SCCBA Volunteer Opportunities

The Santa Clara County Bar Association sponsors a variety of programs that use attorney volunteers. These opportunities are listed below. If you are interested in volunteering for any of these committees, please click here.  To find out more about each opportunity, click on the links below.

Bay Area Minority Summer Clerkship Program (BAMSCP) - This program is an excellent opportunity for a firm to volunteer to hire a first year minority law student as a summer intern. The objective of the program is to place minority students with firms they might not otherwise be able to access to give them direct work experience.  This, then, allows these students to be better positioned for subsequent career opportunities. There is no obligation for the firm to rehire the student for further work with the firm beyond that summer. Sixteen bay area firms currently participate and Intel, Google and Sun Microsystems support the administration of the program through generous money donations.

Committees & Section Executive Committees - The SCCBA has nearly thirty committees and section executive committees for which our attorney members may volunteer. Among some of our most active committees are Civil Practice, Federal Courts, Minority Access, Pro Bono Implementation and Professionalism. Among our most active section executive committees are Appellate Courts, Family Law, Business Law & Litigation, Labor & Employment Law and High Technology Law. You can see a list and description of these by clicking on the link.

Education  - The SCCBA has a robust continuing legal education program that utilizes volunteer attorneys and judges from Santa Clara County to present nearly 200 cle programs annually. We sponsor brown bag seminars, luncheon seminars, evening seminars and cle by podcast. If you are interested in organizing or presenting a seminar or recording a cle podcast, please contact our SCCBA Staff or complete the form below. To see past, present and future cle programs click on Education to go to the SCCBA homepage and select "Continuing Legal Education."

Law Related Education: Annual High School Mock Trial Tournament  - This annual program which takes place in January and February of each year needs attorneys to score the performance of the high school teams for each round of the tournament. Click here to download the scorer application.

Lawyer Referral Service Panel Attorneys  - The SCCBA LRS has over 150 attorneys who accept referrals from clients who contact the SCCBA seeking a qualified attorney.  While the Lawyer Referral Service is not a pro bono opportunity but rather generates attorney fees for LRS attorneys, particpation on the SCCBA LRS Modest Means Panel gives attorneys an opportunity to provide legal services to lower middle income individuals and families who cannot afford regular attorney rates.  To apply to be a panel attorney, contact LRS staff.

Fee Arbitration Program Arbitrators   - The SCCBA has one of the most active fee arbitration programs in the State of California. Our success is largely due to the volunteer attorney and lay arbitrators who decide each of our fee arbitration cases. We provide initial and ongoing training for our arbitrators. To apply to be an arbitrator, contact the Fee Arbitration Program Coordinator.

To volunteer for any of the above programs, complete this form.