In Law, what is Pro Bono?

A short summary: The caregiver for our late mother is suing the family for extra hours that she had work for our mother. She was hired by in home support services and got paid for all work she has done. The county sent us a copy of everything.

She was hired by our late mother and got paid by in home support services. The caregiver's fiance has a lawyer friend in Los Angeles and they filed the case in L.A. County. Unfortunately, the lawyer is the friend of the judge in that court.

I live in San Jose, California, and know nothing about it. She and my mom, and my brother all live in L.A.

The amount is $4,000 and it's in small claims court, but the judge told my brother to have a lawyer just because they don't have anything to prove and they're all trying to make excuses and take money from us. We can't afford a lawyer and need help.

I have recently been trying to find a lawyer who could assist me in a murder trial. I am the star witness for the DEA only because I had no idea that this situation was going to end up in cold blooded murder.

I do not have the funds to hire a lawyer to speak on my behalf in court. I am willing to make payments if needed once the case is over. I will be attending court in november and really need some professional assistance with this case. If there is a pro bono lawyer out there looking for a way to get recognized, this could be their big opportunity to do so. The case is well known in Phenix City, Alabama, and was in the media for weeks.

The accused was captured and I was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. I hope that this reaches a attorney willing to go to bat for me and possibly save an innocent person from being incarcerated.

Any legal advice will be appreciated and acknowledged.

I had an attorney offer to take my case against my landlord himself. I put together all of the information: 10 folders, receipts, pictures. When he made the follow up appointment to discuss my case, he said my case had merit. He knew exactly what he would do. And the bad news is, I can't do it now. I am too busy. We got a big construction suit and I would not be able to get to it for maybe six months.

I could not believe my ears. I asked for the name of another attorney. He just threw up his hands and said no, I have no one. He wrote down two numbers for this state's ever useless "help" lines and told me to go to the court and get a "writ" and do it myself. This does not sound ethical to me.

My husband and I need legal help on a response to an appeal that has come back to us.

We at this time do not have extra funds to pay an attorney for something that just does not end. We are both on SS and I work a part time job and help out with the grandkids at no cost. Can someone please help us? We need your help to end all this once and for all.

Cupcake15- That is really nice that law firms do that. Many law firms that do pro bono work also pick up discrimination cases.

I read about a case in which a pro bono law firm took on a case in which a client that was afflicted with HIV and was denied Social Security benefits because of their health status.

This type of work is really heart warming because if it wasn't for these the pro bono firms, many of these parties would have no other options and this is usually their last resort for help.

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BrickBack -Some of these pro bono legal aid services help people that have problems with landlords and living conditions of their apartments.

For example, the Northern Manhattan Improvement Corporation is a pro bono legal aid firm that provides legal representation for tenants that are unable to pay their rent or live in deplorable conditions that the landlords won’t fix.

Some of these apartments are rat infested and pose a health hazard to the tenants.

Some cases involve people that have lost their jobs and need to work out a mediation plan with their landlords. New York has some of the strictest laws with respect to renters, so it is often the landlords that are at a disadvantage.

This firm sometimes works out settlement agreements between the landlord and the tenant in order to avoid eviction. Tenets can not be evicted while their case in going on. This is a pro bono partnership that the firm has with the city.

Suntan12- Wow, I agree, a family law attorney should help. I wanted to add that there are many pro bono law firms that take on cases on moral grounds. The law firm of Arent Fox in Washington D.C. provides pro bon legal aid in numerous cases.

For example, there is one case that they are working on in which a 17 year old was convicted of first degree murder and the jury recommended life in prison.

The judge changed the jury recommendation and gave the minor the death penalty.

The pro bono attorney is working on getting his sentence changed to life in prison. He is encouraged by the recent Supreme Court Ruling that made execution of a prisoner that what was a minor when he or she committed the offense unconstitutional.

Anon24434- I am so sorry to hear about your situation with respect to your grandchildren. The best thing to do is to have your eldest son seek a family law attorney. He or she should be able to guide him on how to handle the situation.

The stability of the children is of the utmost importance.

Sometimes if the town is out of the county there might be restrictions placed on the mother, but it really depends on the custody agreement. I wish you luck on the situation and hope everything works out for your grandchildren.

My oldest son and his wife have been raising my youngest son's two girls all their lives basically for the last 4 or 5 months their mother has had them for 4 nights my oldest son has gave them a home food, clothing done everything as far as school for the oldest child if they need to go to a doctor then his wife takes them not their mother. They have given them their religious structure and just all around a stable life. their mother has met another man and now wants to take them and move to another town change her school etc. The oldest child is only 5 but she will tell you she does not want to live with her mom. I know that she is only 5 and will not be listened to even though children that age do not lie What is the recourse to take legally?