Pro Bono Resources

Click here to see the May 2013 KLS Pro Bono Newsletter.

Healthcare Access in Lawrence, April 16, Health Care Decisions Day, with Margaret Thorpe, Lawrence pro bono attorney (right), Kansas Legal Services (Marilyn Harp, ED, on the left) and Washburn Law students and alums.

Kansas Legal Services - Wichita Holds Legal Clinic for Homeless

On March 28, 2013, Kansas Legal Services partnered with InterFaith Ministries and hosted a Homeless Legal Clinic with KLS attorneys and pro bono volunteers. Frequent questions involved consumer issues, traffic and criminal concerns, landlord/tenant matters, child support, personal injury and many others. The clinic was held at 841 North Market. 

Thanks to the attorneys who volunteered, Joe Siewert, Suzanne Dwyer, Keith Martin, Bill Woods and Rebecca Mann. Your involvement helped persons experiencing homelessness in Wichita resolve legal issues that have contributed to barriers to their self sufficiency. 

KLS 2013 PAI Involvement Plan

The Private Attorney Involvement Plan for 2013 is available for download here. We care about our volunteers and would like your input and suggestions regarding this plan.  We welcome your comments.  Please contact Marilyn Harp, harpm@klsinc.org.

KLS Pro Bono Application

Here is an application to sign up for pro bono cases. You can also tell us how many cases and the types of cases you prefer.

KLS Pro Bono application.

Chief Justice Nuss Thanks Volunteer Attorneys

Left to Right: Allison Maxwell (Sloan Law Firm); Lee Smithyman (President, KBA); Edward Weigers (Galloway-Weigers & Brinegar); Supreme Court Chief Justice Lawton Nuss; Dustin Crook (Bryan Smith Law Firm); Marilyn Harp (Executive Director, Kansas Legal Services); Stephen Cavanaugh (Cavanaugh & Lemon, P.A.); John Sanderson (retired Judge, Emporia, KS).

On November 5, 2012, Kansas Supreme Court Chief Justice Lawton Nuss thanked a few of the 100 volunteer attorneys who have signed up for a program built on the collaboration of the Kansas Bar Association and Kansas Legal Services to provide legal assistance at no cost to returning Servicemembers and their families.

Servicemembers deployed since 9/11 have faced challenges unlike anything before in our country's history. They've left behind jobs, friends, and daily routines to face the stress of combat, long deployments, and uncertain conditions.

Coming home can mean facing painful reintroductions to everyday life and troublesome changes: reemployment, financial challenges, difficult family conditions, and in many cases, legal issues that developed while they were proudly defending our country. Help them face their legal battles at home.

Become a part of the Kansas Bar Association and Kansas Legal Services statewide effort to make military legal assistance more accessible.

Attorneys may sign up here. 

Equal justice for the homeless client

Rhonda Sullivan, Managing Attorney with KLS - Wichita, describes the work going on in Wichita to assist persons and families experiencing homelessness, what KLS attorneys and paralegals are doing there, and how you can help, too.

Read more about it here.

Domestic Violence Handbook for Attorneys

For Attorneys who represent survivors of domestic violence, a handbook from The National Center on Domestic Violence, Trauma & Mental Health:

Representing Domestic Violence Survivors Who Are Experiencing Trauma and Other Mental Health Challenges: A Handbook for Attorneys

Want to Learn More About the Kansas Legal Services Elder Hotline?  

The Elder Hotline has been operated for more than 10 years by Kansas Legal Services.  It was the 2009 recipient of the Kansas Bar Association Pro Bono Award. More than 60 Kansas lawyers are already volunteering for this program.  Want to join them?  Want to learn more?

The Kansas Elder Law Hotline receives calls from Kansans over 60 who are seeking legal information about issues in their lives.  These seniors are given the opportunity of phoning the Kansas Elder Hotline toll free and the calls are transferred to the attorney "on shift."   Legal topics run the breadth of general practice experience. 

Volunteer attorneys are scheduled for a four hour shift every 2 months.  During a typical shift, a lawyer might get three calls.  Shifts are scheduled in advance and attorneys can turn down or change a shift, as needed. 

If you are interested in volunteering, please fill out the volunteer application and return it to Cindy VanHoutan at cindyv@klsinc.org .

Elder Law Hotline Application