Pro Bono: Color-coded divorce advisories

By Margaret C. Benson
Chicago Volunteer Legal Services Foundation

Pro bono attorneys are spirited and powerful, embracing the battle on behalf of underdog clients. Usually. There is, however, one type of pro bono case that leaves even the toughest, meanest volunteer lawyer quivering in a corner — divorce. Pro bono attorneys fear these cases, panicked by the tears, the emotional outbursts, and the irrational behavior that they believe is a fundamental element of every divorce case.

It’s time, however, to put to rest the myth that all divorce cases are horrible. Some pro bono divorce cases play out like a simple partnership dissolution instead of a cliched retelling of a Shakespearean tragedy.

The true tragedy for volunteers is that they have never been able to tell which cases are safe to accept, and which ones are likely to explode without warning.

Volunteers need never fear a stealth divorce case again, thanks to a special protocol developed by the Federal Bureau of Pro Bono Protection (the FBPBP), a little-known division of the Department of Homeland Security.

The FBPBP, charged with protecting volunteers from being terrorized by inappropriate cases and difficult clients, created The Pro Bono Attorney Divorce Advisory System, a simple, colorful guide that ensures that volunteers accept only those pro bono divorce cases that fall within their emotional and legal capacity.

Developed for distribution to volunteer programs nationwide, this system is being tested in Chicago because of the high numbers of pro bono attorneys who unilaterally refuse all divorce cases.

The system is relatively simple.

A potential pro bono divorce case is closely examined by a trained professional, who meticulously evaluates it and checks it against a list of known trouble-making variables. Then the cases are color-coded for placement purposes. The end product is a pro bono divorce case packaged and labeled specifically for volunteers.

The categories are simple and clear:

Green — low risk of emotion. These cases are the simplest of the simple. The parties have been separated for a long time and do not care in the slightest about each other. They never had children together and never acquired any property. Most of these cases involve extremely short marriages and extremely long separations.

Blue — general risk of emotion. These are still pretty darn simple. In most cases, the marriage ended years ago, and now they are simply making the divorce official. They each have their own stuff and they don’t care about their spouse’s stuff. There may be some minor child support or property issues to resolve, although a long separation usually alleviates any risk of a contest.

Yellow — significant risk of emotion. Okay, we’re getting a little warmer. The most common complicating factor is children. That should come as no surprise to anyone who has children. Joint property typically a home, pensions, and debt also comes into play here.

Orange — high risk of emotion. Volunteers who take orange-coded cases need to be ready to handle some intense feelings, complicated by factors such as domestic violence, substance abuse, financial exploitation, criminal behavior, and psychological impairments.

Red — severe risk of emotion. Red cases are better left to the professionals.

The Pro Bono Attorney Divorce Advisory System is not foolproof. Professionals can and do make mistakes, especially since evaluations are, ultimately, judgment calls. An evaluator feeling particularly optimistic one day, may code an orange as a yellow or a blue as a green. Rarely are cases miscoded by two degrees.

Another complication is the fact that divorce cases, like any case involving a living client, can transform, sometimes without warning.

Yellow becomes red overnight, blue jumps to orange when one spouse acquires a special friend. Sometimes, cases downgrade orange turns to green, often when the other spouse also acquires a special friend.

But don’t worry.

Because there can be no guarantees in the actual nature of a pro bono divorce case, the FBPBP requires that any participating pro bono program must agree to take back cases that were either initially miscoded or moved higher on the color-coding scale subsequent to placement. Pro bono programs that refuse to assume responsibility for miscoded or transformed divorce cases will lose their FBPBP certification and will no longer be allowed to officially place pro bono divorce cases.

Volunteer attorneys: Thanks to your friends and protectors in Washington, D.C., you no longer have to fear the pro bono divorce case. Once you pinpoint your capacity for emotional intensity and your legal abilities, you can get the case that’s right for you. And if, for some reason, you find yourself in a case that is more than you expected or are able to handle, you can send it right back to your referring program.

Make sure that your pro bono provider works with the Federal Bureau of Pro Bono Protection and uses The Pro Bono Attorney Divorce Advisory System. You’ll never be terrorized by a challenging pro bono divorce again.