Florida Free Legal Answers ranks second among states participating in the ABA’s free legal advice program

Florida Free Legal Answers ranks second among states participating in the ABA’s free legal advice program

There are 1,106 volunteer Florida attorneys offering free counsel through the virtual clinic

Florida ranks second among states offering free legal advice through the American Bar Association’s virtual clinic, Free Legal Answers, according to the latest ABA profile of the profession.

There are 1,106 volunteer Florida attorneys out of 12,700 total across 42 states and territories giving counsel through ABA Free Legal Answers, according to the profile. The only state with more volunteer attorneys is Illinois with 1,194.

The virtual clinic is sponsored by the ABA Standing Committee on Pro Bono and Public Service and launched in 2016. Since then, there have been more than 313,000 civil legal questions submitted. The virtual clinic experienced a “big jump” in those queries during the pandemic, per the profile.

Focus has recently shifted to helping victims of natural disasters, including the Hawaii wildfires.

The most common legal questions submitted to the website concern family and children (38%), housing and homelessness (16%), and consumer or financial issues (10%). The virtual clinic has also been taking questions related to immigration and veterans since 2021.

Residents must be income-eligible to post their civil legal questions.

Here are the top 10 states for attorneys volunteering with ABA Free Legal Answers:

Check out the ABA’s findings related to FAMU College of Law, Tallahassee, and the state of civil legal aid.