Finding pro bono legal help in VA for employment situation

August 21, 2021 9:51 AM

You are not my lawyer, and I am not seeking legal advice. I am in Virginia seeking a lawyer who will work pro bono to help with a claim involving harassment by a former employer. Legal aid groups haven't accepted this kind of case, and the law student clinics say they're not working on disputes. Does anyone have knowledge of Virginia lawyers or legal resources that might help? Please be very specific, i.e. "contact x or y group" rather than "call around to law schools."
posted by mermaidcafe to Law & Government (4 answers total)

Why are you looking for pro-bono counsel? It sounds like you have a possible claim for damages which an employee-side plaintiff lawyer would pursue on contingency. Also doesn’t cost you out of pocket but very different from pro bono (legal aid or law school clinics or large private law firm voluntarism) which tends not to do private disputes between employers and employees.

Best place to start is the NELA find a lawyer service.
posted by MattD at 10:55 AM on August 21, 2021 [5 favorites]

Agree that this kind of legal help may be more affordable than you think. Non-profit law firms often have tight funding restrictions on the types of cases they can take, but assuming your case is an employment law matter, you might not need to pay much if anything up front.

I would try the Virginia State Bar's Lawyer Referral Service to at least have a low-cost conversation about what type of claim you might have and whether there is substance to/possibility of a successful outcome in the case.

Lawyers are supposed to be transparent about pricing; it's not (supposed to be) like medical care that comes with sticker-shock. If you do retain the services of an attorney, you will sign a fee agreement that should lay everything out. If you have questions about the cost, the attorney should be forthcoming with answers. Good luck.
posted by Schielisque at 12:00 PM on August 21, 2021 [2 favorites]

*deleted when I reread more carefully. Good luck!*
posted by smorgasbord at 6:16 PM on August 21, 2021

Response by poster: @MattD--

Thanks! That's a great idea. Would I find an employee-side plaintiff lawyer through an employment law firm, or is there a different process.

I was unsure about whether or not there'd be damages, having not spoken to a lawyer yet, but it is worth pursuing, and I certainly have lots of documentation.
posted by mermaidcafe at 8:30 PM on August 22, 2021