Pro Bono in the District Courts

Cir

1

Dist

ME

PR

2

ED
NY

WD
NY

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Description of Program or Procedures
for Appointment of Counsel in Civil Cases

No plan or program, referrals to Yellow Pages, ME Bar
Assn. or, if income eligible, to legal services (LSC funded
programs are prohibited by law from representing prisoners)
Mandatory Pro Bono Program, Local Rule 83L-adopted
Oct. 2010; established procedure for appt. of counsel and
pay exp.; funded by bar admission dues; clerk selects
names randomly on an annual basis from members of the
trial bar to serve on panel; no member is selected for a
subsequent panel until all members of the bar have been
selected; clerk selection of atty. from the panel is based on
language proficiency, experience, case preference; exemptions for lawyers not having principal office in PR, gov’t
lawyers, and legal aid attys.; attys. can volunteer to be on a
panel; Program is administered by Asst. Ct. Clerk Jorge
Soltero Pales, Esq., 787-772-3018 (TAB 1)
Written Plan re Rules Governing Appt. of Atty. In Pro Se
Civil Actions. Attys. volunteer to be on a civil pro se panel by applying indicating the same information sought by
the PR Rule; atty. can withdraw at any time from panel;
Clerk advises pro se party of the availability of the appointment of counsel; Judge decides whether to appoint
counsel from Panel and notifies Clerk to select on random
basis; Clerk sends notice to selected panel member; NOA
must be made in 30 days; failure of the pro se party to
request counsel does not preclude the judge from appointing counsel sua sponte; volunteer atty. to pay expenses
unless not able to afford; max. expense paid is $200 unless
allowed more by request; atty. may be able to seek and
keep statutory fees based on criteria; Program is administered by the Clerk of the Court Tom Gould, 901-508-7919
(TAB 2)
Ct. in the midst of revamping pro bono program; Working
with University of Buffalo Law School to establish a pro
se clinic at the courthouse to assist litigants and a database
for pro bono atty. assignments; Contact Clerk of Court

Annual Cost
Program

Program is administered by Assist. Ct.
Clerk

Program is administered by the Clerk of
Court

Litigation Exp

Prisoner
Pro Se
Petitions

NonPrisoner
Pro Se
Petitions

26

516

1

64

302

695

298

146

No. Cases
Reviewed

No. Cases
Referred

 

Cir

Dist

Description of Program or Procedures
for Appointment of Counsel in Civil Cases

Annual Cost
Program

Litigation Exp

Prisoner
Pro Se
Petitions

NonPrisoner
Pro Se
Petitions

164

243

643

580

67

74

471

579

70

543

Mike Roerner, 716-551-1750

CT

3

NJ

4

ND
WV
MD

5

ND
TX

Standing Order Regarding Pro Bono Representation,
Local Rule 83.10; opt-out pro bono panel inclusion for
any member of the bar who has appeared as counsel in
more than one civil action since 1/1/2006; Clerk sends
form to each such atty. to complete and return requesting
similar info as PR; atty. can opt-out if done within 21 days
of being sent form, otherwise atty. is on the panel; judge
decides likely merit & whether counsel should be appointed, and instructs Clerk to appoint panel member from
wheel; atty. has 14 days within which to decline apt; if not
timely declined, Clerk enters order appting atty.; rule details responsibilities of atty. and relief from appt.; atty.
bears expenses unless prior order sought and received for
expenses which are handled by the Clerk; atty. may receive statutory fees if prevails; judge may request another
atty. handle any appeal; Contact Pro Se Staff Atty., Cynthia Earle, probono@CTD.USCOURTS.GOV (TAB 3)
No plan or program, referrals to Yellow Pages, Bar Assn.
or, if income eligible, to legal services (LSC funded programs are prohibited by law from representing prisoners)
No plan or program, referrals to Yellow Pages, Bar Assn.
or, if income eligible, to legal services (LSC funded programs are prohibited by law from representing prisoners)
Pro bono program run by Depty. Chief Clerk Jerrett Perlow, 410-962-3191
Pro Bono Civil Panel; written plan for voluntary pro bono
panel in which all attys. are encouraged to join; panel is
administered by the Clerk’s Office; 22 local law firms and
numerous individual practitioners participate; program
allows for the payment of atty. fees up to $1,000 and lit.
expenses up to $3,500; attys. apply on-line; atty. appointed
by Mag. on reference of dist. Judge after a decision case
has merit; short term appointment to assist with mediation
or summary judgment preparation is allowed; no panel
member is called more than twice a year; clerk is respon-

Program is administered by the Clerk of
Court

{07085630;1}2 
 

No. Cases
Reviewed

No. Cases
Referred

 

Cir

Dist

6

WD
TN

7

CD
IL

ND
IL

Description of Program or Procedures
for Appointment of Counsel in Civil Cases

Annual Cost
Program

sible for handling expenses; Contact Clerk of Court Karen
Mitchell, Karen_Mitchell@TXUSCOURTS.GOV
(TAB 4)
Civil Pro Bono Panel for Pro Se Indigent Parties, Local
Rule 83.7; voluntary membership on pro bono panel; pro
se party can apply for apt. of counsel, enter contract for
representation with atty. to receive 1/3 of anything recovered or amount of fees awarded, and reimburse any expenses; apt. is at discretion of judge; clerk assigns the
atty.; atty. not req’d to handle appeal; Clerk administers
expense fund from admission fees and pro hac vice fees;
Clerk provides group malpractice insurance; Contact,
Clerk of Court Tom Gould, 901-508-7919,
Tom_Gould@TNWD.USCOURTS.GOV (TAB 5)
Plan for the Appointment of Counsel for Indigent Parties
in Certain Civil Cases; attys voluntarily register on-line to
be appt’d to be app’td to pro se civil cases; name is placed
on list alphabetically, judicial officer determines whether
case merits appt’mt of counsel, order sent to Pro Bono
Coordinator, and each lawyer app’ted in rotation takes a
case one at time unless allowed to decline for established
reasons; if declined, case is tendered to next atty on list;
alternatively, the Pro Bono Coordinator can recommend to
the judicial officer to vacate the appt’mt. If appeal taken,
app’ted atty can take or decline. W/in 30 days, app’ted
counsel can apply for fees and expenses up to $1,000 and
$500 for eligible law students. Pro Bono Coordinator
works for the Clerk. Contact: Denise Koester, (512) 4924027, Denise_Koester@ilcd.uscourts.gov (TAB 6)
Pro Bono Program, Local Rule 83.35; a mandatory pro
bono program; pursuant to LR 83.11(g), every member of
the trial bar must represent or assist in representing a pro
se litigant; no atty. has to take more than one case per
year; exemptions to attys whose office is outside the dist.;
legal aid attys, gov’t attys; clerk has to obtain attys experience and type of cases atty will accept; assignment is done
by application of the party; once assigned, the atty contin-

{07085630;1}3 
 

Litigation Exp

Prisoner
Pro Se
Petitions

NonPrisoner
Pro Se
Petitions

212

235

575

124

878

948

No. Cases
Reviewed

No. Cases
Referred

 

Cir

8

Dist

ND
IA

SD
IA

ED
MO

MN

Description of Program or Procedures
for Appointment of Counsel in Civil Cases

Annual Cost
Program

ues until completed unless discharged; program is run by
the Clerk’s office; Contact Assist. Clerk Annette Panter,
312-435-6860, Annette_Panter@ILND.USCOURTS.GOV
(TAB 7)
Settlement Assistance Program for Pro Se Litigants, Local Rule 83.11,; Program allows pro se litigants to have
the assistance of atty at settlement conf. Voluntary attys
from the firms who are members of the Chicago Lawyers’
Committee for Civil Rights assist the pro se litigant in
settlement confs, attend conf. and assist with responding to
Motion to Dismiss if appropriate, but do nothing else in
the litigation. Contact LCCR, (TAB 7 – last page)
No written plan or program, just referrals to Yellow Pages,
Bar Assn. or, if income eligible, to legal services (LSC
funded programs are prohibited by law from representing
prisoners)
No written plan or program, just referrals to Yellow Pages,
Bar Assn. or, if income eligible, to legal services (LSC
funded programs are prohibited by law from representing
prisoners)
Plan for the Appointment of Volunteer Counsel for Indigent Parties in Certain Cases; new program to start
1/2014; atty volunteer panel; Clerk or designee is the Pro
Bono Public Service Coordinator; once the judge decides
an atty is needed, the Clerk sends out notice of the case to
all attys on the panel; if no one takes the case within a reasonable time, the Clerk enters a random order assigning
someone from the panel to the case, and the atty enters a
NOA; limited fees, expenses, and compensation is available; Contact Jim Woodward, Clerk of Court,
Jim_Woodward@MOE.USCOURTS.GOV, 314-244-7890
(TAB 8)
Pro Se Project of the D. Ct. and FBA; voluntary program
of the ct. and FBA to (1) recruit volunteer attys to represent pro se litigants with meritorious claim or defenses &
(2) to advise pro se litigants who is pursuing nonmeritorious matter. MN Bar also associated and CLE cred-

{07085630;1}4 
 

Litigation Exp

Prisoner
Pro Se
Petitions

NonPrisoner
Pro Se
Petitions

n/a

n/a

52

568

86

65

170

230

63

245

No. Cases
Reviewed

No. Cases
Referred

86
(4 declined)

 

Cir

9

Dist

AK

CD
CA

ED
CA

ND
CA

Description of Program or Procedures
for Appointment of Counsel in Civil Cases

Annual Cost
Program

it given for representation. Also associated with nonprofit organ. which pairs law students w/ volunteer attys.
After pro se matter is filed, Project Coordinator sends litigants a letter arranging consult with atty. If no merit, atty
discusses with pro se litigant. If pro se litigant proceeds, a
volunteer mediator may assist the volunteer atty in reaching resolution. If merit, atty enters NOA. Pro Se Project
Coordinator stays involved at each step. Project recently
implemented an Early Settlement Conf. Project. Contact:
Tiffany Sanders, Esq., Pro Se Project Coordinator, 612965-3711, proseproject@q.com (TAB 9)
No written plan or program, just referrals to Yellow Pages,
Bar Assn. or, if income eligible, to legal services (LSC
funded programs are prohibited by law from representing
prisoners)
Pro Bono Civil Rights Panel; panel of private law firms to
represent only prisoners in civil rights cases; only referred
if case has survived a dispositive motion or judge determined apptmt is appropriate; if atty accepts apptmt, atty
can move to reopen discovery, but generally appmt is for
settlement conf and trial. 40 law firms participate and
members expected to take one case per year; reimbursement of up to $10,000 in costs; atty can keep fees if litigant prevails (TAB 10)
Pro Bono Panel; panel had 131 members in 6/2009; each
is expected to take at least one case every 3 years; panel
was mainly set up to handle prisoner pro se cases; cases
had survived MSJ or where legal importance or difficulty
merited appmt of atty; discovery closed but re-open for
good cause; cases involved limited cost and time committment; there are also limited purpose appmts for mediation or settlement confs; attys are reimbursed for costs, and
if prevail, can keep fees; panel is administered by the Ct.;
Contact: Sujean Park, ADR and Pro Bono Program Director; 916-930-4278, spark@caed.uscourts.gov (TAB 11)
Federal Pro Bono Project; Project arranges atty for litigants who are referred by ct. Cases include full representa-

{07085630;1}5 
 

Litigation Exp

Prisoner
Pro Se
Petitions

NonPrisoner
Pro Se
Petitions

20

75

595

2,550

1,180

684

864

1,009

No. Cases
Reviewed

No. Cases
Referred

 

Cir

Dist

SD
CA

ID

WD
WA

Description of Program or Procedures
for Appointment of Counsel in Civil Cases

Annual Cost
Program

tion and for settlement conf. w/ Mag. Ct. will reimburse up
to $15,000 in costs; atty may recover statutory fees as part
of prevailing or settlement; new atty are provided mentors;
Two Federal Assistance Self Help Center Supervising Attorneys: (S.F. & Oak) Manjari Chawls, Esq., 415-6266917; (San Jose) Steve Salomon, 408-297-1480 (TAB 12)
Plan for Representation of Pro Se Litigants in Civil Cases; the ct. and the FBA-San Diego reviews applications of
attys and firms which volunteer to be on pro bono panel if
certain factors are met; if selected, must remain on panel
for at least 2 yrs.; judge will decide whether a panel atty is
assigned; judge forwards request to court’s pro bono administrator to select an atty on the random ordered list;
absent a conflict, atty is expected to take the case within 3
weeks; once atty accepts, the ct. enters order of appmt.;
atty is reimbursed for expenses; LRule 83.8(a)(2); reimbursement of exp. <$1,000: Contact: (TAB 13)
Pro Se Pro Bono Program; the court’s pro se staff attorneys and bankruptcy law clerks (“Pro Se Unit”) screen the
cases and determine whether referral to pro bono panel is
appropriate based on potentially meritorious claims; volunteer program; atty may seek reimbursement up to
$1,500 without prior approval; ct. must authorize >$1,500;
assistance provided by Univ. Idaho Law School’s pro se
referral panel, faculty, attys and law students, pursuant to
LRule 83.4(g) (TAB 14)
Plan for WD Washington for Representation of Pro Se
Litigants in Civil Rights Actions; volunteer panel for apt.
in civil rights matters and to do early ADR; Clerk is designated Pro Bono Coordinator to administer the plan; attys
and law firms may apply to be on the Plan using criteria
similar to PR; designate no. of cases willing to take per
year; Non-Prisoner Screening Committee no less than 6
members; Clerk makes non-prisoner, pro se litigant aware
of and provides an application for apt. of counsel or early
ADR; if judge makes decision case not frivolous based on
complaint and record, judge directs the Clerk to forward

{07085630;1}6 
 

Litigation Exp

Prisoner
Pro Se
Petitions

NonPrisoner
Pro Se
Petitions

337

439

121

88

227

440

No. Cases
Reviewed

No. Cases
Referred

 

Cir

Dist

OR

10

CO

Description of Program or Procedures
for Appointment of Counsel in Civil Cases

Annual Cost
Program

application and all documents to the Screening Committee; Screening Committee may interview the party and
after reviewing pleadings determine whether counsel
should be apptd.; factors are listed as to whether to apt.
counsel; Screening Committee reports to ct. whether counsel should be apptd.; if the Judges accepts recommendation of apt., judge notifies Clerk to apt. atty or law firm to
case or to conduct ADR; also procedures for early ADR;
Separate apt. procedures for prisoner civil rights cases;
whenever the judge assigned the case believes counsel is
merited, he sends the case to the Clerk to apt. atty or firm
from the panel; expenses are reimbursed from civil rights
litigation fund up to $2,500 pre-trial, and additional $2,500
for trial, and more on motion and ct. approval; sliding
scale for reimbursement of lit. expense money if case settles; detail on costs covered; educational and pilot project
projects are allowed; (TAB 15)
Pro Bono Program; voluntary program is operated by the
Clerk’s Office; no written plan, but considerable documents on line; appts. made on motion for apt. of counsel or
sua sponte; once judge decides counsel should be appted,
on line “Pro Bono Apt. Request” sent to pro bono coordinator and Operations Dept.; 16 firms and 56 attys district
wide have volunteered to serve on panel; attys have free
liability insurance from Program; also has mentor attys;
average cases per year, 38; Guide for representing prisoners; Contact: Nicole Munoz, Pro Bono Coordinator,
Clerk’s Office, 503-326-8014. (TAB 16)
Pilot Program to Implement a Civil Pro Bono Panel; just
started in July, 2013, a volunteer atty program, led by a
Standing Committee of judges, attys, reps from CO Bar
Assn, and local law school clinic programs; judge directs
the Clerk to apt. an atty; private, non-profit entity exists to
cover lit. expenses which is funded by the ct. from bar
dues; ct. increased bar dues to fund project; $3,000 cap on
lit. exp. (TAB 17)

{07085630;1}7 
 

Litigation Exp

Prisoner
Pro Se
Petitions

NonPrisoner
Pro Se
Petitions

0

219

353

370

No. Cases
Reviewed

No. Cases
Referred

 

Cir

Dist

KS

WD
OK

NM

11

ND
FL
MD
FL

SD
FL

Description of Program or Procedures
for Appointment of Counsel in Civil Cases

Annual Cost
Program

No written plan or program, just referrals to Yellow Pages,
Bar Assn. or, if income eligible, to legal services (LSC
funded programs are prohibited by law from representing
prisoners)
Pro Bono/Civil Rights Representation; voluntary program
for pro se prisoners whose civil rights cases survive dispositive motions and likely to go to trial; ct. provides limited expenses; atty apply on-line, and return to FBA
(TAB 18)
Civil Pro Bono Plan, Misc. No. 95-189; Civil Pro Bono
Panel Selection Committee appt’d by Chief Judge; Pro Se
Law Clerk standing member; meets at least once a year to
select atty to serve on panel; meets quarterly to review
cases which would benefit from atty; voluntary program;
whenever a judge determines counsel necessary, atty is
selected by Clerk; Clerk sends notice to panel atty; lit. exp.
up to $2,500 unless ct. approves more; Clerk provides an
annual assessment of the no. and type of cases handled
annually to members of the Pro Bono Panel and the court.;
training is to be provided to panel members; panel members receive CLE at no cost; funded out of Bench and Bar
Funds; Contact: Andy Thomas, Clerk’s Office, 505-3482213 (TAB 19)
No plan. Court either sends letter or calls an atty and requests representation, or enters an order soliciting an atty
to volunteer, and sends out using CM/ECF
No plan; judge sometimes will call an atty to represent the
pro se litigant.
Administrative Order 93-106, In the Matter of The Volunteer Lawyers’ Project and Attorney Dues for the S.D.
Fla. (as amended) and VLP “working paper”; voluntary
program for all members of the S.D. for civil cases
deemed to warrant representation; administered by the
Florida Justice Institute; screens cases sent over by the
Magistrate Judge handling prisoner cases and those sent by
other Judges which have been filed and served; post-filing
discovery done to determine merit; meritorious cases sent

{07085630;1}8 
 

Litigation Exp

Prisoner
Pro Se
Petitions

NonPrisoner
Pro Se
Petitions

132

160

146

92

74

150

302

185

776

666

307-346

658

No. Cases
Reviewed

No. Cases
Referred

 

Cir

DC

Dist

Description of Program or Procedures
for Appointment of Counsel in Civil Cases

MD
GA

out using CM/ECF and posted on court’s web site and
program web site; programs recruits attorneys, provides
pleadings and technical support; matches attys with clients; mentors for inexperienced atty; law student research
available; free malpractice coverage; provides training and
CLE; staff atty consulting; operates a Revolving Litigation
Loan Fund for expense reimbursement; Contact Bethell
Forbes, 305358-2081, Ext. 226,
BForbes@VolunteerLawyersProject.org (TAB 20)
No plan. Judge appoints if merited. Use to pay atty fees
and expenses, now just expenses. Contact:

DC

Pro Bono Program and Panel List

Annual Cost
Program

{07085630;1}9 
 

Litigation Exp

Prisoner
Pro Se
Petitions

NonPrisoner
Pro Se
Petitions

301

130

159

483

No. Cases
Reviewed

No. Cases
Referred