SBAND Offers Free Legal Answers Virtual Law Clinic
The State Bar Association of North Dakota ( SBAND ), in partnership with the American Bar Association ( ABA ), now offers an interactive website , nd . freelegalanswers . org , to provide free legal information to qualifying North Dakotans through the ABA ’ s Free Legal Answers initiative , ABAFreeLegalAnswers . org .
The virtually-based , pro bono legal aid clinic is working to expand access to civil legal service opportunities for both low-income clients and pro bono attorneys . Income-eligible clients can post civil legal questions to be answered by attorneys from their state on the website created to eliminate lingering barriers to legal advice .
“ We hope this format will encourage more attorneys to help North Dakotans who have unmet legal needs ,” says SBAND Executive Director Tony Weiler .
How It Works
Qualifying North Dakotans post legal questions on the site and receive basic legal information and advice from approved volunteer attorneys . Qualified clients must be North Dakota residents , 18 years of age or older , have less than $ 10,000 in assets and a total household income less than 250 % of the Federal Poverty Guidelines , and cannot be in jail or prison .
Looking for Volunteers
The website officially launched on May 2 , on the heels of the May 1 Law Day proclamation in North Dakota . SBAND is currently seeking North Dakota attorney volunteers to help low-income qualifying individuals to answer client questions on the website . Volunteer attorneys may earn up to one hour of CLE credit for every six hours of service provided , with an annual limit of three credits .
“ We need all SBAND members to consider helping with this program . Free Legal Answers will allow attorneys to provide pro bono services from their home or office , without the time and travel commitment of a traditional , full-blown pro bono case . This is an excellent opportunity to give back to the citizens of our state ,” says Weiler .
For more information or to volunteer for the North Dakota Free Legal Answers program , visit nd . freelegalanswers . org , email ndfreelegalanswers @ sband . org , or call SBAND at 701-255-1404 .
The site is simple to navigate and fosters easy communication . Eligible users provide information about a civil legal problem , including the category of legal issue , brief overview , detailed explanation , opposing party , and hearing or trial deadline . The user can also upload documents or photos for the volunteer lawyer to review .
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Attorneys can sign up to receive notifications when questions are posted in their areas of interest , as well as sort questions by subject matter . Volunteer attorneys decide what type of legal issues they want to address and remain anonymous to the client . All attorney volunteers are covered by a professional liability insurance policy purchased by the ABA .
If a lawyer decides to address a client ’ s question , it is removed from the general queue and placed in a private queue . The lawyer then has three days to answer the question . The client must log in to the website to view the lawyer ’ s response and reply if the client wants additional information . When the lawyer determines the question has been answered or there is no additional action that can be taken to help the client , the lawyer will mark the question as closed .
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