The Veterans’ Legal Advice Clinic is a joint project of the Knoxville Bar Association/Barristers Access to Justice Committees, Legal Aid of East Tennessee, the Knox County Public Defender’s Community Law Office, the UT College of Law, LMU-Duncan School of Law, and the local Veterans Affairs office. This is a general advice and referral clinic that requires attorney volunteers for its continued operation. The next Veterans Legal Clinic will be held in person at the Knoxville Community Law Office on March 9 from noon until 2 p.m. EST. Attorneys can register online to volunteer at the clinic. 

The Knoxville Pro Bono Community will gather March 3 at 6 p.m. EST for the 2022 Forging Justice Spring Celebration. The event, sponsored by Legal Aid of East Tennessee and Egerton McAfee Armistead & Davis, will be held at The Standard, 416 W. Jackson Ave., Knoxville 37902. Doors will open at 5:30 p.m. EST. Tickets are $55 per person or $100 for a couple and can be purchased online. The evening will include a celebration of pro bono work completed in 2021, music, food and a silent auction. All proceeds will benefit Legal Aid and its Pro Bono Project.

Free legal services are available via the Disaster Legal Services (DLS) program for those affected by the line of tornadoes that hit counties in Middle and West Tennessee in December. DLS helps individuals in federally declared disaster areas receive free legal assistance related to insurance claims, consumer and housing issues, government benefits, replacement of important documents and other issues. Services include a legal helpline 844-HELP4TN (844-435-7486) operated by Tennessee Alliance for Legal Services (TALS). Individuals and households in the 12 Tennessee counties designated under the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Major Disaster Declaration are eligible to apply for financial and direct services. Lawyers from across the state are invited to complete this online form to volunteer with DLS. West Tennessee Legal Services (WTLS) will host a clinic for storm survivors on March 3 from 6 to 8 p.m. Volunteer attorneys will meet with clients via video conference and will receive case information prior to the event. Contact WTLS Pro Bono Coordinator Andy Cole for more information. DLS is a partnership between TBA, TALS, FEMA, WTLS, the American Bar Association Young Lawyers Division, Nashville Bar Association and Tennessee Fair Housing Council. 

The Arts & Business Council's Volunteer Lawyers and Professionals for the Arts is joining the law firm of Bradley Arant Boult Cummings in providing free legal services for Black-owned small businesses and nonprofits at a clinic on Feb. 17. Issues to be covered include questions about business formation, corporate governance, contract review and navigating local ordinances and state regulations. Eligible businesses may receive up to one hour of assistance. Clients may sign up online. To volunteer, email vlpa@abcnashville.org.

The Knoxville Bar Association and its Bankruptcy Section, in partnership with Legal Aid of East Tennessee and U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Suzanne H. Bauknight, will hold a Pro Bono Debt Relief Clinic on Feb. 26 from 9 a.m. to noon EST. The event will take place at the Knox County Public Defender's Community Law Office, 1101 Liberty St., Knoxville 37919. Judge Bauknight will present a short overview of the bankruptcy system and other solutions for clients before volunteer lawyers meet with them to discuss their options. Sign up to volunteer.

The Tennessee Supreme Court Access to Justice Commission, Knoxville Bar Association and its Access to Justice Committee, Legal Aid of East Tennessee and the University of Tennessee College of Law will hold a Faith & Justice Alliance Advice Clinic this Saturday from 9 a.m. to noon EST at Cokesbury United Methodist Church’s North Campus, 9915 Kingston Pike, Knoxville, TN 37922. Sign up here to volunteer.

Free Legal Answers, the online virtual legal clinic that helps qualifying users get civil legal advice from volunteer attorneys, has surpassed 200,000 client questions, doubling the total number of its inquiries in less than two years. Free Legal Answers has experienced rapid growth since March 2020 when the program hit 100,000 questions. Nationwide, more than 43,400 hours of pro bono legal service were submitted with 10,288 volunteer attorneys registered to participate and 45 states committed to the program. More information is available in the most recent Free Legal Answers report. Sponsored by the American Bar Association's Standing Committee on Pro Bono and Public Service, Free Legal Answers was established a decade ago as a joint project of the TBA, Tennessee Alliance for Legal Services and Baker Donelson. 

Tennessee Free Legal Answers (TFLA) Virtual Clinic and Vanderbilt University Law School will host a virtual legal clinic this Friday from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. CST. Volunteers will work with law students to review and answer client questions posted on the Free Legal Answers website. Learn more about TFLA and sign up to help. For more information, email law student coordinator Karalyn Berman.

The Arts + Business Council of Greater Nashville will host a free legal clinic for artists, musicians and other creatives on Feb. 9 from 6-7 p.m. CST. Clients will spend 30 minutes with a legal or business professional to get advice related to their creative practice. To attend the February "Ask the Experts" clinic, clients should register by noon CST on Feb. 4.

The TBA Young Lawyers Division will host an expungement clinic on Feb. 23 in partnership with Belmont University College of Law and the Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee and the Cumberlands. The event, which will begin at 4 p.m. CST, will take place in Murfreesboro at Doors of Hope, a nonprofit that provides transitional housing and other reentry help to women released from incarceration. Volunteer attorneys and law students are needed to assist clients complete expungement paperwork. No prior experience is required. Organizers will provide a training video in advance of the clinic. To volunteer, contact YLD Pro Bono Coordinator Alix Rogers, 615-460-8250.