The Mississippi Volunteer Lawyers Project (MVLP) represents the nation's first formal association of a state Bar with representatives of the Legal Services Corporation.  This association has resulted in a professional and productive partnership which unselfishly serves the most needy of Mississippi's poor.
    Even before completing its first year of operation, the Mississippi Volunteer Lawyers Project was cited by the American Bar Association and the National Legal Aid and Defender Association as the country's single most outstanding program among state bar associations.  This award is justifiably shared with every member of the private bar who has volunteered their time and expertise.
    Under the Project, Mississippi Bar members agree to take indigent cases on a pro bono basis, while the Legal Services offices screen potential clients.  The Volunteer attorney is matched to a client by the MVLP Director who works from an office located in the Bar headquarters in Jackson.
    The Mississippi Volunteer Lawyers Project is a 501(c)(3) Corporation.

    Potential clients are screened by Legal Services to determine income eligibility and to assure that the case has legal merit.
    The Project contacts the volunteer attorney.  The Project sends written confirmation of the referral to the client, the attorney and the referring Legal Services Office.
    Reasonable litigation expenses incurred for referred cases will be paid by the Project.   Those expenses include:

• Witness and subpoena costs
• Long distance telephone charges
• Travel costs
• Filing Fees - in the event the case cannot be filed in forma pauperis and the client cannot pay

    The Libraries of the six Legal Services offices are available to the volunteer attorney to assist with research.  The offices have material available on a variety of issues and serve as a clearinghouse for memorandums, bulletins, and news letters from various agencies and national support centers.
    Volunteer law students are available to assist lawyers on pro bono cases.  Pro Bono depositions are available through the Mississippi Short Hand Reporters Association.  Contact the Project to schedule a pro bono deposition.
    The Project carries professional liability insurance on all members.
    Once a referral is made, the MVLP Director periodically reviews each case to ensure that the match is mutually beneficial.  Minimum records are to be kept by attorneys and returned to the Project at the conclusion of each case so that volunteer lawyers will be given credit for their contribution.
    The cases the volunteer can expect to handle are those which the Legal Services are presently handling.

    In keeping with the Mississippi Bar's philosophy regarding continuing legal education, and the Project's stated goal to provide quality legal services to the poor of Mississippi, the Project sponsors CLE and training programs on a regular basis.  These programs, although offered to all lawyers in the state, are provided at a reduced charge to attorneys participating in the Mississippi Volunteer Lawyers Project.

The Mississippi Bar and the Mississippi Volunteer Lawyers Project DO NOT have a Lawyer Referral Program.  Consumer information is available at the Bar's website : www.msbar.org