For client information, please visit Community Legal Services’ Free Legal Assistance page.
Volunteer Application
Program Overview
The Family Law Mentor Program facilitates the representation of low-income clients in contested dissolution of marriage or parentage proceedings where the children’s safety is an issue. The program assigns inexperienced or non-family law attorneys (Mentees) to an experienced family law attorney (Mentor) who provides initial training and continues to assist each Mentee throughout the case. Each Mentee attends the training and represents one client on a pro bono basis.
Volunteer Positions, Expectations, and Commitment
Mentees are attorneys who have not previously practiced family law. They agree to take one case for direct representation with the assistance of a Mentor. This includes meeting with the client, preparing pleadings, strategizing the case, and appearing in court on behalf of the client at hearings and possibly a trial. The amount of contact with the Mentor will depend on the needs and the requirements of the case. Mentees will need to be available for the two initial training sessions and first client meeting (usually on consecutive Tuesdays between 4:00 PM and 7:00 PM). Cases vary in difficulty and length (6 to 12+ months). Mentees are expected to stay on a case through its completion.
Mentors are experienced family law attorneys who agree to mentor a small group of Mentees (3 to 5) as they each work through their first family law case. Mentors assist with training and supporting Mentees. Mentors conduct the training sessions (usually held two consecutive Tuesdays between 4:00 PM and 7:00 PM). They also provide guidance in strategizing and sharing best practices for family law cases. The amount of contact with the Mentees will depend on each Mentee and on the needs and the requirements of the case. The KCBA Managing Attorney serves as a back up if the mentor is on vacation, in trial, or temporarily unavailable.
Training and Support
The Mentor Program training offers two “nuts and bolts of family law” workshops, as well as a Program Manual covering legal and procedural issues, information about domestic violence and other problems facing clients, and lists of community resources. The program also provides a computer disk containing the required family law forms. Mentees receive 6 CLE credits [5.25 general and .75 ethics], free of charge, for their attendance at the workshops and pro bono representation of one of the clients. Under a new rule enacted in 2000, Mentees can also receive up to four additional hours of CLE credit for time spent representing the client.
The first workshop, which usually runs from 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. on a Tuesday, covers the program’s procedures, an overview of family law, and the steps involved in processing family law cases. At the second workshop a week or two later, the Mentor and Mentees review case summaries of the available clients and decide which case each Mentee will take. Clients arrive for their first meeting with individual attorneys at 5:30 p.m. After approximately one hour, Mentees and the Mentor regroup to debrief and to discuss each attorney’s next steps. After that, the Mentor attorney will be available for guidance and advice to the Mentees as they complete the necessary pleadings and strategize their cases. The amount of contact with the Mentor will depend on the needs and the requirements of the case. The KCBA Managing Attorney serves as a back up if the mentor is on vacation, in trial, or temporarily unavailable.
To view up-coming training opportunities with this and other programs, visit the Free Trainings for Volunteers page.
Benefits of Volunteering
Involvement in the Family Law Mentor program provides valuable experience working with clients while building negotiation and litigation skills. Many new attorneys represent their first client through the Family Law Mentor Program and continue to use the skills they acquired through the program long after their cases are completed. Some Mentee attorneys continue to supplement their practices with the occasional pro bono service to an indigent client in order to help make legal services available to the most vulnerable members of our community, who would otherwise be without representation.
In addition to the malpractice insurance maintained by a volunteer and/or their firm (which serves as the volunteer's primary insurance), KCBA provides volunteers with secondary malpractice insurance for all cases referred through the program.
Ready to volunteer?
For more information, contact Kimberly Todaro, Family Law Mentor Program Managing Attorney, at (206) 267-7020 or CLS@kcba.org with "Family Law Mentor" in the subject line. The application is available at the top of this page.
To view up-coming training opportunities with this and other programs, visit the Free Trainings for Volunteers page.
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