ABA Free Legal Answers tops 500k questions handled since founding

June 25, 2026

ABA Free Legal Answers tops 500k questions handled since founding

CHICAGO, June 25, 2026 - The American Bar Association's pro bono initiative, Free Legal Answers, surpassed 500,000 total questions responded to, marking a major milestone since the virtual civil legal advice clinic began in 2016.

The milestone, reached this month, recognizes the important role Free Legal Answers plays in the lives of clients served as well as the attorneys who assist them, ABA President Michelle A. Behnke said. "As a longtime volunteer with Free Legal Answers, I have seen firsthand how its flexible, online model enables lawyers to provide critical legal information from anywhere, at any time.

"Access to justice has been and continues to be a problem for our system of justice," Behnke said. "This means that we have a two-tiered system where those with resources get more justice than those without. Free Legal Answers is one tool to bridge that gap. Answering half a million legal questions free of charge helps level the playing field in our system."

Free Legal Answers is a project of the ABA Standing Committee on Pro Bono and Public Service. Through the virtual clinic, income-eligible clients can post civil legal questions to be answered by pro bono attorneys from their jurisdiction. Currently, 42 states and territories are live for client access, including a federal portal that addresses veterans' benefits and immigration questions. For many clients, Free Legal Answers offers the only opportunity to get assistance with a legal question due to income limitations, geographic or transportation constraints.

Since its launch, more than 17,700 volunteer attorneys have registered on the platform, collectively providing over 100,000 hours of pro bono service. During this time, nearly 29,000 questions have been submitted by veterans and more than 26,000 by seniors.

"Free Legal Answers really makes a difference," said Jonathan Cole, chair of the ABA House of Delegates and a shareholder in the Nashville office of Baker Donelson, which maintains the platform in collaboration with the ABA. "Passing 500,000 questions answered demonstrates the depth and scope of this initiative to address the access to justice gap across our country. This partnership has paid dividends for so many, and we look forward to working together for years to come."

In 2025, more than 1,800 volunteer attorneys from across the country joined Free Legal Answers. Last year alone, volunteer attorneys contributed over 18,910 hours of pro bono service, responding to 67,646 questions from 78,236 registered clients, as highlighted in the "Free Legal Answers 2025 Impact Report: A Year of Growth, Community and Commitment to Justice."The 2025 ABA FLA volunteer base included 1,682 retired attorney volunteers and 1,232 volunteers from law firms, corporate counsel departments, legal organizations, solo practitioners and law schools.

"We can all be proud of what has been achieved through this collaboration between Baker Donelson, the ABA and our many state partners," said George T. "Buck" Lewis, founder of Free Legal Answers, former chair of the ABA Pro Bono and Public Service Committee, former president of the Tennessee Bar Association and a shareholder in the Memphis office of Baker Donelson. "I am also proud of our firm's role in rewriting the platform's code, so that Free Legal Answers 2.0 can leverage technology to get more and better help to the next 500,000 clients even more quickly."

For more information, visit abafreelegalanswers.org, or contact Shanda Ivory at [email protected].