Without our volunteers, we cannot provide pro bono legal services to needy metro area clients.

To volunteer, e-mail: information@denbar.org  Do NOT e-mail to this address if you need legal assistance. 

Your legal issue is important to us. 

Call: (303)837-1313.

Did you know  that you can receive CLE credits for pro bono work?  C.R.C.P. 260.8 states that a lawyer providing uncompensated pro bono legal representation may apply for and receive one unit of general CLE credit for every five billable-equivalent hours of representation, up to a maximum of nine CLE credits in each three-year compliance period.  For more information on the ruling, click here.  To access the "Application for CLE credit for Pro bono Representation or Mentoring", click here.

(Note: You must have Adobe Reader on your computer to open sign up sheets. If you do not, go to www.adobe.com, scroll down and look for the yellow icon "Get Adobe Reader" and follow instructions.)

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What is Poverty?  For facts about poverty in the United States, visit:  www.povertyusa.org

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Why Volunteer?

"But more than anything else, we have learned that legal assistance for the poor, when properly provided, is one of the most constructive ways to help them help themselves."- President Richard Nixon, 1974

According to the recent Colorado Access to Justice Commission Report, "there is only one legal aid lawyer per 6,861 poor people in the United States compared to one lawyer providing civil legal services for every 525 people in the general population." Since 1978, the number of lawyers employed by the Colorado legal aid system has been cut nearly in half.  At the same time, Colorado's population that is financially eligible for free legal services from CLS or MVL (persons who earn less than 125% of poverty level) has skyrocketed from 396,775 in 1980 to 692,505 in 2005.

There is a widening gap between the need for legal services and the resources available to meet that need.  Due to a lack of available resources and limited awareness of the legal nature of problems, only one in five legal issues experienced by poor people is addressed with the assistance of a legal services lawyer or a pro bono private lawyer.

In many cases, lawyers can identify and resolve legal issues without going to court or can resolve court cases more efficiently and fairly than persons representing themselves. The provision of legal services helps stabilize families, saves taxpayers money, reduces the number of cases clogging the courts, and helps people move toward self-sufficiency and full participation in society. 

What is the need for pro bono legal services in Colorado?

During 2007, the Colorado Access to Justice Commission held ten hearings throughout the state to assess the civil legal needs of Colorado's vulnerable populations. In March 2008, the Commission released a report regarding the findings from the hearings and the Commissions recommendations to increase legal assistance to these Coloradans.

Click here http://www.cobar.org/repository/Access%20to%20Justice/08ATJ_FULLReport.pdf to read the 2008 Colorado Access to Justice Commission Hearing FULL Report- includes Executive Summary, Report, and hearing appendices (PDF Format, 3.93 mb)

"The only thing less popular than a poor person these days is a poor person with a lawyer."
-Jon Asher
Director, Colorado Legal Services