expand and build capacity for the 24th JDC Self Help Desk; (2) work on expanding volunteer recruitment by ... online and
AmeriCorps Member Position Description Member Position / Title: Volunteer Coordinator
# of Member Slots in this Position: 1
Member Immediate Supervisor: Kathleen Legendre
Name Days / Hours of Service: Monday-Friday, 8:30am-4:30pm
Member Immediate Supervisor Title: Managing Attorney
Email Address:
[email protected]
Partner Organization Name:
The Pro Bono Project
Address: 615 Baronne Street, Suite 203, New Orleans, LA 70113
Website: www.probono-no.org
Organization / Agency Mission and/or Goals: The Pro Bono Project's mission is to provide free, quality civil legal services to the underserved by engaging volunteer lawyers to render pro bono services. The Project serves Orleans, Jefferson, Plaquemines, St. Bernard, St. Tammany and Washington parishes. With grants and private fund raising The Project helps out almost 3,000 people a year, with the economic benefit to clients totaling over $3.5 million. The Project works in collaboration with other legal and social service providers to improve the quality of life for our clients and our community. Program Mission and/or Goals: The Pro Bono Project recruits, trains and mentors volunteer attorneys on civil legal aid cases. Low income clients that meet financial and legal eligibility requirements will be matched with a volunteer lawyer who can provide pro bono representation on a variety of issues including successions, divorce, provisional custody by mandate, child in need of care, public benefits, immigration law, bankruptcy and consumer matters. The pro bono mentoring method provides an efficient approach for the private bar to positively contribute to their community by rendering public service to the poor and underserved. The Project’s panel of approximately 1,800 volunteer attorneys represents an extensive and diverse pool of legal expertise, creating the opportunity for The Project to respond to a variety of legal problems. The Project has created special programs and clinics for specialized populations in need of free legal advice and representation, including for the elderly, the homeless, veterans and immigrants. The Project also operates a Self Help Desk at the Twenty-Fourth Judicial District Court (JDC), in Jefferson Parish, where pro se litigants come to seek assistance with filing petitions on family law matters (i.e. divorce, custody, etc.) 1
The Volunteer Coordinator will work on two main projects during his/her service year: (1) expand and build capacity for the 24th JDC Self Help Desk; (2) work on expanding volunteer recruitment by conducting outreach to new volunteer pools and developing new engagement strategies. Community Need: Litigants in civil legal matters generally do not receive court-appointed counsel, so they must either represent themselves, pay for counsel or try to secure pro bono representation from a nonprofit organization. Due to the lack of funding for civil legal services, the availability of pro bono representation is limited in Louisiana, and so the private bar becomes an important resource to leverage in the effort to increase legal representation for vulnerable populations. The demographics of the Greater New Orleans area changed drastically over the last decade since Hurricane Katrina, and a growing percentage of our civil legal aid population consists of immigrants, children, under-educated and illiterate adults, the elderly and the working poor. These populations are often faced with legal challenges that they cannot resolve on their own – they may have been defrauded by a contractor, have been placed in immigration removal proceedings but have a humanitarian claim for relief, need assistance seeking provisional custody of their children or need help accessing public benefits. The Self Help Desk at Jefferson Parish also represents a new wave in the civil legal aid movement, where pro se litigants, who are not eligible for pro bono services, are assisted in representing themselves by filing petitions for divorce, name change, custody, etc. Community members who don’t speak English, are semi-literate or barely literate, struggle with navigating through the court system and rely on self-help desks staffed by volunteers who, while not offering legal advice, can explain the various court forms to be filed, the process for filing and how to access other court-related services. An efficiently run Self-Help Desk can alleviate unnecessary filing fees, courtroom delays and burdens placed on courtroom staff if pro se litigants are educated about the court’s filing and hearing processes. Member Position Summary: The Volunteer Coordinator will work closely with the Managing Attorney for Volunteer Engagement on developing a streamlined system for service delivery at the 24th JDC Self Help Desk. This person will recruit new volunteers, design an effective way to regularly staff the desk through volunteer coverage, create training materials and will organize volunteer trainings. The Coordinator will also use this interface with the community, and The Project’s other clinics, to gather more information about the population’s legal needs. He or she will research, collect, and analyze data, and will identify gaps in services. This information will aid The Project in seeking out new revenue streams to serve new and current populations. The Coordinator will also work with Project staff on general volunteer recruitment, including for some of our specialized service platforms like custody clinics, bankruptcy clinics, etc. and will assist with outreach efforts to engage new volunteers, including young attorneys, who are a largely untapped resource. The Project estimates that roughly 25% of area attorneys have taken a
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pro bono case from the organization in the past, which leaves a great deal of untapped potential for future attorney recruitment. Outreach activities may include organizing trainings, designing handouts and educational materials, identifying and approaching new volunteer pools (i.e. new firms, law schools, professional membership associations), and developing content for print, online and social media outreach platforms. Necessary Training or Training Plan to be implemented prior to Member Placement: • Orientation and training about The Pro Bono Project and Organizational Policies (first week of placement) • Client Sensitivity Training • Shadowing of staff members at the various clinics operated by The Project (Successions Clinic, Medical-Legal Partnership Clinic, Self-Help Desk, court appearances, etc.) • Initial time spent working at the Self Help Desk with Project employees and volunteer attorneys, in order to get a feel for client needs and to assist with designing an effective outreach plan for the program Member Impact: • Expand access to justice through increased and more effective use of volunteers • Expand access to justice for Self Help Desk clients by instituting an organized and efficient system of service delivery at the 24th JDC • Elimination of unnecessary delays and extra costs to the court by streamlining the service delivery at the Self Help Desk • Increase The Project’s ability to serve more clients, and new populations, by assisting with capacity-building efforts • Increased economic impact to help stabilize low income families, seniors, immigrants, veterans and other clients Essential Functions of Position: • Develop a system for volunteer registration, scheduling, training and staffing at the Jefferson Parish Self Help Desk, with tracking mechanisms for clients served, hours worked, etc. • Work with Project staff to develop, create, collate and organize Self Help Desk materials, including volunteer training materials, pro se filing instructions, generic pro se petitions, motions, etc. that can assist clients seeking to represent themselves on family law matters • Interview Self Help Desk clients and other indigent persons in need of legal services to assess how The Project can expand its service spectrum to serve needy populations, and evaluate how volunteer lawyers can plug into these gap areas • Research and identify new recruitment pools for volunteer lawyers • Work with staffers to identify client and volunteer attorney narratives that can be used for outreach and marketing efforts that target new volunteers • Develop volunteer training and outreach materials
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Required Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities: The ideal candidate for the Volunteer Coordinator position will have a commitment to increasing access to justice for the low income population. He or she should be a creative self-starter, a strong communicator who is comfortable engaging with the public and volunteers, and yet also be sensitive to the needs and challenges that clients are facing. Corps member must also: • Be a team player who can collaborate well with others • Be able to follow clear instructions and meet deadlines • Be responsive to supervision • Have the self-confidence and initiative to propose new projects and alternative ways to improve upon service delivery methods • Be comfortable with speaking to clients who come from all walks of life • Be respectful of our client population • Possess strong organizational, written and oral communication skills • Be able to work in a fast-paced office setting, and be able to multi-task and deal with quick turn-around deadlines • Proficiency with Word and Excel, and ability to be creative and work with other other web-based portals where data collection and scheduling/tracking can be employed (i.e. Survey Monkey, Doodle, VolunteerSpot, etc.) • Be sensitive to working with people who may have different perspectives and viewpoints • Must have a Louisiana driver’s license and own insured vehicle to travel to the Self Help Desk in Jefferson Parish, and to other outreach events as needed • Some travel and flexible hours are necessary Required Academic and Experience Qualifications: • Completion of a 4-year undergraduate degree • Prior paid or unpaid experience interfacing with the public and/or working with volunteers • Fluency in Spanish (preferred)
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