To volunteer with Washington Attorneys Assisting Community Organizations, please fill out the Volunteer Attorney Enrollment Form and e-mail it to contact@waaco.org
When the form is received, someone will contact you to confirm whether your experience meets WAACO’s volunteer needs, and to discuss the particular types of matters you are best able to handle. When confirmed, your name will then be added to our volunteer database and e-mail list, and you will receive periodic e-mail notices of pro bono opportunities as they arise. You will also receive notices of WAACO-sponsored CLEs on legal topics specific to nonprofit organizations.
E-mail notices of a pro bono opportunities briefly describes the type of nonprofit that needs assistance and the nature of the matter for which legal assistance is sought. If a volunteer is interested in volunteering on a particular matter, the attorney contacts WAACO. WAACO will then send information necessary for the attorney to run a conflicts check, as well as more detailed information about the client and its legal matter.
When the matter passes the attorney’s conflict check, the attorney confirms his/her availability to represent the client. WAACO then sends complete contact information to the volunteer, and the volunteer contacts the nonprofit organization to begin the representation. The attorney will send an engagement letter to the client confirming the scope of the representation. At this point, the matter is the volunteer attorney’s to handle, and WAACO will not be involved in the representation. The attorney will periodically update WAACO on the status of the matter.