A free attorney may also be an attorney providing pro bono work. A free lawyer who engages in pro bono works is a very specific type of volunteer. A free attorney donates their highly developed skills to a worthy cause. The American Bar Association recommends that a free attorney provide an average of fifty hours of pro bono work each year. In some large law firms, however, this level is rarely achieved. How often a firm provides a free lawyer is a measure which some ranking systems use to discourage recent law school graduates from joining some prominent national firms.

Legal aid, which is one of the most common sources employed by the indigent to acquire a free lawyer, has existed in the United States since the 1870s. The ability of a poor person to attain a free attorney was severely under funded throughout the Ninetieth Century, and remained that way for much of the Twentieth Century. In the early 1960s, however, the ability of the poor to attain access to a free lawyer was considered an important part of anti-poverty efforts. The 1963 Supreme Court case Gideon versus Wainwright ruled that a free attorney must be provided to any person facing criminal charges and unable to provide payment for one on their own. Prior to Gideon versus Wainwright the only time a free attorney was provided was if the suspect was facing capital charges.

Problems with the search for a free lawyer can been experienced by middle class person more often by the poor. These individuals may be too poor to hire a private lawyer, but make too much money to qualify for a free attorney from legal aid societies. One proposed solution is to require pro bono service of all lawyers, just as medical professions are required to provide treatment to any patient in an emergency room, regardless of ability to pay.

When engaged in practice in a law firm, the member lawyers are responsible for providing advice to clients of their rights and responsibilities under the law. Whether a client hires an entire law firm or individual lawyers in a law firm, all law firms assume the responsibility of representing the client in civil or criminal court.

Depending on the size of the firm a client may be represented in civil cases by one branch of the firm and in criminal court by another group of lawyers, or a single lawyer may be active in both courts. A law firm may be comprised of a single lawyer, which is the most common type of law firm, however many larger law firms exist consisting of several hundred employees. Larger law firms have a strict hierarchy. At the highest level are partners, who are joint owners who also serve as business directors of the law firm. The next level of employees are comprised of associates, which consists of lawyers seeing to become partners. At the next and lowest level are a variety of support staff.

This support staff comprises the largest portion of all law firms, and provides paralegal, clerical, and a variety of other services. Partners can be forced out of their partnerships for a variety of reasons, varying from a mandatory retirement age, criminal actions, malpractice, disruptive mental illness, or ceasing to bring in profitable clients. There are also some lawyers who work closely with law firms, but are outside the traditional hierarchy of the law firm. These lawyers, who are afforded the honorific “of counsel,” may serve a law firm in an advisory role. Lawyers considered “of counsel” often have their own separate client base, but maintain access to the resources of the associated law firm without receiving a portion of the profits. These lawyers may be former partners, former associates who did not obtain partner status, lawyers who once served as in-house council, or lawyers with a highly specific area of practice.

Due to the fact that the practice of law is such a competitive occupation, law firms often compete for lawyers in a particular area. Lawyers graduating from school often rely upon independent ratings to attract the most highly prized students. As a result, each firm attempts to distinguish itself from the competition.

The most valuable source of information about free legal advice may be within an individual’s very own family. The most obvious source is if a family member is themselves a lawyer, especially if they specialize in the particular area of law in regards to which the person is seeking to receive legal help. Even if a family member who is a lawyer does not practice the specific area of law in which the person needs help they may be able to recommend a source of legal help from within their law firm if the firm is broad ranging enough. If the lawyer does not belong to a law firm of the law firm is not very large, they may be able to point out a source of free legal advice whom they have found through their networking.

If no family member is a lawyer, however, all hope is not lost. A family member or friend may have had contact with a lawyer at some point in their life. In an increasingly litigious society this is becoming a much more frequent possibility. A recommendation of legal help may be just as important if it serves as a discouragement from a particularly source of paid or free legal advice based on the experience of a trusted source. Friends can be especially valuable in this regard, because they are often in the same situation as the individual who needs help both in terms of their financial reality and their expectations of service.