Ideally, a few days. We do our best to fulfill requests quickly, but it may take up to seven business days to receive a referral. There are a variety of factors that go into how quickly a request can be fulfilled, including the volume of other requests, the availability of attorneys qualified to speak to the legal issue, time spent checking to ensure that they or their firm are not also representing another party in the matter, and the complexity of your legal issue. Additionally, there may be longer wait times for fulfilling a request for free or pro bono legal services. MnLA staff will contact you for follow-up questions about your request.
If you have a legal emergency that requires immediate action, in most cases we suggest you contact an emergency legal service.
When the referral is made, you’ll receive an email with the name of the volunteer attorney you’ve been matched with, and their email or phone number. Once you’ve received that, you are free to reach out to them at the contact information at your convenience. The attorney will also have received a note with your name and a summary of your question. If you no longer need to speak to the attorney, please inform us or the attorney.
You’re entitled to a phone conversation with the attorney for up to 30 minutes, at no charge. You may be able to speak to them right away, or you may have to schedule a time to speak.
These phone consultations are what’s known as “limited legal representation.” This means that there is no expectation that the lawyer’s representation will continue beyond the scope of the call. The lawyer’s advice will be based on the information provided to by you for that session, and you retain the right to accept or decline the advice and pursue further assistance. This might include reviewing a contract (if feasible within the consultation time), offering legal advice or steps you can take, or coaching you through a process.
This is distinct from “full representation,” where the attorney continues working with the client beyond an initial consultation. This involves signing a separate engagement letter directly between the client and attorney, outlining fees, timelines, responsibilities, scope of services and other considerations.
Even if you do require full representation, the best place to begin is with a limited representation phone consultation, in order to get an assessment of your options. If you then determine that you need full representation, and you’d like to work with the attorney assigned to you, you’ll have the opportunity to agree upon a rate with them directly and sign a new representation agreement. All MnLA attorneys have a reduced rate they offer to Springboard referrals, but the specifics will vary from attorney to attorney.
If you need pro bono (or no-cost) representation, we may be able to connect you to a pro bono coordinator at one of our partner law firms. The firm may need to verify your income and eligibility, and they will conduct a conflict check to verify that the law firm is not already representing anyone involved in the matter. When the conflict check is cleared, you will be put in touch with attorneys from the firm via email, and you’ll begin working together.
Though we try to refer every case, we cannot guarantee that we will find a lawyer to work with you. Your request may take from 2-4 weeks to clear the firm’s intake process, and potentially longer in some cases.
