About
Legal Aid of North Carolina’s Summer Associate Pro Bono Program is your firm or organization’s opportunity to give your summer associates the well-rounded and exciting experience that law students seek. Open to firms and organizations of all sizes, our Summer Associate Pro Bono Program provides your summer associates with a real-world training and service experience that allows them to expand their skills, interact with clients, and collaborate with experienced attorneys – all while making a meaningful difference in the lives of North Carolinians in need.
How it works
Here is the typical timeline for the Summer Associate Pro Bono Program. If your firm or organization only has summer associates for the second half of the summer, we are happy to work with you to facilitate the program on a slightly different timeline.
October 1 – April 15
Your law firm or organization completes the program agreement form (below) estimating the number of participating summer associates, the locations of the associates, the desired caseload—either one case per associate or one case per two associates—and the types of cases to accept.
Pick from the following case types:
- Criminal record expunction
- Domestic Violence Protective Orders
- Housing conditions
- Wills and advanced directives
Your attorneys will supervise the law student work.
Early May
We will work with you to finalize program details, including numbers of associates, cases and supervising attorneys.
Late May
After Memorial Day, we will provide live (and recorded) training to your associates and supervising attorneys.
June to mid-July
We send case assignments to your associates and supervising attorneys. Our attorneys and case coordinators are available to provide support.
Early August
Associates and supervising attorneys complete casework. Our attorneys can take over cases that cannot be closed by the deadline. Regional wrap-up celebrations will highlight the work done and outcomes achieved.
Learn more
Complete this form if you are interested in our Summer Associate Pro Bono Program but want to learn more before you commit.
Program agreement form
Complete the program agreement form by April 15 to participate in the current year’s program. We will review your submission and get in touch.