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The ABA’s Standing Committee on Pro Bono and Public Service is pleased to release a white paper concerning New York’s 50-hour mandatory pro bono admission requirement and its potential application in other states. We’ll continue to monitor and revise this report as further developments occur across the country. Please direct any updates in your state to steve.grumm@americanbar.org.

By: Steve Grumm, Senior Staff Attorney, Standing Committee for Pro Bono & Public Service

6.16.14 – “An Indiana Supreme Court task force plans to submit recommendations next week for how to increase the amount of free legal services Hoosier attorneys donate to the poor. The Supreme Court has already decided against mandatory pro bono services, instead asking a task force to suggest ways to implement mandatory reporting of pro bono hours.” (Network Indiana) Here’s the ABA’s page with info on required and voluntary reporting pro bono states.
6.2.14 – the National Center for Medical Legal Partnership is collecting information on U.S. MLPs to include in a national map: “If you are currently part of a medical-legal partnership that is not included on the map below, we encourage you to complete this short online form with information about your partnership.” Deadline: July 2.
5.30.14 – “For the third year in a row, the Chief Judges of the District of Columbia Court of Appeals and the Superior Court of the District of Columbia jointly published the Capital Pro Bono Honor Roll, which recognizes attorneys who provide vital pro bono legal service to those who cannot afford counsel. Through a self-nomination process…4253…D.C. Bar members and others authorized to perform pro bono work in the District reported providing fifty hours or more of pro bono service in 2013; 2562 of those attorneys reported providing one hundred hours or more, thereby qualifying for the ‘High Honor Roll.’ Both numbers reflect a significant increase from the previous two years.” (Media release)
5.30.14 – congrats to the Thomson Reuters “Super Lawyers” Pro Bono Award winners, including law firm Morrison & Foerster, law school clinics at Penn State and the University of Denver, the San Diego Volunteer Law Program, and assorted other individuals and entities. (Media release)
5.29.14 – the continuing debate around New York’s required pro bono reporting rule: “Several state court administrators at a forum Tuesday indicated their willingness to compromise on parts of a mandatory pro bono disclosure rule, surprising a cohort of the bar who has protested the rule for the past year.” One of the main sticking points is whether the courts will publicly disclose individual attorney reports of their pro bono work and their financial contributions to public interest organizations. At present the courts have held off on such disclosure. (New York Law Journal)
5.28.14 – “An increasing number of law firms around the world are providing free legal assistance to good causes, experts said, as Thomson Reuters Foundation launched a global index of pro bono work. The index, based on data from over 100 firms, representing 36,000 lawyers in 69 countries, showed they donated 1.55 million hours of free legal support last year worth $388 million. The index was launched by TrustLaw, a service run by the foundation that matches lawyers offering pro bono work with charities and social enterprises requiring legal help.” (Media release)
5.28.14 – John Rosenberg is stepping down from the ABA Standing Committee on Pro Bono and Public Service, and here he offers thoughts about the evolution of the relationship between the civil legal aid community and the private bar – one which has gone from initial trepidation (or even hostility) on both sides to a full-fledged partnership in supporting legal aid’s mission. (ABA Center for Pro Bono blog.)
5.20.14 – “The National Legal Aid and Defender Association (NLADA) is honored to announce the 2014 Beacon of Justice Award winners. The exceptional law firms listed below have all devoted significant time and resources to creating and implementing innovative strategies to improve life outcomes for low income individuals. Each winner has been carefully selected by criteria assessing increased access to representation through the utilization of groundbreaking and original ideas, tools, and technology to create new delivery models and initiative.” (Behold the Beacons.)
5.12.14 – a new veterans legal clinic, Lawyers 4 Vets, launching in South Carolina: “The pro-bono program is a joint effort by the Appleseed Legal Justice Center and Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough Law Firm. Attorneys will assist low-income veterans with obtaining identification papers, child support and visitation issues, obtaining pardons or clearing legal records, simple wills and powers of attorney, among other matters. The clinic officially starts May 15 at the VA Medical Center in Columbia.” (Associated Press via the Washington Times)
April, 2014 – the Maryland ATJ Commission has co-authored the “Longitudinal Analysis of Pro Bono Reporting: 2002-12.” As far as I know this is the first report of its kind from the states that have required pro bono reporting.
4.5.13 – “The time has come — indeed, it is way overdue — to require all lawyers to provide some legal help to people who cannot afford lawyers. A 50-hour-a-year mandatory pro bono requirement — just one hour a week — would more than double the current contributed hours. Lawyers benefit economically from the law practice monopoly. Restrictions on non-lawyers increase both the costs of legal services and our incomes. If we want to maintain the monopoly, we must do all we can to provide legal services to those within it. The arguments against mandatory pro bono are unpersuasive….” (Baltimore Sun op-ed)
4.4.14 – Thoughts on changing the legal services delivery model in order to serve middle- and low-income clients: “Speaking at the first meeting of a new [California] State Bar task force on civil justice, [USC Law Prof. Gillian] Hadfield said that given the current ‘corporate form’ of law practice, more than 90 percent of households cannot afford the legal services they need…. Hadfield said the cost can be reduced through new kinds of legal organizations…including businesses employing staff lawyers, joint ventures between law firms and businesses….” (California Bar Journal)
4.2.14 – “During his final year on the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, Chief Justice…Ronald D. Castille is making his last formal plea to lawyers to support the Commonwealth’s civil legal aid programs by providing pro bono service through direct representation and financial contributions.In a letter to Pennsylvania’s approximately 70,000 registered lawyers, the chief justice joined with Pennsylvania Bar Association (PBA) President Forest N. Myers in calling on attorneys to make a personal commitment to provide pro bono service.” (PA Courts news release)
4.1.14 – the National Judicial College honored the Tennessee Supreme Court and its Access to Justice Commission for its work to promote pro bono and increase ATJ in the Volunteer State. (The Chattanoogan).

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Law School Pro Bono and Public Service

The ABA’s Standing Committee on Pro Bono and Public Service is pleased to release a white paper concerning New York’s 50-hour mandatory pro bono admission requirement and its potential application in other states. We’ll continue to monitor and revise this report as further developments occur across the country. Please direct any updates in your state to steve.grumm@americanbar.org.

11.15.13 – a look at Cooley Law School’s “Service to Soldiers Legal Assistance Referral Program”, which has grown notably in scale and scope: “Initially, the program worked…with soldiers from a Marine reserve unit in Michigan, but it quickly expanded as more…requests for assistance came from the Michigan National Guard.” The program has referred over 600 cases and has more than 200 attorneys on its volunteer roles. “Many Cooley Law students volunteer their time with the program. The program also is connected with JAG officers, although service members do not need to be referred by a JAG officer to receive assistance…. The Michigan National Guard estimated the program’s value so far at $2.8 million for the services performed…. In addition to the assistance the program provides service members, it has also published, in partnership with the Michigan State Bar Foundation, the Michigan Judges Guide to the Service Members Civil Relief Act, and will be publishing the Michigan Judges Guide to Military Family Law Matters.” (Story from the Grand Rapids Business Journal.)
11.11.13 – the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette looks at Pitt Law School’s elder clinic, which has just benefited from a $1 million gift: “It’s no secret that Allegheny County has one of the oldest populations in the country. According to 2012 census figures, 16 percent of the county’s residents are over 65. The clinical education program at Pitt fits not only demographically, but also aligns with the school’s community service mission, the law school’s dean, William Carter, said. A recent $1 million anonymous gift will allow the clinic to not only help elderly residents, but also give law students entering a historically difficult job market needed expertise, he said. ‘Having those additional resources will allow us to expand our programming,’ Mr. Carter said…. Pitt’s clinic is able to handle only between 80 and 100 low-income elderly clients each year, since it has 16 to 20 students each year….”
11.11.13 – “[T]he District of Columbia’s six law schools have joined forces to push for the first major overhaul of rules governing student practice in D.C. in decades. Law school[s]…argue that existing rules are outdated and cumbersome. The proposed changes are aimed at streamlining how students are certified to work in clinical programs and expanding the type of work covered under the rules, from appearing in court…to advising nonprofits and small businesses on tax law and contracts…. Chief Judge Eric Washington of the D.C. Court of Appeals said the court, which oversees the local rules of practice, supports updating the rules but is open to feedback from the bar and the public. The court published the proposed changes in late October and is accepting comments through the end of December.” The potential pushback could come from attorneys whose fee-paying practices include client communities that could be served by clinicals. (Story from the National Law Journal.)
11.7.13 – in a Baltimore Sun op-ed, a University of Baltimore School of Law administrator (and former prosecutor) argues for instituting a pro bono requirement as a precondition to getting a Maryland law license, a la New York’s “50-hour Rule”.
- Here’s some pushback in an 11/12/13 letter to the editor, written by a Maryland attorney who argues that students should not bear an additional burden that is properly borne by the private bar.

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Awards and Applause

2013 Pro Bono Publico Award Recipients Announced

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Funding Opportunities

American College of Bankruptcy grants for pro bono organizations addressing bankruptcy/debtor/creditor law issues

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