The Shreveport Bar Foundation (SBF) is a 501 (c) (3) nonprofit organization that provides charitable legal assistance and educational activities to the public and operates a Pro Bono Project which provides free civil legal assistance to low-income clients at or below the federal poverty income level in the areas of family law, domestic protective orders, successions, and other miscellaneous civil legal matters. In addition to these services, the SBF also hosts a free Ask-A-Lawyer clinic staffed with volunteer attorneys each month at the Shreveport Bar Center located at 625 Texas Street, a building owned and operated by the SBF. This event is open to the public, and volunteer attorneys meet with clients for individual, one-on-one legal advice. In a two-hour period, we consult and advise an average of 20 to 30 people per event. Without this service, these individuals would not have the opportunity to speak with an attorney and obtain advice about the resolution of their legal issues.
We also operate in partnership with Acadiana Legal Services to accept referrals for representation of their clients for cases involving successions, uncontested divorces, and domestic violence protective orders. The SBF also operates a Pro Se Library at the Shreveport Bar Center that is available to the public for a safe and private environment to research legal issues with the assistance of SBF staff. Without our services, these individuals would be left to navigate the legal system alone and unassisted.
In addition, the SBF operates in partnership with The Northwest Louisiana Family Justice Center and Project Celebration, service providers to victims of domestic violence and sexual assault for the Shreveport, Bossier and other parishes in Northwest Louisiana. We also receive client referrals from Caddo Parish Juvenile Court and the First Judicial District Court. Additionally, we regularly network with the Shreveport Bossier Rescue Mission, Bossier Parish Domestic Violence Task Force, Volunteers of America, Barksdale Air Force Base, DAVA (Domestic Abuse Victims Assistance) Program, Salvation Army, and Caddo Parish Victim’s Assistance Program. Through these relationships, we have established ongoing ways by which we can make appropriate referrals as needed and outreach that addresses various legal needs of our common client base.
All of these programs and activities, and the operation of the Shreveport Bar Center, are intended to support the goals of preserving, honoring, and improving our system of justice, increasing public understanding of the legal system, and advancing the reality of equal justice under the law.
Board Members
