Noble Profession: Fulfilling Your Ethical Responsibilities of Pro Bono Service

Size: px

Start display at page:

Download "Noble Profession: Fulfilling Your Ethical Responsibilities of Pro Bono Service"

Edwin Wilkins
5 years ago
Views:

caption on the façade of the Supreme Court building, it is

.. It is fundamental that justice should be the same, in

1 Noble Profession: Fulfilling Your Ethical Responsibilities of Pro Bono Service North Carolina Pro Bono Resource Center 1 Equal justice under law is not merely a caption on the façade of the Supreme Court building, it is perhaps the most inspiring ideal of our society... It is fundamental that justice should be the same, in substance and availability, without regard to economic status. Former United States Supreme Court Justice Lewis Powell, Jr. 2 1

Liberty and Justice for All* *Offer not available in some areas, prices

People who face unfair disparity or discrimination: people of color, people

People who work: nearly 42 percent of children in families where parents

2 Liberty and Justice for All* *Offer not available in some areas, prices subject to change. 3 WHO CAN T AFFORD JUSTICE IN NC? People who face unfair disparity or discrimination: people of color, people who are disabled, women, seniors, etc. People who work: nearly 42 percent of children in families where parents worked are still considered low-income People who are geographically isolated: the 40 counties with the highest rates of poverty in NC are all rural 4 2

3 WHO CAN T AFFORD JUSTICE IN NC? North Carolina has the 13 th highest rate of poverty in America 2.2 million North Carolinians are eligible to be served by civil legal aid providers The average household income for legal aid clients is $12,875 per year 5 THE ACCESS TO JUSTICE GAP IN NC There is only 1 legal aid attorney for almost every 10,000 of those eligible to be served More than 70,000 individuals ask for free civil legal services each year More than 35,000 of those have to be turned away because of lack of capacity 6 3

4 THE ACCESS TO JUSTICE GAP (2017) 86% of the civil legal needs of people in poverty went unmet 71% of all low-income households experienced a civil legal problem 25% of low-income households experienced 6 or more civil legal problems 7 WHAT ARE THE LEGAL NEEDS GOING UNMET? preventing homelessness by stopping an unfair and unlawful eviction helping victims recover from a hurricane or other natural disaster protecting a mom and her children from an abuser accessing benefits for a veteran with servicerelated injuries clearing dismissed charges or unnecessary fines from a criminal record providing peace of mind by drafting and executing endof-life documents 8 4

5 W HAT ARE TH E LEG A L N EED S GOING UNM ET? preventing hom elessness by stopping an unfairand unlaw fuleviction helping victims recover from a hurricane or othernaturaldisaster protecting a mom and herchildren from an abuser accessing health care fora veteran with service-related injuries clearing dism issed charges orunnecessary fines from a crim inalrecord providing peace ofmind by drafting and executing end-of-life docum ents 9 W HAT ARE TH E LEG A L N EED S GOING UNM ET? preventing homelessness by stopping an unfair and unlawful eviction helping victims recover from a hurricane or other natural disaster protecting a mom and her children from an abuser accessing health care for a veteran with servicerelated injuries clearing dismissed charges or unnecessary fines from a criminal record providing peace of mind by drafting and executing endof-life documents 10 5

6 W HAT ARE TH E LEG A L N EED S GOING UNM ET? preventing homelessness by stopping an unfair and unlawful eviction helping victims recover from a hurricane or other natural disaster protecting a mom and her children from an abuser accessing health care for a veteran with servicerelated injuries clearing dismissed charges or unnecessary fines from a criminal record providing peace of mind by drafting and executing endof-life documents 11 NORTH CAROLINA RULE OF PROFESSIONAL CONDUCT 6.1 Every lawyer has a professional responsibility to provide legal services to those unable to pay. A lawyer should aspire to render at least (50) hours of pro bono publico legal services per year. 12 6

7 NC RPC 6.1: VOLUNTARY PRO BONO PUBLICO SERVICE In fulfilling this responsibility, the lawyer should: (a) provide a substantial majority of the (50) hours of legal services without fee or expectation of fee to: 6.1 (a )(1 ) 6.1 (a )(2 ) persons of limited means; charitable, religious, civic, community, governmental and educational organizations in matters that are designed primarily to address the needs of persons of limited means; or (a )(3 ) individuals, groups or organizations seeking to secure or protect civil rights, civil liberties or public rights, or [6.1(a)(2)] organizations in matters in furtherance of their organizational purposes, where the payment of standard legal fees would significantly deplete the organization's economic resources or would be otherwise inappropriate. NC RPC 6.1: VOLUNTARY PRO BONO PUBLICO SERVICE In fulfilling this responsibility, the lawyer should: (b)provide any additionalservices through: 6.1(b)(1) 6.1(b)(2) the delivery of legal services described in paragraph (a) at a substantially reduced fee; or participation in activities for improving the law, the legal system or the legal profession. PREAMBLE It is the basic responsibility of each lawyer to provide community service 14 7

8 NORTH CAROLINA RULE OF PROFESSIONAL CONDUCT 6.1 In addition, a lawyer should voluntarily contribute financial support to organizations that provide legal services to persons of limited means ABA REPORT: SUPPORTING JUSTICE lack of time and other obligations being directly asked to volunteer lack of necessary skills and experience limited scope representation opportunities available lack of malpractice insurance selection from online description of opportunities 16 8

9 A Program of the NC Equal Access to Justice Commission founded to increase pro bono participation in NC PRO BONO PROJECTS REGIONAL COUNCILS ONLINE PORTAL TRAININGS & CLE 17 WHAT ARE THE REASONS TO DO PRO BONO? 18 9

10 REASONS TO DO PRO BONO: FOR ATTORNEYS Improve Access to Justice Gain Legal Experience Reduce Social Inequities Market Your Practice or Firm Feel Like a Good Person Uphold Our Profession 19 REASONS TO DO PRO BONO: FOR ATTORNEYS 20 10

11 PRO BONO GOALS: FOR ATTORNEYS Carve out time to volunteer Take at least one pro bono case per year Volunteer regularly at a help desk or clinic Be a voice for those who cannot advocate for funding for legal services Serve as a trainer Don t wait for the call! 21 PRO BONO GOALS: FOR FIRMS 22 11

12 PRO BONO GOALS: FOR FIRMS Encourage attorneys to carve out time for pro bono legal service Adopt and promote a pro bono policy within the firm Give billable time credit for pro bono work Recognize and reward lawyers who do pro bono work Lend an attorney or paralegal Host pro bono trainings 23 HOW TO GET INVOLVED Visit ncprobono.org to find available volunteer opportunities Connect on social media 24 12

13 25 H O W TO FIN D PRO JECTS 26 13

for victims of natural disasters Staff Disaster Recovery

14 HOW TO FIND PRO JECTS 27 DISASTER LEGAL SERVICES PROGRAM Provide advice to Disaster Legal Services Hotline Callers for victims of natural disasters Staff Disaster Recovery Centers and FEMA Appeals Clinics ncprobono.org/disaster 28 14

VETERANS CLINICS Clinic locations in Durham and Fayetteville Major topics include: - Military Discharge Upgrades* - Veterans Benefit Appeals* - Family Law - Estate Planning - Criminal Law *Must be VA

15 VETERANS CLINICS Clinic locations in Durham and Fayetteville Major topics include: - Military Discharge Upgrades* - Veterans Benefit Appeals* - Family Law - Estate Planning - Criminal Law *Must be VA Accredited 29 SECOND CHANCE MOBILITY PROJECT Restore driver's license privileges for low income clients impacted by driver's license suspensions and traffic fees Participate in clinics, prepare motions and advice letters, or handle individually identified cases for clinic participants with unique issues 30 15

16 PRO BONO REPORTING NC RPC 6.1 COMMENT 12 Lawyers are encouraged to report pro bono legal services to [ ] the North Carolina Equal Access to Justice Commission [ ] in order that such service might be recognized and serve as an inspiration to others. 31 PRO BONO REPORTING MANDATORY REPORTING VOLUNTARY REPORTING 32 16

17 PRO BONO REPORTING Report information about your prior year s legal services each January-March at ncprobono.org Opt out of recognition if you want to remain anonymous Provide limited information about the all the activities in NC RPC NC PRO BONO HONOR SOCIETY Attorneys who report fifty or more hours of pro bono legal services (NC RPC 6.1(a)) in a given year are inducted into that year s NC Pro Bono Honor Society Each Honor Society inductee receives a certificate from the Supreme Court of North Carolina honoring their achievement 34 17

18 OUT-OF-STATE & RETIRED ATTORNEYS Pro Bono Practice Status allows inactive/retired (pro bono emeritus status) and out-of-state (out-ofstate pro bono status) lawyers to provide pro bono legal assistance under the supervision of a NC licensed attorney working within a nonprofit corporation qualified to render legal services 35 QUESTIONS? Sylvia Novinsky, Director sylvia@ncprobono.org Katherine Asaro, Staff Attorney Katherine@ncprobono.org Leigh Wicclair, Pro Bono Program Manager leigh@ncprobono.org 36 18

COLORADO RULES OF CIVIL PROCEDURE

COLORADO RULES OF CIVIL PROCEDURE APPENDIX TO CHAPTERS 18 TO 20 COLORADO RULES OF PROFESSIONAL CONDUCT Rule 6.1. Voluntary Pro Bono Public Service This Comment Recommended Model Pro Bono Policy for Colorado