The MBA Pro Bono Prescription initiative will host two open
houses this fall where lawyers in any practice area can learn how
to become advocates for low-income, medically vulnerable
Massachusetts residents.
The Massachusetts Justice Project in Holyoke will host the
Western Mass. open house at Elegant Affairs in Springfield from 1
to 2 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 27. The Boston open house will be
hosted by Todd & Weld LLP from 5 to 7 p.m. on Thursday, Oct.
27, at its State Street office in Boston. Both open houses will be
co-sponsored by the Massachusetts Bar Association and Medical-Legal
Partnership | Boston, the founding site of the national
MLP Network.
The MBA and the Medical-Legal Partnership Massachusetts network
joined forces earlier this year to create the pioneering
initiative, which brings together volunteer attorneys and medical
professionals to promote the health and well-being of low-income
patients through legal advocacy.
The MBA Pro Bono Prescription program will support patients by
providing direct legal services to them - services triggered
by referrals from health care teams to the local MLP site. Each
local MLP site, most often housed with a local or regional legal
services organization, will serve as the connector between the
health care team, the volunteer attorney, and the patient.
The MBA's House of Delegates unanimously passed a resolution in
January endorsing MLPs. The MBA's support follows approval from the
American Medical Association, which passed a similar resolution
aimed at the medical profession in June 2010. The American Bar
Association passed a resolution endorsing the expansion of
medical-legal partnerships throughout the legal profession four
years ago.