Our Eligibility Criteria

How we developed our criteria

One of the most important components of running a pro bono program includes establishing and enforcing eligibility criteria. Not only should the program help in-need and at-risk communities access the justice system meaningfully, but also it is important not to cannibalize law firms’ paid work by accepting clients to the program that otherwise would have the funds to pay for legal advice.

ProJourn’s current eligibility criteria encourage inquiries from newsrooms that are independently owned, community-focused, located near news deserts and can’t afford to pay legal fees, and include in their coverage underserved communities.

To determine financial need, ProJourn will ask for financial information and will confirm news organizations haven’t paid significant fees for similar services in the past 12 months. (If they did, ProJourn will assess whether these news outlets’ circumstances have dramatically changed.)

ProJourn’s eligibility criteria are similar for nonprofit and for-profit entities. Both types will have to demonstrate they comply with a recognized code of ethics or their own code, which must be publicly available.

ProJourn will use this framework of criteria, and eligibility will be decided on a case-by-case basis, with participating law firms also screening cases according to their own policies and hitting against their conflicts database.

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For News Outlets

  • Be legally incorporated in the U.S. or fiscally sponsored by a U.S. nonprofit organization for at least one year, and be willing to share financial information with ProJourn as part of the application and screening process.
  • Be community-focused Report local news.
  • Use a recognized code of ethics or create their own Stand for accuracy, independence, fairness, transparency, truthfulness.
  • Demonstrate that the payment of standard legal fees makes it difficult to move forward with mission-critical work. Show they haven’t paid significant fees for similar legal services in the past 12 months (or that their circumstances have changed so they can’t pay now).
  • Nonprofit news outlets must comply with 501(c)(3) requirements, such as governance standards and lobbying restrictions. They must reveal major donors.
  • For-profit news outlets must be independently owned, i.e., not primarily or majority-owned by a publicly-traded company, newspaper chain, hedge fund, or private equity firm and/or political or religious institution.

For Individual Journalists

  • Be based in the U.S.
  • Use a recognized code of ethics or create their own Stand for accuracy, independence, fairness, transparency, truthfulness.
  • Demonstrate that the payment of standard legal fees makes it difficult to move forward with their critical work or would significantly deplete their economic resources.
  • Have a proven track record (e.g., links to previous publications or awards)