By William Voy
Have you ever wondered why you should consider pro bono service?
Rule 6.1 recommends 20–60 hours of pro bono service annually or a $500 donation to the Nevada Bar Foundation:
- Only 28 percent of Nevada attorneys report having done pro bono to the State Bar of Nevada
- No cost CLE trainings are available live or on demand
- Earn CLEs for pro bono service, one CLE for every three hours of service
- Mentoring support from experienced attorneys
Why should you consider pro bono services with Southern Nevada Senior Law Program (SLP)?
- You care about helping older adults with the most significant economic and social needs
- Convenient scheduling of power of attorney (POA) health care/basic estate planning two-hour workshops for eight to twelve seniors at the SLP office with full training provided
- You enjoy going into the community to help older adults – POA health care Seminars, educational presentations, ask-a-lawyer events are held at senior centers and senior communities throughout the year
- Manageable commitment of time – you can choose your own two to three-hour (or more) timeslot to do pro bono in the SLP office to assist with POA health care/basic estate planning initial interviews and/or document signing
- Finite client service – no ongoing obligations to our clients once services are provided that day
The average age of our clients is 73, and the average income is just over $25,000. Most seniors do not know their legal rights or that they can have an attorney advocate for and assist them.
SLP does not have an income qualifier, so we can help fixed-income folks who don’t qualify for a poverty-based program, nor do we check immigration status. This population routinely falls through the cracks in our justice system.
In the past 12 months, SLP has welcomed support from 48 senior advocate pro bono attorneys, which has meant that our staff attorneys have had more capacity to assist with evictions, elder abuse/exploitation cases, victims of scams or fraud, social security issues, landlord and merchant disputes, and more.
Currently, there are hundreds of seniors waiting for assistance. Will you help SLP help more seniors?
About the author
William Voy joined the Southern Nevada Senior Law Program as Director of Pro Bono Services in February 2024. He retired from the Eighth Judicial District Court Bench in June 2022 after 24 years of service. He left the Senior Judge Program in February 2024 to join SLP to help our vulnerable and underserved senior community.
About the article
© 2024 Clark County Bar Association (CCBA). All rights reserved. No reproduction of any portion of this issue is allowed without written permission from the publisher. Editorial policy available upon request.
This article was originally published in the Communiqué (Dec. 2024), the official publication of the Clark County Bar Association. See https://clarkcountybar.org/about/member-benefits/communique-2024/communique-dec-2024/.
The articles and advertisements appearing in Communiqué magazine do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the CCBA, the CCBA Publications Committee, the editorial board, or the other authors. All legal and other issues discussed are not for the purpose of answering specific legal questions. Attorneys and others are strongly advised to independently research all issues.