With the end of the calendar year approaching, it’s time to tally up your pro bono hours for the year so you are ready for two things: North Star Lawyer certification and lawyer registration pro bono reporting.
As when you completed your lawyer registration in 2022, next year’s registration will again ask how many hours of pro bono you completed in this calendar year. If you skipped that question last year, you got a free pass, but not so in 2023. All attorneys will be required to answer the question to renew their law licenses. If you are already gathering your hours for registration, why not also send them to us for the North Star Lawyer program?
North Star certification opens on December 12 for the 2022 calendar year and remains open until mid-March. MSBA members who have completed at least 50 hours of pro bono work can visit www.mnbar.org/Northstar to enter their pro bono hours—and thereby join an amazing group of lawyers dedicated to improving access to justice in our community. More than just providing individual recognition, it shows that pro bono is highly valued in our state.
If you fell short of the North Star minimum this year, we’re happy to help you up your game for next year. Visit www.projusticemn.org for a full listing of pro bono opportunities, or email us at kdrahos@mnbars.org.