Volunteer and Help Bring Justice to the Marginalized
Thanks for your interest in volunteering with us! We strive to create enriching volunteer experiences for a people with a wide variety of skills and availabilities and specialize in providing opportunities for people looking to do skills-based volunteering.
Interests
What situation is most applicable to you?
I'm looking for an internship
I'd like Open Door Legal to sponsor/host my fellowship
I'd like to volunteer as a pro bono attorney
Any other skilled volunteer opportunity
Are you looking for a law or client-focused experience?
Yes
No
A law or client-focused experience involves working directly with clients or in legal research. A non-law experience can be anything else - including HR, finance, videography, and software development
What skills do you want to learn or improve?
Let us know if there's any professional skills you'd like to develop with us
What languages, other than English, can you proficiently speak?
How did you hear about us?
Please select...
Web Search
Social Media
Volunteer Match
Handshake
From a Friend
Other
Availability
Do you prefer remote or in-person volunteer work?
Remote
In-Person
Are you available...
During business hours
On the weekend
After business hours
What rough hour commitment are you interested in making?
As Needed
Under 12 hours/week
12-20 hours/week
Over 20 hours/week
Positions
Based on the your interests here are some volunteer positions that you might qualify for. Check as many of the positions that interest you.
Legal Intern
I'm interested in volunteering as a legal intern -
Requires at least 12 hours/week and to be enrolled in law school
Legal interns do case work and legal research under the supervision of a staff attorney. We believe in deeply challenging our interns and think the experience is formative for anyone interested in direct services.
Pro Bono Partner
I'm interested in volunteering as a pro bono partner -
Requires a license to practice law in a US state. Best for attorneys looking to partner on cases.
As a pro bono partner working in the office, you will have the opportunity to conduct client intake meetings, work directly with clients, and manage your own cases. You will work under the mentorship of our staff. This is a great opportunity to build legal skills in a fast-paced, high-impact setting.
Brief Services Attorney
I'm interested in volunteering as a brief services attorney -
Requires a license to practice law in CA. Best for attorneys with a full-time job who are unable to commit to taking on full cases.
As a pro bono partner working in the office, you will have the opportunity to conduct client intake meetings, work directly with clients, and manage your own cases. You will work under the mentorship of our staff. This is a great opportunity to build legal skills in a fast-paced, high-impact setting.
Legal Case Manager
I'm interested in volunteering as a legal case manager -
Requires at least 12 hours/week and a JD or foreign equivalent. Best for recent grads or people looking to transition subjects.
As a legal case manager working in the office, you will have the opportunity to conduct client intake meetings, work directly with clients, and manage your own cases. You will work under the supervision and guidance of our staff attorneys. This job is best for someone that wants to rapidly learn how to creatively represent the marginalized in our society and build up their resume.
Investigator
I'm interested in volunteering as an investigator -
Best for undergraduates looking to learn more about the practice of law and interact with clients
As an investigator you will work in the office with the paralegals to help gather evidence in cases, such as police reports and medical records. You will work a few hours every week out of the office doing errands at the court house or other places. You may also be asked to take intake notes for the attorneys during intakes.
Language Volunteer
I'm interested in volunteering as a language volunteer -
Best for any person who can fluently speak another language (legal proficiency not required)
Language volunteers help us translate document and communicate with clients. A court-level proficiency is not required. All that is required is the ability to have a conversation. Spanish and Cantonese are our highest needs
Non-Legal Internship
I'm interested in volunteering as an intern -
Best for undergraduates looking to gain experience in any non-client facing role, including finance, talent, and development.
As an intern, you'll have the ability to work on our finance, talent & culture, marketing, or other team. Please indicate your preferred team on your cover letter.
Researcher
I'm interested in volunteering as a researcher -
As a researcher, you'll work with our Manager of Technology and Analytics on various research projects. Familiarity with social science research tools and methods are a bonus for this role.
Software Developer
I'm interested in volunteering as a software developer -
Note, most software projects use Apex and are built on Salesforce
Software developers help with developing our Open Door Case Management product, which is used internally and licensed to other legal aid groups to improve efficiencies and ultimately ensure more people can access justice.
Videography / Animators
I'm interested in volunteering on video creation or editing
Videographers, editors, and animation artists help tell our client's stories for distribution online and at our annual gala. Our videos can be seen at https://www.youtube.com/opendoorlegal
Other Skills-Based Volunteer Project
I'm interested in volunteering on a high-skilled volunteer project
We use skilled volunteers for a huge array of projects, from developing Salesforce to copy-editing grants to recruiting other skilled volunteers. We typically ask for a 2-3 mo. commitment, working a few hours a week on the project.
Personal Information
First Name
MI
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Email
Cell Phone
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Address Line 1
Address Line 2
City
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Afghanistan
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Please select...
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Postal Code
Application
Based on the roles you've selected, we'd like you to answer a few additional questions:
What areas of law would be interested in working in?
Housing
Family
General Civil Litigation
Elder /
Estate Planning
Employment
Immigration
What prior experience do you have working in the selected areas of law?
What kinds of skilled volunteer projects are you interested in?
Linkedin Profile
Please link your Linkedin profile here
Resume
For internship applications, we require you to upload a copy of your resume
Cover Letter
For internship applications, we require you to upload a copy of your cover letter
Briefly, why are you interested in volunteering with us? What are you excited to bring to our team?
Pro Bono Information
We utilize our own platform to work with external pro bono. We'll send cases that match your preferences and share the entire record once you've onboarded.
Are you a pro bono coordinator?
Yes
No
Do you prefer cases where litigation is anticipated?
Yes
No
What levels of case difficulty would you prefer?
Low
Medium
High
Low difficulty cases can be done in one day, in a clinic session, or with under 10 hours of work. High difficulty cases can take months and involve hundreds of hours of work.
What levels of case priority do you prefer?
Urgent
Moderately Urgent
Not Urgent
Urgent cases require onboarding in less than a week. Not urgent cases can be onboarded in one month
Do you have a specific area of law preference?
Yes
No
What is your area of law preferences?
Are you willing to take cases that don't exactly match your preferences?
No - only send me cases that match my preferences 100%
Somewhat - send me cases that match at least 75%
Yes - send me cases that match at least 50%