Welcome to the Colorado Lawyers Committee!

Welcome to the Colorado Lawyers Committee! We’re delighted you’ve decided to participate in a Lawyers Committee project. We hope your volunteer experience is both fun and rewarding.

As you may be aware, the Colorado Lawyers Committee is a 44-year-old nonprofit, nonpartisan consortium of almost 80 Colorado law firms dedicated to creating and increasing opportunities for children, the poor, and other disadvantaged communities through high impact pro bono work. We have ongoing projects in the areas of Children’s Rights & Education, Civil Rights & Criminal Law, Poverty & Public Benefits, Community Development, and Immigration. (A complete description of our projects can be found on our website at www.ColoradoLawyersCommittee.org).

Many Colorado Lawyers Committee projects are organized into Task Forces comprised of lawyers from several different law firms. As a Task Force member, you will receive advance email notification of Task Force meetings and will have an opportunity to volunteer for individual assignments at these meetings. If you have any questions at any time, please feel free to contact the Task Force chair or anyone on the Colorado Lawyers Committee staff.

We encourage you to keep a detailed record of the time you spend on Lawyers Committee work. Under Rule 260.8 of the Colorado Rules of Civil Procedure, CLE credit is available for Lawyers Committee projects that involve direct representation of indigent clients. (Let us know if you need a copy of the rule and the application form). In addition, if your firm participates in the Colorado Supreme Court’s Rule 6.1 Law Firm Pro Bono Recognition Program, your volunteer time will most likely count toward your law firm’s hours for this program. (Information on this program can be found on the Colorado Supreme Court website). Finally, we track the number of volunteer hours donated to the Colorado Lawyers Committee. In January of each year, we will send you (or your Board representative if your firm contributes to the Colorado Lawyers Committee) a form asking for the number of hours you spent on Lawyers Committee projects during the previous year.

If your Task Force agrees to represent an indigent client, please be aware we may be able to expedite waiver of filing fees and other court costs. Chief Justice Directive 98-01 allows the Lawyers Committee to certify your client’s indigent status to state courts and facilitate the court waiver of any filing fees, reasonable copy fees, jury fees, research fees, and sheriff’s fees in connection with service of process. Chief Justice Directive 98-01 is available on the Colorado Supreme Court website.

Many Lawyers Committee projects initially come to our attention through attorneys in the community. If you become aware of a project you feel would benefit from Lawyers Committee involvement, please let us know. We’d love to talk with you about it.

Thank you, again, for volunteering to contribute your time to the Lawyers Committee. Please let us know if you have any questions or concerns. We look forward to working with you.