Lawyers at LEAP firms say that their work with NLCHP is some of the most rewarding of their career.

For associates, it's a chance to gain valuable work experience while helping others. For partners, its an opportunity to defend the basic values of justice and equality that led them to choose law as a profession.

Legal advocacy makes a critical difference in the lives of individual homeless people and in building a strong national movement to prevent and end homelessness. Pro bono opportunities for LEAP partners include work in all of our program areas. Pro bono opportunities include litigation, legislative work, research, and transactional assistance.

Pro Bono Overview:

Children and Youth Program

• Protect homeless children's right to a free public education and social services.

• Assist with federal legislative and administrative advocacy to increase funding for programs serving homeless children.

• Represent individual homeless students whose educational rights have been violated.

Civil Rights Program

•  Defend homeless persons who have been charged with criminal misdemeanors for performing life-sustaining acts such as sleeping or standing in public spaces.

• Help local advocacy groups prevent passage and enforcement of local ordinances that criminalize homelessness.
• Protect the voting rights of homeless persons.

Income Program

• Represent homeless or other low income persons in SSI administrative hearings and appeals.
• Challenge benefit programs that fail to accommodate people with disabilities.

Human Rights Program

• Help NLCHP develop new legal strategies for using international human rights laws and treaties to advocate for a right to housing in the United States.
• Prepare briefs to present to United Nations human rights committees.

Domestic Violence Program

• Protect domestic violence survivors from eviction due to the violence against them.

• Research and advocate for implementation of new housing provisions in the Violence Against Women Act of 2005.

Housing Program

• Ensure that funding for homeless programs is maintained and increased.
• Work to combat NIMBY-ism that threatens the quality and effectiveness of homeless services.
• Advocate for increased availability of surplus federal property to serve homeless people, including base closure property.
• Help local service providers obtain surplus federal and military property to serve homeless people.

Hurricane Katrina Program

• Help victims of the Gulf Coast hurricanes get the federal assistance they need.
• Help people who were homeless before the hurricanes receive assistance.