Charlotte Center for Legal Advocacy Pro Bono Program

“The only way we can face the realities of what goes on day-to-day in our community is to do pro bono work.”

Heryka Knoespel, Access to Justice pro bono attorney, McGuireWoods LLP

Pro Bono at the Advocacy Center

Charlotte Center for Legal Advocacy relies on our pro bono volunteers to help us narrow Mecklenburg County’s justice gap. Individuals who cannot afford an attorney or access critical information are unlikely to prevail in complex court systems designed for those with legal representation.  Volunteer attorneys can be critical advocates in an otherwise inaccessible legal system. 

Attorneys who volunteer with us are provided with:  

  • Malpractice Insurance 
  • Trainings 
  • Toolkits and templates 
  • Mentorship and support throughout the life of the case 
  • Use of our offices and conference rooms for client meetings 

The Advocacy Center provides comprehensive training and support to place cases in the following practice areas. No prior experience is required.

Criminal Record Expunctions
Healthcare
Special Immigrant Juvenile Status
Wills & Simple Estate Planning

The Advocacy Center also places cases with experienced attorneys in other practice areas:

Consumer Protection
Immigration Screenings
Tax Controversies

How to Get Involved

Contact Charlotte Center for Legal Advocacy directly by clicking on the blue button below:

Interested in volunteering?
Click here to get started.

Current opportunities through NC Pro Bono Go:

Pro Bono Spotlight: Special Immigrant Juvenile Status Project

Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (SIJS) is a path to permanent residency for minor immigrants. This special status is intended to help protect children who have suffered abuse, neglect, or abandonment at the hands of one or both parents. To qualify for this status, an authorized state court must find that reunification with one or both of the child’s parents is not viable due to the abuse, abandonment, or neglect and that it is not in the child’s best interest to return to their home country or last country of habitual residence. The Advocacy Center has relied on pro bono attorneys to handle these state court proceedings, the first step towards permanent legal status for this vulnerable population.

The Advocacy Center presented its annual pro bono award at the Mecklenburg County Bar Association Annual Meeting highlighting this important work. Miranda Goot, Anna O’Neal, and Elizabeth Murphy serve as pro bono champions through Charlotte Triage on our SIJS project and have been invaluable in assisting this worthy client base. In early June, the Advocacy Center hosted a training with their support to train and recruit attorneys and their summer associates allowing for the placement of nearly all clients awaiting SIJS representation.

Our thanks and congratulations to the stellar advocates who have helped on our SIJS cases!

Elizabeth Murphy, Alston & Bird LLP and Courtney Viebrock, Charlotte Center for Legal Advocacy

In 2024, the Pro Bono Program…

  • Provided over 2,000 hours of free legal representation to 238 clients, with the support of 150 dedicated volunteers 
  • Hosted eight legal clinics, drafting estate plans for 60 clients and securing expunctions for over 120 individuals in Mecklenburg and surrounding counties 
  • Trained over 150 pro bono attorneys, interns, and legal professionals in critical areas like expunctions, estate planning, healthcare navigation, and special immigration juvenile status state custody proceedings