You can help advance racial and economic justice in Mississippi and across the Gulf Region.
Attorneys, law students and volunteers from an array of personal and professional backgrounds provide crucial support to the Mississippi Center for Justice’s outreach. There are many opportunities to help remotely or through one of our three offices in Jackson, Biloxi or Indianola.
For more information, contact Max Meyers.
Pro Bono Attorneys
The Mississippi Center for Justice relies on a dedicated network of attorneys from a wide range of practice areas to support our legal advocacy work throughout the state. Attorneys who give their time not only improve the lives and living conditions of people in Mississippi, but often find the experience extremely rewarding.
Areas in which we are currently seeking pro bono assistance include:
Title Clearing
Many low-income, particularly minority, homeowners across the state inherited their property through generations without proper transfer of title. Cloudy title laws prevent homeowners from mortgaging the property, obtaining the property’s true value in the case of sale, and obtaining disaster recovery grants. Pro bono attorneys are needed to work with homeowners to draft and file pleadings and estate documents.
Health Advocacy
The Center has developed a medical-legal partnership to fight HIV/AIDS discrimination in Mississippi. This program helps persons living with HIV/AIDS by addressing discrimination in housing, employment and healthcare matters. The Center seeks pro bono assistance handling these cases, which will run the gamut from relatively minor E.E.O.C. claims to full discrimination litigation. Local counsel can be identified to assist.
Economic Justice
The Center is working to provide pro bono assistance to individuals facing foreclosure. Attorneys are needed primarily in a negotiating, rather than litigating, capacity. A practitioner’s manual, sample forms and mentors are available.
These are just a few of the areas where you can help. To learn more about how you or your law firm can get involved, please contact us to share your resources.
Student Volunteers
The Mississippi Center for Justice is preparing the next generation of attorneys to take up the fight for social justice. Volunteers play a core role in the Center’s work in breaking down barriers to justice and connecting Mississippians to opportunities to build better lives.
MCJ offers internships in its offices in Jackson, Indianola and Biloxi to college students and law students drawn to public interest work. Contact us to learn more about internship opportunities and how students spend their time with the Center.
“I was inspired to go to law school to gain tools I could use to make changes in my home state of Mississippi. Law school is practical knowledge; at MCJ I learned to put it to use. I want to be in Mississippi long-term. The work will mean the most to me here, where I grew up.”
–Madeline Illes, University of Mississippi School of Law, 2018 Intern
“In just five weeks with MCJ, I worked on issues ranging from disability rights to prisoners’ rights to fair housing. I have written memos, worked with clients one-on-one, done research at Chancery Court, and prepared drafts of various legal documents. The sheer breadth of the issues and experiences I have had has been incredible. I learn something new every day. Law school teaches you about the theory of law and gives you a foundational understanding of the field, but I have learned most of what I know about the actual practice of law from working with MCJ.”
— Abigail Pershing, Yale Law School, 2018 Intern