Washington Pro Bono Council

What Washington Pro Bono Council does

Washington Pro Bono Council is a Washington State nonprofit organization founded in 2012 and based in Bellevue, WA, that operates as a coordinating body for a statewide network of 16 Volunteer Lawyer Programs (VLPs). Its mission is to expand access to civil legal aid for low-income Washington residents facing crises such as eviction, job loss, domestic violence, and sexual assault. The Council does not directly employ attorneys at scale; instead, it coordinates a network of 16 member VLPs that deliver pro bono legal services locally, while its ~3 core staff (hosted at Eastside Legal Assistance Program) focus on cross-VLP coordination, volunteer recruitment, training, and advocacy.

Its core offerings include (i) statewide coordination of the VLP network, (ii) the Dementia Legal Planning Program — a specialized sub-brand providing advance directives, powers of attorney, and dementia directive forms to residents 55+ or living with dementia, supported by an Equal Justice Works Fellow and DSHS funding, (iii) free attorney training with Washington CLE credits, (iv) technology-access resources including the "Create a Chromebook" program that converts old laptops into Zoom-enabled devices for virtual courtroom participation, and (v) self-help legal forms via Washington Law Help (maintained by Northwest Justice Project). Underlying technology is light: a Squarespace-hosted website, Zoom for virtual consultations, and a CloudReady/Chromebook conversion workflow rather than a proprietary platform.

The business model is nonprofit grant-and-donation funded rather than revenue-generating. Services are free to all eligible clients. Funding comes primarily from the Legal Foundation of Washington (supporting the Pro Bono Council Manager and donation processing) and DSHS (supporting the Dementia Legal Planning Project Coordinator), supplemented by donations channeled through the Legal Foundation. No commercial pricing, no fees, no revenue disclosures, and no capital raises are present. Strategic positioning is anchored in two relationships: the Legal Foundation of Washington as primary funder and Eastside Legal Assistance Program as administrative host — both of which represent concentration risk on the institutional funding side even though end-user concentration across 23,521+ clients in 2024 is dispersed.

Name

Washington Pro Bono Council

Legal name

Washington Pro Bono Council

Website

https://probonocouncil.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2012

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Washington Pro Bono Council is a Washington State nonprofit that coordinates a 16-member Volunteer Lawyer Program network, delivering free civil legal aid to over 23,500 low-income residents annually and operating a specialized Dementia Legal Planning Program.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Legal Aid Services

NAICS

Social Advocacy Organizations (8133), Services for the Elderly and Persons with Disabilities (62412)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300), Services-Legal Services (8111)

akta.pro primary industry

Legal Aid & Client Advocacy Services (BPAGAEAM)

akta.pro secondary industries

Disability Rights & Accessibility Advocacy (BPAGAFAF), Mental Health & Crisis Support Services (BPAGACAD)

Keywords

• Civil legal aid
• Pro bono legal services
• Volunteer lawyer programs
• Dementia legal planning
• Access to justice

Headquarters

HQ city

Bellevue

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations

Revenue model

1. Foundation Funding: Supported by Legal Foundation of Washington and DSHS funding for specific programs like Dementia Legal Planning
2. Donations: Accepts donations through Legal Foundation of Washington to support civil legal aid work

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Washington Pro Bono Council is a statewide nonprofit that coordinates a network of 16 Volunteer Lawyer Programs to provide free civil legal aid services to low-income Washington State residents facing crises such as eviction, job loss, domestic violence, and other civil legal matters. The organization also runs a specialized Dementia Legal Planning Program that helps clients affected by dementia prepare powers of attorney, healthcare directives, and dementia directive forms, and provides attorney training and self-help resources.

Product overview

Washington Pro Bono Council operates as a coordinating body for the statewide network of 16 Volunteer Lawyer Programs in Washington State. The organization provides civil legal aid services to low-income residents facing crises such as eviction, job loss, and domestic violence. Its core programs include the Dementia Legal Planning Program, which helps individuals 55+ or living with dementia navigate advance directives and powers of attorney, and the Volunteer Lawyer Programs Network that recruits and coordinates volunteer attorneys. Additional services include attorney training with CLE credits, technology resources for virtual court appearances, and self-help legal resources through Washington Law Help.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Dementia Legal Planning Program: A program to help those affected by Dementia navigate advanced directives, power of attorney for health care, and power of attorney for finances.

Products and services

• Civil Legal Aid Services Free legal aid services provided by Volunteer Lawyer Programs across Washington State to help low-income residents navigate civil legal matters including eviction, job loss, and domestic violence.
• Dementia Legal Planning Program A specialized program helping Washington State residents who are 55+, living with dementia, or have a family history of dementia navigate legal documents including powers of attorney, health care directives, and dementia directive forms, with multilingual support from trained volunteer attorneys.
• Volunteer Lawyer Programs Network A statewide network of 16 Volunteer Lawyer Programs coordinating pro bono legal services across Washington State, with at-large member organizations supporting access to justice.
• Create a Chromebook A technology resource providing guidance, video tutorials, and links to convert old laptops into Chromebooks with Zoom access for virtual courtroom participation in civil legal proceedings.
• Attorney Training and CLE Programs Free training programs for volunteer attorneys covering dementia legal planning, disaster response, employment law, and security and privacy for legal aid organizations, with Washington CLE credits available.
• Self Help Resources Free legal forms and resources provided through Washington Law Help, a website created and maintained by Northwest Justice Project, offering self-help materials for civil legal matters.

Quantifiable outcome

• In 2024: 23,521+ clients served, 448,753 hours civil legal aid, 20,694 hours volunteer services, 1,471 volunteers engaged

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Eastside Legal Assistance Program (ELAP)coreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerHosts Pro Bono Council staff positions including the Pro Bono Council Manager and Dementia Legal Planning Project Coordinator. Provides administrative hosting and infrastructure support for the organization.
• Washington State Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSupports the Dementia Legal Planning Project and provides partnership on public awareness initiatives through the Dementia Action Collaborative. Partially funds the PBC and DLP Project Coordinator position.
• Washington State Dementia Action CollaborativecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerA group of public-private partners committed to preparing Washington state for the growth of the population living with dementia. WPBC works with them on public awareness and community readiness initiatives.
• Northwest Justice ProjectcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCreates and maintains Washington Law Help, a website providing free legal forms and resources. Essential resource partner for client self-help materials.
• 16 Volunteer Lawyer Programs (Member Network)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMember organizations including Benton Franklin Legal Aid, Central Washington Legal Aid, King County Bar Association Pro Bono Services, and 12 others. Core delivery network for civil legal aid services statewide.
• Seattle University School of Law (Professor Lisa Brodoff)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerProfessor Brodoff provides training content for the Dementia Legal Planning Program and was instrumental in passage of dementia directive legislation in Washington State.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Legal Foundation of Washington: The Council's primary funder and a statewide IOLTA/grants-making body supporting civil legal aid; both are nonprofit intermediaries channeling resources to the same network of pro bono legal aid providers in Washington.
• Northwest Justice Project: Washington's largest publicly funded civil legal aid provider and a strategic partner of the Council; both organizations coordinate on client self-help (Washington Law Help) and overlap in serving low-income Washington residents with civil legal needs.
• King County Bar Association Pro Bono Services: One of the 16 member Volunteer Lawyer Programs in the Council's network; operates the Pro Bono Services program matching volunteer attorneys with low-income clients in King County — a direct, comparable peer in service delivery.
• Eastside Legal Assistance Program (ELAP): Hosts the Council's staff positions in Bellevue and operates as a regional Volunteer Lawyer Program. Directly comparable in mission (free civil legal aid to low-income residents) and operationally intertwined with the Council.

Emerging players

• Pro Bono Net: National nonprofit that builds technology and resource infrastructure for pro bono legal services; directly comparable to the Council's technology access efforts (e.g., Create a Chromebook) and broader member-coordination role.

Broad incumbents

• Legal Aid Society (New York): A much larger, established civil legal aid organization with a similar pro bono coordination mission; useful as a scaled-up comparable showing how a statewide/regional pro bono infrastructure can mature.
• American Bar Association Pro Bono & Public Service: National convener of pro bono initiatives including CLE training programs, attorney engagement, and access-to-justice advocacy; comparable to the Council's For Attorneys training and statewide volunteer coordination functions.
• Washington State Bar Association (Access to Justice): Statewide professional bar association with an active Access to Justice Department that coordinates pro bono efforts among Washington attorneys — directly comparable in policy advocacy and CLE/training offerings.

Others

• National Legal Aid & Defender Association (NLADA): National membership and advocacy association for civil legal aid and public defense providers; comparable as an umbrella peer that supports and connects state-level pro bono councils and legal aid programs.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/WAProBonoCouncil
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/washington-pro-bono-council

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Washington Pro Bono Council