For the Warrior Community
Active duty service members may wish to go first to Armed Forces Legal Assistance's online database to "locate active duty legal activities offering general legal services within the continental United States". While that database currently lists nothing for the state of Iowa. there are a few that are somewhat nearby.- The Iowa State Bar Association (ISBA) has a Volunteer Law Project that hosts a Pro Bono Assistance for Activated Military Personnel project; to learn more, click here.
General-Purpose Resources
Servicemembers, veterans and their families are of course eligible to use the same resources as anyone else.- Iowa Legal Aid Website is a good, general-purpose place to start looking for law help in Iowa
- You may find Legal Aid organizations listed on the Iowa Legal Aid Offices
Private Practice Attorneys
Typically, a lawyer in private practice will listen to your situation for 15 or 20 minutes, then give you an idea about how to proceed, in general terms, without charging you. If the matter is something the lawyer can help you with, but must charge for, sometimes you can work out a military-family discount, especially if you are easy to work with. The Findlaw website has a city-by-city list of lawyers in Iowa who are interested in representing active-duty military personnel, military reservists, and veterans.ISBA also has an inexpensive Find-A-Lawyer referral service
For Lawyers
The Iowa State Bar Association has a Volunteer Law Project that hosts a Pro Bono Assistance for Activated Military Personnel; to learn more and/or volunteer for service, click here.ISBA has a Committee on Military Affairs with the purpose:
"This committee is to provide communication and understanding of military-civilian issues and relevant laws affecting military service members, veterans, and the general public which affect the practice of law in Iowa; to participate in continuing legal education seminars and provide a forum where members can share research, source materials and experiences; to sponsor military affairs programs and projects of special interest and relevance to the members of the committee, The Iowa State Bar Association , the military community, and the general public.
The committee shall be concerned with the means and methods by which members of the association provide legal aid to military service members in the National Guard, Reserves, and military members on Active Duty and shall coordinate with other pro-bono groups when possible in providing support to military service members. "
Interested attorneys should Contact the Committee.
It is likely that there are other Iowa programs, sponsored by local bar associations, law schools, and others. Anyone with more information on these or other programs are invited to contact me; the most convenient way is to add in a comment below. The purpose is service!
1 comment:
I am currently enrolled in a paralegal program. My goal is to be able to help Veterans. For class, I am required to do a job shadowing. Do you know of any offices near Fayette County that would be interested in allowing me to do a job shadowing in relation to a paralegal/legal assistant position?
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