The Legal Aid Society and the Cincinnati Bar Association co-founded the Volunteer Lawyers for the Poor Foundation in 1982. The founders recognized that the gap between the requests for legal help from those living in poverty and the availability of legal resources to meet this need was large and growing. They established the Volunteer Lawyers Project to encourage attorneys to offer pro bono services in dedication of the principle of Equal Justice for All.

The VLP is the official pro bono program of seven county bar associations in southwest Ohio: Brown, Butler, Clermont, Clinton, Hamilton, Highland, and Warren.

The VLP places clients who call the Legal Aid Line into the hands of private attorneys who volunteer through the VLP to provide pro bono legal assistance. In addition, VLP attorneys provide advice and brief service at the VLP’s Wills, Divorce, Family Law, and Juvenile Custody & Companionship Clinics. Because of these sustained efforts, each year several thousand people who otherwise would not have access to the justice system, gain representation from a VLP attorney.

VLP lawyers exhibit the highest professional standards and a compassionate dedication to solving the problems of their clients. The VLP supports and assists lawyers in solo practice, large and small firms, corporate or government practice to provide pro bono legal services.