The Delivery of Legal Services Committee:
- encourages and promotes access to legal representation and services by persons who are unable to access the legal system because of the lack or financial resources or other barriers beyond their control;
- promotes the establishment and efficient maintenance of programs which encourage and aid the furnishing of pro bono legal services by members of the Association;
- assists members and organizations who furnish legal services to low-income and disadvantaged persons and to organizations described in Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code which cannot reasonably afford legal services;
- recognizes members who furnish pro bono legal services;
- and takes such other actions as will aid the Association and its members in their obligation to further pro bono legal services.
DCBA Legal Assistance Programs
The DLSC maintains and supports three legal assistance programs, the Family Law Assistance Center, the Small Claims Assistance Center and the Veterans Law Center. We utilize the help of volunteer lawyers, paralegals, and law students to help us keep these programs going. All of the programs are now being offered via Zoom. For an appointment to obtain legal assistance please email dcba.uwlegalclinics@gmail.com or call 608-618-2970. To volunteer with one of these programs please contact Jennifer Binkley at jenniferbinkley@yahoo.com.
Pro Bono Road Show
The DLSC organizes presentations at law firms and other venues to recruit new pro bono attorneys and provide information to those attorneys and firms interested in pro bono efforts. For more information in getting involved or having the Road Show make a stop at your firm please contact Jennifer Binkley.
Pro Bono Awards and Pro Bono Breakfast
At the annual Pro Bono Breakfast, the Dane County Bar Association presents awards for outstanding pro bono work.
The DCBA Delivery of Legal Services Committee will be hosting the annual Pro Bono Breakfast on May 1 at First United Methodist Church in downtown Madison starting at 8:00 am. As in past years, the Breakfast will honor the work of outstanding Pro Bono volunteers in Dane County, and also raise much needed funds for Pro Bono work in Dane County and services provided by Porchlight Inc. to find solutions for homelessness.
This year the DCBA is pleased to welcome Attorney Carousel Bayrd as our keynote speaker to highlight the need for pro bono legal services for those facing homelessness and housing insecurity. Attorney Bayrd was formally a winner of a DCBA pro bono service award. She spent years fighting for housing justice at Community Justice Inc. and prior to her time with CJI, she was a partner at Herrick and Kasdorf working on housing rights. Attorney Bayrd was also a member of the Dane County Board for 16 years and hosted a radio show on WORT FM. She recently joined the Dane County Executive Office.
All sponsoring firms or organizations may send ten guests. Guests should check in at the registration desk at the event. The individual entranced fee is $20.00 that can be paid at the door with cash or check. No advance registration is required!
PRO BONO NOMINATIONS
Nominations for awards can be made using this Nomination Form. Nominations are due on April 7, 2025.
Click here to see the recap of the 2024 breakfast, our past sponsors and past year's winners.
PRO BONO BREAKFAST SPONSORSHIP
We are also seeking sponsors for the event! Click here to fill out the sponsorship form: Click here to fill out the sponsorship form: 2025 Pro Bono Breakfast Sponsorship Form (Fillable PDF).pdf All event proceeds and sponsorship funds raised will go towards supporting the Pro Bono Trust Fund and Porchlight, Inc. Homeless Services. The Pro Bono Trust Fund is one of the only funding sources for local pro bono initiatives that support civil legal services to low-income individuals. In this time of declining resources, these funds are precious.
Sponsorships are available at the following levels:
$1000 Platinum
$750 Diamond
$500 Gold
$200 Silver
Sponsorships include recognition during the event highlighting your firm's contribution, additional recognition in the event program, and inclusion in the DCBA newsletter and DCBA website. Sponsorships at the Platinum and Diamond Level will receive recognition during the event as well as static annual inclusion on the DCBA webpage.
WORTHY CAUSES GRANTS
Dane County Bar Association Worthy Causes Grants Available for 2025
The Dane County Bar Association annually makes funds available for distribution to projects which have one of three purposes:
Increasing the availability of legal services to low income individuals;
Educating members of the public on their rights and responsibilities under the law; or
Improving the legal resources available in Dane County to lawyers and the public.
Nonprofit organizations and governmental agencies providing services in Dane County are eligible to apply for funding.
DCBA Worthy Causes Grants are intended to be used to fund a specific project. They are not intended to be used for staffing, overhead or general operating expenses. Funding from the DCBA should be critical to the project for which funds are sought. Ideally, the project should either be new or an expansion of an existing program. Nonetheless, the grant committee will also entertain requests for funds that would sustain an existing program that might be discontinued without additional funding. Please note that most successful grant applicants in the past have been awarded between $500 and $2,000 in funding.
The grant committee will consider these additional factors:
How the project will be staffed and supported; and
The extent of funding available from other sources for the project.
Applicants should submit a proposed budget for the project, along with the specific amount requested from the DCBA. Applicants may not receive the full amount requested and should indicate whether they would be able to perform the project without the full amount requested. Grant recipients will be required to report on the status of the project. Any prior recipient of funding should be sure to submit that report prior to applying for additional funding.
In the past year the DCBA was pleased to support the following projects:
ABC for Health for costs to provide accessible, community legal education directed at the health coverage rights and responsibilities of individuals.
Vera Court Neighborhood Center Inc. to support the costs of interpretation services and marketing needs for their free legal clinic.
Domestic Abuse Intervention Services to support costs associated with their walk-in courthouse legal clinic.
Arc-Dane County for costs associated with the costs of creating, printing, and distributing handouts of projects materials and the design and creation of content.
Tenant Resource Center for printing costs of booklets to expend education resources.
UW Law School Family Court Clinic for costs to translate pro se filing forms in Spanish.
Any organization interested in applying for funding should send its proposal via email the proposal to law@dcba.net by February 17, 2025. All 2024 grant recipients should provide a report by Feb. 17 regardless of application for 2025 funds. Email submissions in Word or PDF format are preferred.
Low Cost and Free Legal Resources in Dane County
We maintain a comprehensive list of resources in Dane County on our Resources Page. If you have resources you would like to add to this list, please send the information to Jennifer Binkley.