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October is Pro Bono Month, and we are celebrating the remarkable work of our pro bono team! After launching our pro bono program in 2020 with funding from Legal Services Corporation, we have expanded the reach of our services to hundreds of additional clients, thanks to our growing team of pro bono attorneys, paralegals, law students, and other volunteers. In 2021, we opened 717 pro bono cases program-wide.
"We see the best people in court, or in need of legal services, at one of the worst times in their lives,'' says MAP pro bono volunteer, Honorable Joseph A. Costello, Jr., Retired 38th Circuit Court Judge. “Imagine trying to navigate through a complex system without the assistance of a lawyer; there is less likelihood that justice will be served. Given the opportunity to pursue such a great profession, pro bono work is one significant way to share your good fortune and lend assistance to someone in dire need."
When Michigan’s Clean Slate Legislation was enacted in April 2021, hundreds of thousands of Michigan residents became eligible to expunge their records, and our pro bono team quickly adapted--opening over 1,000 expungement cases that same year. Expungement represents an opportunity for people to get better jobs with higher wages and benefits, obtain affordable housing, and pay child support and other debts. Since the implementation of the legislation, our team has collaborated with law firms, individual attorneys, courts, and local and national organizations to hold dozens of virtual and in-person expungement clinics.
“When I do pro bono, I have the immediate experience that one attorney can really make a difference in someone’s life,” says Jamie Hochman Herz, Of Counsel, Bodman PLC. “It is a privilege to help someone with their legal needs in this way, and I feel lucky that I can have that direct connection with someone. If I can help bring one person closer to a sense of justice and fairness, it is only then that I feel I have done my job.”
As a recipient of the LSC Pro Bono Innovation Fund, we are honored to receive an additional $320,000 to continue expanding our pro bono expungement services. We will use this grant to develop a new Legal Navigator program, in which non-attorney volunteers will work with clients to address the complex administrative tasks that are involved in applying for expungements. In addition, the project will add staff capacity to work on identifying, investigating, and strategizing to overcome the legal barriers clients face in seeking expungements. We are incredibly grateful for this opportunity and look forward to continuing to provide services to Michiganders in need of criminal record expungements in the coming years.
To learn more about our pro bono program and how you can get involved, visit our website:
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