Rule 4:02(8) of the Supreme Judicial Court rules allows retired Massachusetts attorneys and Massachusetts attorneys on inactive status to provide pro bono legal services without compensation or expectation of compensation (as described in Rule 6.1 of the Massachusetts Rules of Professional Conduct).
Attorneys must practice on behalf of an approved legal services organization. Organizations include a pro bono legal services program sponsored by a court-annexed program, a bar association, a Massachusetts law school, or a non-profit organization that provides legal services to persons of limited means and receive funds from the federal Legal Services Corporation, the Massachusetts Legal Assistance Corporation, the Massachusetts Bar Foundation, the Boston Bar Foundation, or the Women’s Bar Foundation. Organizations also include any non-profit organization designated as an approved legal services organization after petition to the Supreme Judicial Court.
Attorneys must file the appropriate annual registration statements that he or she will limit his or her legal practice to providing pro bono services under an approved legal services organization. The annual registration statement must indicate whether the attorney is, or was at the time he or she assumed inactive status, the subject of any pending grievance or disciplinary charge. An authorized representative of the organization is required to sign the registration.