Part II of the Genetic Alliance Interactive Guide

Finding a Lawyer

Finding a pro-bono lawyer is not too difficult - it is often best to begin by asking for such assistance in your networks - church, temple, schools, neighborhood. If you have no luck in an informal search then call a law firm or two. Most firms encourage or require pro-bono work, as do many law schools and the local Bar Association chapter. Make sure the attorney has experience with nonprofits. Even though you may not be paying for the lawyer's time, the organization will have to pay for any fees associated with activities the lawyer assists with, such as registrations.

I'd like to share this story because we were truly blessed to find our attorney. Of course, New York City is an activists' town so it was relatively easy. I first tried calling the NY Bar Association regarding a referral to a pro-bono or reduced cost attorney but I was told that they didn't provide such a service directly. The procedure was: the Bar Association would provide three referrals at a time, and then I'd have to make contact with each and at the first meeting, ask him/her directly for pro-bono assistance. After the first two phone inquiries to set up an appointment, I quickly realized that system would not work because I couldn't even get a free consultation with any of them.

I then decided to go to the Public Library for a directory of some kind and while there, I asked the librarian in the law department for some guidance. She was a wealth of information. She told me exactly which organizations provided free assistance of every kind in NYC to nonprofits. After that, everything came together.

The first organization that I called, New York Lawyers for the Public Interest (www.NYLPI.org) indicated that they had never helped a rare-disorder/medical-related interest before but they were willing to try. They asked me to send them a letter outlining our hopes and dreams and I did just that. Within a short period, they called back to say that they were referring us to a law firm that wanted to help us, pro-bono. I was cautiously optimistic and headed off to the appointment. I was truly amazed when I arrived at their offices and realized that I was at one of the most prestigious law firms in the country.

The attorney treated us like paying clients and listened intently to our story and goals. Within a week, we were called back in and formally assigned to one of their young stars, who has since proven to be more than we ever hoped for and a great advocate.

Because every other aspect of our group's journey had been so difficult, I thought that I would have to ask her to help, one step at a time, and advise regarding each phase of required paperwork. However, she automatically did everything for our organization - from registering our name to applying for our Determination Letter. We had the best and she reduced our burden substantially.

Sandy Gordon
Trimethylaminuria Support Group, Inc.

» Working with a Lawyer

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Maintained by the Genetic Alliance.
The Interactive Guide to Advocacy Groups was written by Sharon Fontaine Terry and Caitlin Burke, with contributions from Genetic Alliance members. The Interactive Guide to Building Advocacy Groups is made available under a Creative Commons license. You may make and share copies of this work for noncommercial purposes without modifications and with this acknowledgement included in full. More information is available at About the Interactive Guide to Building Advocacy Groups.

Send feedback about the Interactive Guide.

SEPTEMBER 2004: This is a preliminary installation of the Interactive Guide to Advocacy Groups. We need your feedback. Make comments on specific pages (you may see error messages, but comments should still post), or send email. Is something missing? Can we make it easier to navigate? This Guide will change regularly over the next few months as we incorporate changes and fine tune the site. Thank you!

AN INTERACTIVE GUIDE TO BUILDING ADVOCACY GROUPS
Part II
Part I Part II Assessment Structure Resources Support Education Research Advocacy Part III	Finding a Lawyer Finding a pro-bono lawyer is not too difficult - it is often best to begin by asking for such assistance in your networks - church, temple, schools, neighborhood. If you have no luck in an informal search then call a law firm or two. Most firms encourage or require pro-bono work, as do many law schools and the local Bar Association chapter. Make sure the attorney has experience with nonprofits. Even though you may not be paying for the lawyer's time, the organization will have to pay for any fees associated with activities the lawyer assists with, such as registrations. I'd like to share this story because we were truly blessed to find our attorney. Of course, New York City is an activists' town so it was relatively easy. I first tried calling the NY Bar Association regarding a referral to a pro-bono or reduced cost attorney but I was told that they didn't provide such a service directly. The procedure was: the Bar Association would provide three referrals at a time, and then I'd have to make contact with each and at the first meeting, ask him/her directly for pro-bono assistance. After the first two phone inquiries to set up an appointment, I quickly realized that system would not work because I couldn't even get a free consultation with any of them. I then decided to go to the Public Library for a directory of some kind and while there, I asked the librarian in the law department for some guidance. She was a wealth of information. She told me exactly which organizations provided free assistance of every kind in NYC to nonprofits. After that, everything came together. The first organization that I called, New York Lawyers for the Public Interest (www.NYLPI.org) indicated that they had never helped a rare-disorder/medical-related interest before but they were willing to try. They asked me to send them a letter outlining our hopes and dreams and I did just that. Within a short period, they called back to say that they were referring us to a law firm that wanted to help us, pro-bono. I was cautiously optimistic and headed off to the appointment. I was truly amazed when I arrived at their offices and realized that I was at one of the most prestigious law firms in the country. The attorney treated us like paying clients and listened intently to our story and goals. Within a week, we were called back in and formally assigned to one of their young stars, who has since proven to be more than we ever hoped for and a great advocate. Because every other aspect of our group's journey had been so difficult, I thought that I would have to ask her to help, one step at a time, and advise regarding each phase of required paperwork. However, she automatically did everything for our organization - from registering our name to applying for our Determination Letter. We had the best and she reduced our burden substantially. Sandy Gordon Trimethylaminuria Support Group, Inc. » Working with a Lawyer Privacy Policy - Disclaimer - Funding Maintained by the Genetic Alliance. The Interactive Guide to Advocacy Groups was written by Sharon Fontaine Terry and Caitlin Burke, with contributions from Genetic Alliance members. The Interactive Guide to Building Advocacy Groups is made available under a Creative Commons license. You may make and share copies of this work for noncommercial purposes without modifications and with this acknowledgement included in full. More information is available at About the Interactive Guide to Building Advocacy Groups. Send feedback about the Interactive Guide. SEPTEMBER 2004: This is a preliminary installation of the Interactive Guide to Advocacy Groups. We need your feedback. Make comments on specific pages (you may see error messages, but comments should still post), or send email. Is something missing? Can we make it easier to navigate? This Guide will change regularly over the next few months as we incorporate changes and fine tune the site. Thank you!	« Tax and Finance: Audits » Working with a Lawyer