The Iowa State Bar Association Volunteer Lawyers Project (ISBA VLP) was established in 1989 to improve access to the civil legal system for indigent Iowans. The mission of the organization is to assist low income Iowans by increasing their accessibility to the civil legal system by promoting and encouraging the use of pro bono legal services. To accomplish this, we focus on four major objective areas: recruitment of attorneys, improving legal services to clients, education, and program development.
The ISBA VLP is a non profit organization which operates independent of the Iowa State Bar Association. We work primarily with the Bar at the state and local levels to promote pro bono legal service and to enlist the involvement of their members. Currently there are nearly 3,000 attorneys statewide who participate in the Volunteer Lawyers Project. That includes full-time, part-time, government and corporate attorneys. This number reflects that approximately 47% of the attorneys in Iowa participate in an organized pro bono project.
A client who is in need of some type of civil legal assistance can gain access to a volunteer attorney through one of the legal service programs in Iowa. These programs will screen the client for eligibility based on their income and the type of case that it is. When the client is determined eligible, the legal service program makes a decision to serve the client with their staff or to refer the client to a volunteer. Attorneys are matched with clients by one of three programs that provides direct delivery of services. These programs are: Polk County Bar Association Volunteer Lawyers Project, Legal Service Corporation of Iowa Volunteer Lawyers Project, and the Pro Bono Project of HELP Legal Assistance/Scott County Bar Association. This network of programs has allowed the delivery of civil legal services to be more efficient.
The number of clients who are in need of assistance continues to exceed the numbers of volunteers and the amount of resources available. The Iowa State Bar Association Volunteer Lawyers Project remains committed to increasing the number of attorneys who participate in our program. The legal profession in Iowa should be complemented on their responsiveness to the needs of indigent citizens.
Iowa State Bar Association Volunteer Lawyers Project 521 E. Locust, Suite 302 Des Moines, Iowa 50309 (515)244-8617 1-800-325-2909 ISBAVLP@dwx.com