Legal Resources
As a litigant in a civil case, you are not entitled to appointment of counsel. However, the Court has established three Volunteer Attorney Panels of attorneys who are willing to accept appointments on a pro bono basis in certain types of cases:
- The attorneys on the Prisoner Civil Rights Panel represent prison inmates for constitutional violations alleged to have occurred during incarceration, or for constitutional violations by law enforcement officers before the inmate was incarcerated that relate to the matter(s) for which the inmate is then incarcerated.
- The attorneys on the Employment Panel represent plaintiffs raising claims of employment discrimination. Under the terms of the program, cases in which an attorney is appointed from the Employment Panel are referred for early mediation.
- The attorneys on the Social Security Panel represent plaintiffs appealing an administrative denial of social security benefits.
If you are a plaintiff in one of these types of cases and would like your case to be considered for appointment by attorneys on the panel, you should file a motion for appointment of counsel using the Court’s Form Motions to ask the Judge to appoint counsel for you. It is the decision of the Judge assigned to your case whether to refer your case to the panel for consideration or to otherwise appoint counsel. Placement of your case on the panel for consideration by an attorney does not guarantee that your case will be accepted by an attorney. Keep in mind that you may have to continue to pursue your case on your own while you wait to see whether an attorney will accept your case. If an attorney does not volunteer to represent you, you must represent yourself unless you are able to hire an attorney.
Links to the following resources are provided for the user’s convenience. The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania does not control or guarantee the accuracy, relevance, timeliness, or completeness of information available from external sources.
- Berks County Bar Association Referral Service
- Bucks County Bar Association Referral Service
- Chester County Bar Association Referral Service
- Delaware County Bar Association Referral Service
- Lancaster County Bar Association Referral Service
- Lehigh County Bar Association Referral Service
- Montgomery County Bar Association Referral Service
- Northampton County Bar Association Referral Service
- Philadelphia County Bar Association Referral Service
- PALawHelp.org
DISCLAIMER: The information on this website is not legal advice. All parties using this website remain responsible for complying with all applicable rules of procedure. If there is any conflict between the information on this website and the applicable rules, the rules govern. This website may contain links to other sites. The links on these pages are provided for your convenience. The Court makes no endorsement or warranty of quality of services by linking to an organization from this website. The Court cannot guarantee the accuracy, relevance, reliability, or completeness of the information you find on other sites.