Volunteer Opportunities
MHBA members have been providing pro-bono legal services and have served as volunteers throughout the community through our longstanding community partners. One of those partners include Línea Legal Latina, which provides legal phone advice service for low-income Spanish speakers. Volunteer bilingual attorneys provide a coordinated legal “first responder” system so callers receive legal advice or referrals quickly, without being bounced from provider to provider. This eases the burden on Communidades Latinas Unidas en Servicio (CLUES) and other service providers helping the Latino/a community receive critical legal assistance. Línea Legal Latina is a unique collaboration between Volunteer Lawyers Network, Fredrikson & Byron, Linquist & Vennum, MHBA and CLUES.
Currently, Línea Legal Latina operates its hotline on Tuesdays from 11:00 a.m to 2:00 p.m. and Wednesdays from 5-7 p.m. They also offer an in-person legal advice clinic at CLUES in St. Paul on Thursdays from 11:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m and Thursday evenings from 5-7pm at CLUES in Minneapolis. Volunteers, all Spanish-speaking, include attorneys, paralegals and law students.
Please consider becoming a volunteer for the Línea Legal Latina! You will find that the work is deeply rewarding. There also are several tangible benefits:
- Qualifying for low-cost or free continuing education courses;
- Malpractice insurance coverage through the Volunteer Lawyers Network;
- Volunteering from the comfort of your own office;
- Gaining understanding and exposure to problems that confront the Hispanic immigrant population today;
- Opportunity to provide vital service to the underserved, low-income Hispanic community.
We hope that you will decide to join this effort. For more information please contact: Suzanne Tresnak, Esq., Manager of Línea Legal Latina, Volunteer Lawyers Network, LTD. Phone: 612-752-6647 (Mpls) or 651-379-4230 (CLUES).