Section 7: Metro Volunteer Lawyers
The Thursday Night Bar Program (TNB) was established in 1966 when members of the Young Lawyers Section of the Denver Bar Association agreed to provide legal services at no cost to indigent persons in Denver. The attorneys met with clients in either the Five Points area of Denver or in the northwest section. The attorneys then met on Friday mornings to review the intakes and refer them to their friends for pro bono representation. Approximately 20 lawyers volunteered the first year. Eventually, a DBA staff person was responsible for the referral of cases to pro bono attorneys.
In 1998, the name of the program was changed to Metro Volunteer Lawyers. Staff now consists of an executive director, two persons serving as coordinators, and an administrative assistant. They refer legal matters involving divorce and custody, bankruptcy and consumer issues, real estate and landlord/tenant problems, probate and will requests and immigration cases to volunteer attorneys. MVL also offers a special program, known as Family Law Court Program, for uncontested divorce and custody cases.
The MVL Program now serves indigent persons in Denver, Adams, Arapahoe, Broomfield, Jefferson, Douglas, Elbert and Gilpin counties. In 2006, approximately 1,500 cases were referred to attorneys in the metropolitan area. Thirty law firms and over 1,000 attorneys are now on the MVL panel.
When the TNB program began over 40 years ago, it was sponsored solely by the DBA. At the present time, MVL is cosponsored by the bar associations of the First Judicial District, Adams/Broomfield, Arapahoe and Douglas-Elbert counties. Program policy is established by a governing board consisting of representatives of these bar associations.
METRO VOLUNTEER LAWYERS POLICIES
Metro Volunteer Lawyers (MVL) and the Colorado Legal Services (CLS) have an integrated intake system. Clients must contact CLS and be interviewed to determine financial and case type eligibility. Other clients are referred through special arrangements with the Colorado AIDS Project and with the local chapter of the American Immigration Lawyers Association. MVL only handles certain civil legal matters.
Clients whose gross monthly income falls within 125% of the Federal Poverty Guidelines determined by the Department of Health and Human Services are eligible for Metro Volunteer Lawyer services. Depending on income and assets, clients are referred for no-fee or low-fee representation. Clients are responsible for paying out of pocket expenses. Family Law Court Program clients pay a $30 fee for forms and service of process.
MVL maintains a panel of volunteer attorneys who have indicated a willingness to do pro bono cases. Any attorney licensed to practice in Colorado is eligible for the panel. MVL maintains malpractice insurance to cover attorneys representing MVL clients.
Clients are referred for representation in one of two ways. First, an individual client may be referred to an individual attorney. The client is expected to contact the attorney and initiate the attorney-client relationship. The attorney then provides whatever services are necessary and appropriate to conclude the client's matter.
Second, if the client has an uncontested divorce or custody matter, the client may be referred to the Family Law Court Program. Currently operating in Denver, Adams, Arapahoe and Jefferson counties, the program offers legal assistance to clients in initiating their cases and provides volunteer attorneys to represent the clients at final orders hearings, scheduled once a month in each jurisdiction.
