Volunteer Attorney / Legal Counsel (Pro Bono)

About the role

Mentor A Promise is a New York City-based nonprofit organization supporting children and youth experiencing housing instability through mentorship, education, literacy, social-emotional learning, and creative programming. This role will help strengthen organizational governance, compliance, safeguarding, ethics, legal operations, and institutional protections across the organization.

Responsibilities

• Review, draft, and advise on contracts, agreements, waivers, and organizational policies
• Support nonprofit governance, compliance, and risk management initiatives
• Aid in safeguarding, privacy, and organizational protection frameworks
• Advise leadership on legal and operational matters across departments
• Support intellectual property, media, publishing, and brand protection efforts
• Help strengthen internal legal systems, documentation, and procedures
• Identify organizational risks and provide practical recommendations
• Collaborate with leadership on long-term legal and institutional infrastructure

Requirements

• Juris Doctor (JD) or equivalent legal education
• Licensed attorney preferred, but not required
• Experience in nonprofit law, governance, contracts, compliance, labor/employment, education, or public interest law preferred
• Strong writing, research, and analytical skills
• Ability to operate with professionalism, discretion, and sound judgment
• Alignment with MAP’s mission, ethics, and safeguarding values

Qualifications

• Preferred qualifications include:
• Experience in nonprofit law, governance, contracts, compliance, labor/employment, education, or public interest law
• Strong writing, research, and analytical skills
• Ability to operate with professionalism, discretion, and sound judgment
• Alignment with MAP’s mission, ethics, and safeguarding values

Skills

• Legal research and analysis
• Contract drafting and review
• Nonprofit governance and compliance
• Safeguarding and privacy
• Intellectual property and brand protection
• Internal legal systems and procedures
• Risk identification and mitigation

Benefits

No direct benefits for this volunteer position, but the opportunity to contribute to a meaningful mission and gain valuable legal experience.

Pay

This is a volunteer opportunity with no compensation.

Schedule

The role requires approximately 5–10 hours per week, including one weekly leadership meeting.

Additional Information

Mentor A Promise is a volunteer-powered organization committed to ethical leadership, accessibility, trauma-informed practice, and community trust. To apply, please submit your resume and a short statement of interest.