Want to get hands-on experience with clients working on urban agricultural projects, cooperative housing, nonprofits, social enterprises, and more? Looking for a community of like minded legal professionals cultivating the legal roots of just and resilient economies? Then why don't you volunteer at our Legal Cafes? Volunteer attorneys, law students, and community members make our cafes possible! Check out our 2018 Legal Cafe Impact Report here to see all of the accomplishments made possible by our volunteers.

Whether you are a law student, legal professional, or community member who wants to increase access to community based lawyering in our communities, there are two ways you can participate at the Legal Cafe: a 'Server," or a "Chef."

"Servers" (Observer): A Server, or non-advising volunteer, at the Legal Cafe is a volunteer who helps clients fill out our intake form, observes the legal consultations, and actively takes part in the operations of the Legal Cafe. Servers can also go between the different consultations happening at the Legal Cafe. This allows them to learn about the full breadth of knowledge that our "Chefs," our experienced advising attorneys, provide. Servers can be law students, legal professionals, and community members interested in using law as a tool for social and economic justice. 

"Chefs" (Advising Volunteer): A "Chef" is an attorney with the competency to provide legal advice in the areas of law that the Law Center specializes in providing (see "types of legal advice given at the Legal Cafe"). At the Legal Cafe, we pair attorneys together in teams of two or three (volunteers permitting), so no one is alone in providing legal advice. The advice session becomes a living classroom for attorneys, as consultations turn into discussions of the different interpretations and applications of law to the innovative ideas our clients present. 

Bonus points: If you pledge to volunteer at our Legal Cafe at least three times, we will give you unlimited access to our MCLE videos. 

Ready to volunteer? Sign up to serve at a legal cafe here! Please contact Tia Katrina Taruc-Myers, our Legal Cafe Volunteer Coordinator, at [email protected] if you have any other questions about volunteering.