Director of Pro bono

Salary Range: $110,000.00 To $135,000.00 Annually

Maryland Legal Aid (MLA) advocates with and for Marylanders experiencing poverty to achieve equity and social justice through free civil legal services, community collaboration, and systemic change.

Since 1911, Maryland Legal Aid has provided high-quality legal aid to vulnerable, low-income people and communities – helping to remedy their civil legal issues and become empowered to overcome challenges, achieve stability and independence, and reach their goals. Maryland Legal Aid also identifies and seeks to remedy systemic barriers. Maryland Legal Aid’s core work includes eviction and foreclosure prevention, family law, children’s rights, consumer protection, securing public benefits, and access to healthcare. Maryland Legal Aid advocates operate primarily through the courts, via individual representation of indigent clients, but also engage in impact litigation, public communication and outreach, and policy advocacy.

Through this holistic approach, Maryland Legal Aid serves to amplify the voices of tens of thousands of economically disadvantaged and vulnerable Marylanders each year and seeks to be a leader in the legal services field nationwide.

Position Overview

Maryland Legal Aid seeks an experienced attorney to serve as Director of Pro Bono, a senior leadership position responsible for the strategic development, oversight, and integration of pro bono service across the organization.

The Director of Pro Bono will provide long-range planning and leadership to ensure that pro bono engagement meaningfully supports Maryland Legal Aid’s mission, complies with funder requirements, and strengthens relationships with the private bar, corporate legal departments, and bar associations statewide. This role is designed to be primarily strategic and externally focused, with responsibility for shaping organizational policy and fostering sustained pro bono partnerships that enhance access to justice and increase our capacity to achieve our mission.

The Director of Pro Bono reports to the Chief Legal Director and supervises the Deputy Director for Pro Bono, who is responsible for day-to-day management of the Pro Bono Unit.

Role within Maryland Legal Aid

The Director of Pro Bono functions in a role similar to Maryland Legal Aid’s Directors of Advocacy—working statewide, serving as an organizational leader and relationship-builder. Although Maryland Legal Aid is a staff-driven legal services organization, the Director of Pro Bono ensures that pro bono attorney and volunteer service is intentionally embedded into litigation, advocacy, and community engagement efforts in a way that complements and enhances staff representation and partner organizations.

Key Responsibilities

Strategic Leadership and Planning

• Develop and implement a comprehensive, organization-wide strategy, aligned with Maryland Legal Aid’s priorities and capacity, for involving private attorneys and encouraging pro bono participation.
• Collaborate with executive and legal leadership to advise on pro bono trends, opportunities, and risks within Maryland’s legal services and private bar landscape.
• Guide the evolution of pro bono programming to ensure sustainability, impact, and alignment with community needs.
• Ensure intentional integration of pro bono engagement into Maryland Legal Aid’s advocacy, litigation, and service delivery models.

Private Bar, Law Firm, and Partner Engagement

• Serve as Maryland Legal Aid’s primary pro bono ambassador to law firms, corporate legal departments, bar associations, and pro bono partners.
• Build and maintain strong, long-term relationships that increase sustained volunteer engagement and build strong connections to Maryland Legal Aid.
• Navigate Maryland’s and the surrounding area’s competitive and collaborative pro bono environment in a manner that is complementary, non-duplicative, and respectful of partner organizations.
• Develop strategies to expand law firm and corporate participation in pro bono projects and case placement.

Policy Development and Project Oversight

• Lead the development and implementation of internal policies and best practices related to volunteer engagement and pro bono assistance.
• Ensure compliance with Legal Services Corporation (LSC) Private Attorney Involvement (PAI) requirement in coordination with Maryland Legal Aid’s Grants Contracts and Compliance department.
• Provide guidance to leadership and staff on ethical and practical considerations related to pro bono representation.
• Oversee systems for tracking PAI and pro bono data, outcomes, and reporting, while delegating operational management to the Deputy Director.

Internal Engagement and Capacity Building

• Promote staff engagement with pro bono efforts through mentorship models, training collaboration, and strategic case placement.
• Work with local and regional office leadership to identify opportunities for pro bono partnerships and bar engagement.
• Support the development of staff-facing strategies that increase meaningful interaction between staff attorneys, bar associations, and volunteer attorneys.

Impact Litigation and Advocacy Collaboration

• Collaborate with the Appellate Advocacy and Impact Litigation team, the Directors of Advocacy, and legal leadership to expand pro bono participation in impact litigation, appellate advocacy, and policy initiatives.
• Identify and develop appropriate volunteer roles for pro bono attorneys and law firms interested in systemic advocacy work.
• Support cross-unit strategies that leverage private bar expertise to advance statewide advocacy goals.

Development and External Coordination

• Work closely with Maryland Legal Aid’s Development Team to coordinate outreach to law firms, corporate partners, and individual attorneys.
• Align pro bono engagement with donor cultivation, stewardship, and organizational messaging.
• Track and share relationship insights to strengthen coordinated development and engagement efforts across the organization.

Supervision and Leadership

• Provide direct supervision to the Deputy Director for Pro Bono and overall strategic guidance to the Pro Bono Unit.
• Delegate day-to-day operational management of the Pro Bono Unit to the Deputy Director and be willing to join the work of the unit to ensure success.
• Foster a collaborative, mission-driven culture within the pro bono program and across Maryland Legal Aid.

Qualifications

Required

• J.D. from an accredited law school.
• Admission to the Maryland Bar or eligibility and commitment to obtain admission.
• Significant experience working with law firms, corporate legal departments, or pro bono programs.
• Demonstrated ability to build and sustain professional relationships across diverse stakeholders.
• Strong strategic planning, communication, and leadership skills.
• At least seven (7) years of relevant legal or comparable professional experience.

Preferred

• Experience in legal services, nonprofit leadership, or law firm pro bono management.
• Familiarity with LSC compliance requirements related to PAI.
• Experience with impact litigation, appellate advocacy, or policy work.
• Background working within or closely with large law firms or corporate legal environments.

The salary range for this position is $ 110,000 - $ 135,000. In addition, MLA provides employees with a generous benefits package that includes health, dental, vision, life insurance, a 401(k) retirement plan, 4 weeks paid time off, paid sick leave, 14 annual paid holidays, and more! Future flexibility regarding a hybrid work arrangement is a possibility after the onboarding period.