Nonprofits face unprecedented challenges, from abrupt loss of grant funding to threats to tax-exempt status to rapid shifts in laws and policies affecting their work. The Nonprofit Legal Defense Network (founded by We The Action and Alliance for Justice) connects them with free legal support to withstand these risks and continue their vital work. Lawyers who sign up for this project will be notified of opportunities to volunteer at risk assessment clinics, as described below.

But before nonprofits can seek legal advice, they need to identify concrete gaps or areas that may need attention. Alliance for Justice has developed an Advocacy Check-Up tool to allow nonprofits to self-assess their compliance policies and practices.

Our risk assessment clinics are an important precursor to nonprofits seeking and obtaining legal advice. Although lawyers will not provide legal advice in these clinics, they will receive training to help nonprofits self-identify issues where they may wish to obtain targeted legal advice and to help them understand how they can use We The Action to seek legal advice.

Lawyers who sign up for this project will be notified when 90-minute clinic shifts become available, and they will receive instructions to sign up for specific clinic dates. Signing up for this project does not secure a spot in a specific clinic or obligate a lawyer to volunteer at a specific clinic.

During clinic sessions, volunteers will meet with nonprofit representatives via Zoom and walk through Alliance for Justice's Advocacy Check-Up: Nonprofit Self Assessment with them. Compliance experts from Alliance for Justice will be available throughout the shift to answer volunteer questions.

Lawyers will assist nonprofits by clarifying relevant laws or rules covered in the tool in general terms. However, lawyers participating in this clinic will not provide any legal or other advice to nonprofits. Lawyers will instead walk through AFJ's checklist on common compliance issues for nonprofits, which may allow the nonprofit representative to identify issues to address through legal counsel.

Lawyers will also receive training to orient nonprofits to We The Action's platform and how they can use it to post requests for legal advice they self-identify using the check-up tool.

Participation in these clinics does not establish an attorney-client relationship between any lawyers and nonprofits.