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The Public Service Network, a program offered through the City Bar Justice Center,
fosters public service in the legal community by matching attorneys with legal
and non-legal volunteer opportunities in the not-for-profit sector. The Network
works with nonprofits to develop potential projects and facilitates the placement
of lawyers with opportunities that match their interests and skills. Examples
of volunteer opportunities include providing legal services to individual clients
or nonprofit organizations, assisting with policy and legal research, providing
advice with management assistance, and helping with program development issues.
The Network also promotes pro bono development by working with law firms and
corporate counsel offices to help them design, implement or improve upon internal
pro bono programs.
The original idea for the Network grew out of the experience of Dean John D.
Feerick during his tenure as President of the Association. Dean Feerick, known
for his own involvement in public interest work, was frequently approached by
attorneys who were preparing for retirement and wanted to use their skills in
service of the community. These attorneys were often unsure what opportunities
existed for volunteer work, who to contact in the nonprofit community, or had
been unsuccessful in offering their services to nonprofits. Dean Feerick himself
linked these attorneys with volunteer positions but realized that the demand
for such services was enough to warrant creating a formalized program to help
facilitate these matches. Dean Feerick set up at taskforce to explore this possibility
in 1993 and the resulting program, the CityBar Public Service Network, officially
opened its doors in 1997. Originally intending to focus on creating legal and
non-legal volunteer positions for retired attorneys, the Network has now placed
hundreds of attorneys at every stage of their careers on legal and non-legal
volunteer projects. To date, Network attorneys have donated over 115,000 hours
of public service to New York City area nonprofit organizations.
If you are an attorney seeking volunteer opportunities or a non-profit organization
that could use volunteer assistance, please contact Laura Kolesar, Coordinator of the Network, at (212) 382-6759 or cpsn@nycbar.org
Resources
Learn more about the Network
Ideas
for non-legal volunteer opportunities for lawyers: A resource for
nonprofits and attorneys. (PDF file)
Websites for
Public Interest Employment and Volunteer Opportunities
Special Dockets
The Network has developed several “special dockets” to
highlight available opportunities based on the type of work involved
and issues addressed.
Opportunities in Litigation/Direct Representation (PDF
file)
Arts-Related Organizations and Projects (PDF
file)
Children/Family Organizations and Projects (PDF
file)
Education-Related
Organizations and Projects (PDF
file)
Opportunities in Fundraising, Grant Writing, Public Relations and Outreach
(PDF file)
Recent Articles
City
Bar Justice Center Public Service Network "Celebrating
Service"
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