Above the Law is mocking an Illinois legal aid society for offering unemployed lawyers the chance to volunteer for pro bono work. CARPLS offers legal aid to low-income residents of Cook County.
A local legal aid provider is seeking unemployed lawyers as volunteers to staff its telephone hotline for low-income families in need of legal advice…The volunteers must be licensed Illinois lawyers and are asked to work on the CARPLS hotline for at least four hours each week on a morning or afternoon shift. [Al] Schwartz said CARPLS officials hope that between 40 and 50 out-of-work lawyers will volunteer for the new program. The new volunteers will supplement the work of 32 paid staff lawyers, Schwartz said.
CARPLS officials posted a job description for the new program on craigslist and other online sites Thursday afternoon, Schwartz said. By Friday morning, there were about 35 responses, he added. The first response was from a lawyer who was offended because she was being asked to work for free, according to Schwartz. The rest of the responses came from lawyers interested in participating in the program, he added.
It makes sense to me that unemployed attorneys waiting for the economy to pick up might as well use their free time to help the underserved.It would look good on the ol’ CV as well.
Via ATL. CARPLS site.