ABA Free Legal Answers marks major milestone, responding to 500K questions
ABA President Michelle Behnke has volunteered for Free Legal Answers, a project of the Standing Committee on Pro Bono and Public Service, for several years.
“Many of the other pro bono programs have specific days and times, and my schedule and other leadership obligations often made that impossible for me to participate,” Behnke says. “Free Legal Answers allows me to provide help from anywhere at any time.”
Behnke is one of thousands of pro bono attorneys who helped Free Legal Answers reach its latest major milestone, surpassing a total of 500,000 questions answered in the last decade. The virtual legal clinic now accepts questions from users in 42 states and territories on family, housing and employment law, among many other topics, as well as on federal immigration and veterans’ issues.
Since launching in 2016, more than 17,700 attorneys have volunteered with Free Legal Answers and collectively provided more than 100,000 hours of pro bono service. Just last year, more than 1,800 attorneys registered as volunteers.
Christopher Richardson, counsel at Hunton Andrews Kurth in Houston, keeps volunteering for Free Legal Answers because it connects him to people who have no idea where to find help with substantial legal problems, including eviction, unsafe living conditions and estate questions after a loved one’s death.
“That burden is often as heavy as an illness or financial problem,” Richardson says. “As an attorney, I’ve been fortunate to have been taught the skills to solve most problems and where to search for information—sometimes we take that for granted when dealing with nonlawyers.
“I can’t diagnose an illness, but I can answer the question that’s keeping someone up at night in plain language—and often in less time than it takes to watch a Netflix episode,” he adds.
Allison Raley, a partner at Arnall Golden Gregory in Washington, D.C., is another volunteer who often assists Free Legal Answers users with motions to seal and “clean slate” matters. She appreciates that the platform “expands access to justice beyond traditional geographic boundaries,” she says.
“It enables attorneys from across the state to contribute their time and expertise, which strengthens support for individuals in rural and less populated communities that often face the greatest barriers to legal assistance,” Raley says.
George “Buck” Lewis is a shareholder in Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz’s Memphis, Tennessee, office and a past chair of the Standing Committee on Pro Bono and Public Service. He led the creation of Free Legal Answers after realizing a lot of jurisdictions didn’t have traditional walk-in legal clinics and that the ones that did often weren’t accessible for potential clients.
“As emails and the internet became more ubiquitous and available at libraries and churches and more available to the public, it was just a simple idea, but it came along at the right time,” Lewis told the ABA Journal in 2022, when Free Legal Answers surpassed a total of 250,000 questions.
Baker Donelson continues to maintain Free Legal Answers in collaboration with the ABA.
Attorneys who are interested in volunteering for the project can sign up by visiting ABAFreeLegalAnswers.org.
A June 25 ABA press release is here.
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