by the attorney.

Attorneys receive FREE CLE credit for answering legal questions. Rule 6.05(f) allows attorneys to earn one credit hour of CLE for every three completed hours of pro bono legal services performed at one of the organizations named in the rule.

Register and start answering questions

Tuesday Legal Connect

On Tuesday evenings the WV State Bar operates the Tuesday Legal Connect phone hotline. Volunteer lawyers take calls from the public, and offer suggestions and guidance about their questions. Every Tuesday evening from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m., lawyers volunteer their time to answer questions that are presented by men and women throughout West Virginia on a toll free telephone line. The lawyers listen to the citizens’ comments and questions. 

To participate in Tuesday Legal Connect as an attorney, contact Cindy Withrow at 304-343-4481 ext. 2182 or at cwithrow@lawv.net  

The CLE Commission has deemed one shift at TLC to be approved for three pro bono hours so you will earn one pro bono CLE credit for every shift that is completed.

Rule 6.05(f) allows attorneys to earn one credit hour of CLE for every three completed hours of pro bono legal services performed at one of the organizations named in the rule.

  • The organizations are (1) Legal Aid of West Virginia; (2) the State Bar’s West Virginia Free Legal Answers Program; (3) The State Bar’s Tuesday Legal Connect Program and (4) the WVU College of Law Center for Law and Public Service.
  • Attorneys cannot earn pro bono credit for legal services performed at any other organizations.
  • The enumerated organizations report the number of pro bono hours worked to the State Bar on June 1 of each year. The State Bar converts the number of hours to credits and posts the pro bono CLE credits to the attorney’s CLE transcript.
  • You can earn a maximum of 6 pro bono CLE credits per reporting period (equal to 18 hours of pro bono work). No pro bono credits carry over to future reporting periods.
  • There are no partial credits – it is a strict 3 hours for 1 credit rule.

Pro Bono Testimonials/Quotes

Click here for 6.1 Reasons to do Pro Bono – Presented by Legal Aid of WV