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IBA Pro Bono on Twitter

2011-10-11T07:59:00.000-07:00

The IBA Pro Bono Blog has transformed into a Twitter feed on the IBA International Pro Bono website, at http://www.internationalprobono.com/.

Please visit the IBA Pro Bono on Twitter at - http://twitter.com/#!/IBAProBono

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IBA Pro bono and Access to Justice Committee

IBA Pro Bono & Access to Justice Committee Launches Clearing House Directory

2011-03-15T08:25:00.001-07:00

As part of the recognition of the growing community of clearing houses and the increasingly important role they play in promoting and delivering pro bono assistance, the IBA Pro Bono and Access to Justice Committee has established a Clearing House Directory 'page' on its http://www.internationalprobono.com/ website with the aim of raising awareness of the work of clearing houses among both the IBA's membership and the wider pro bono community as well as making available information concerning the identities and expertise of individual clearing houses to that wider audience. It is the intention that not only will we grow the list of participating clearing houses over the months to come but that, as the site becomes established, we can develop it further, for example, by providing access to best practice materials and publicising events that members may be organising. Suggestions as to other facilities that we might be able to provide through the site are welcome.

Posted by

Patrice Dziire

IBA Pro bono and Access to Justice Committee

Proposed law in India to ensure access to justice

2010-12-22T02:00:00.000-08:00

The Ministry of Law and Justice in India has proposed a new law for the setting up of a Legal Services Board (LSB) which is functionally similar to the one established in England and Wales.

The draft bill is currently in the public consultation process and has been titled as The Legal Practitioners (Regulations and Maintenance of Standards in Professions, Protecting the Interest of Clients and Promoting the Rule of Law) Act, 2010. The LSB along with the central and state Bars would be responsible for overseeing the lawyers’ conduct with the aim of maintaining and developing standards, education and training of legal professionals in the country. It will be headed by a chairman appointed by the President of India in consultation with the Chief Justice of India and the Chairman of the Bar Council of India and other members. Some of the primary regulatory objectives of the LSB would be, to protect and promote public interest, support the constitutional principles of the rule of law and improve access to justice. A chief ombudsman and ombudsmen for each state would also be appointed to deal with complaints against legal professionals.

It must be noted that Section 27 (Chapter IV) of the bill makes it obligatory for all legal practitioners to give free legal services to the financially weaker clients who fall just above the income levels prescribed under Section 12 (h) of The Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987. This is a clear indication in the proposed enactment to encourage and involve lawyers in rendering their legal services on a pro bono basis and make them duty-bound in doing so.

Posted by
Anurag Bana
IBA Legal Projects Team

2010-11-12T02:50:00.000-08:00

The newest article on the InternationalProBono.com website will show you how the Roger Williams University School of Law, in Bristol, Rhode Island, USA, has matched community organizations with local practitioners and law students to provide free legal assistance to thousands of low-income individuals and families. Its innovative program, the Pro Bono Collaborative, seeks to identify local needs which attorneys with various interests and various amounts of time can successfully address.

The article discusses how to identify legal needs in your community, pitch projects to law firms, incorporate law students, launch projects, maintain project momentum, and evaluate and close projects.

Your comments on the article are most welcome below and will make a valuable dialog.

Posted by
Robin Wright Westbrook
IBA Pro bono and Access to Justice Committee

Law School Pricing and Pro Bono

2010-10-20T04:16:00.000-07:00

The top 21 U.S. law schools by rank in the popular U.S. News and World
Report rankings all list tuition of over $40,000 per year. In the case of public universities in the top 21, tuition exceeds $40,000 only for out-of-state students. Another 7 among those ranked 22nd through 50th likewise have tuitions exceeding $40,000.

Graduates having made this investment and not finding employment in the current downturn might turn to pro bono work as a way to use skills while awaiting improvement in market conditions. More broadly, an earlier post makes the case for an ethical obligation to undertake pro bono work, given that we, as gatekeepers of the self-regulating profession which this education entitles us to enter, should help secure access to justice for all.

Some, though, may view the large investment and its uncertain payoff as a deterrent from such high-minded objectives. A student recently disputed the presence of any ethical obligation to undertake pro bono work on the grounds that his education was so costly that he could properly dismiss any non-profit-making calls on his time.

Certainly one who is pressed financially can seek an institution with more manageable tuition. And some of the top-tier, top-price schools forgive loans for students working full-time in public interest positions.

But if the high price of legal education is stoking indifference to pro bono work, that's cause for concern for all of us.

Your comments are eagerly solicited.

Posted by
Robin Wright Westbrook
IBA Pro bono and Access to Justice Committee

Pro Bono Initiative

2010-09-17T08:48:00.000-07:00

In 2001, the District of Columbia Bar Pro Bono Committee established the Pro Bono Initiative (PBI) to encourage D.C.’s largest law firms to increase their pro bono activities. Law firms participating in the PBI agreed to provide pro bono legal services at specified levels and to report their progress annually. At its inception, 41 law firms signed on to the PBI which number grew to 64 firms following a D.C. Bar campaign to attract additional firms.

A report issued by the D.C. Bar Pro Bono Committee on a 2009 survey of the PBI law firms contained information on various firms’ pro bono activities, including how they budget for pro bono, training, pro bono requirements, etc. One interesting highlight of the report was that, on average, the 53 firms which had pledged to have pro bono hours account for 3.2 percent of billable hours actually contributed 5.5 percent.

The D.C. Bar Report published the survey data without drawing specific conclusions. However, it is noteworthy that, when firms committed to providing a specified level of pro bono services, they often not only met their commitment, but exceeded it. This result merits consideration in jurisdictions where debates are underway as to the wisdom of requiring attorneys to provide specified levels of pro bono services.

Posted by
Patricia N Blair
IBA Pro bono and Access to Justice Committee

Courts Taking the Lead on Access to Justice

2010-08-31T06:23:00.000-07:00

While bar associations, law schools, international aid organizations, and others have played a significant role in addressing and raising awareness of access to justice issues, courts in recent years have taken matters into their own hands. For example, in the last several years, a number of state court systems across the US have created special access to justice commissions. See examples from Wyoming (established in 2008), Maryland (established in 2008), and Tennessee (established in 2009). The commissions take different forms, but in general they are composed of representatives from law firms and law schools, community groups, and corporations who develop policies and programs for the courts around issues such as language and cultural barriers and access issues for self represented litigants. Pro bono has been a prominent topic in the work of these commissions. Indeed, the Tennessee Supreme Court has plans for a statewide pro bono summit next year to discuss pro bono issues, preview available technology, and seek input on the development of a statewide pro bono referral system. We can stay tuned for other state court systems to follow.

Posted by
Patrice Dziire
IBA Pro bono and Access to Justice Committee

Cooley Law School 10CORE Project

2010-07-26T06:37:00.000-07:00

One positive by-product of the recessionary economy in the United States has been the emergence of innovative legal assistance programs geared to the needs of those underserved by the system. The 10CORE Project in the State of Michigan is an excellent example of such an innovative idea.

In the State of Michigan, a recent study by the State Bar found that while more than three million people qualify for free help from legal aid programs, three out of every seven who request assistance are turned away for lack of resources. This denial of legal assistance is occurring at a time when the housing market in Michigan is facing a record number of foreclosures and, not surprisingly, also a record number of mortgage/ foreclosure fraudulent schemes.

To address this issue, Professor Neville-Ewell, a former general counsel of the Detroit Housing Commission and former chairperson of the Michigan State Housing Development, started the 10CORE Project at the Cooley Law School in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The project, which is in its infancy, pairs volunteer attorneys with law students to write articles on various aspects of real estate transactions, to be published on a website for the general public. The purpose of the articles is to educate state residents on the protocols of real estate transactions in an effort to make them less likely to succumb to mortgage and foreclosure fraud.

The success of the 10CORE Project depends, in no small part, on the willingness of lawyers to devote time to the program. Because the Michigan Bar has a pro bono service requirement, there is significant optimism that the goals of the Project can be achieved. If the 10CORE Project is successful, it provides an interesting model for attacking a variety of other legal problems where education of those unable to obtain legal assistance is critical.

Posted by
Patricia N Blair
IBA Pro bono and Access to Justice Committee

Low Bono versus Pro Bono: A Some or Nothing Approach?

2010-07-08T02:40:00.000-07:00

Low bono, or reduced fee representation for individuals whose incomes are too high to qualify for legal aid, has received growing attention in recent years. Solo and small firm attorneys who regularly provide discounted services or instalment plans for lower income clients have argued that this “stealth pro bono” should be taken into account when calculating bar-mandated pro bono hours.

Debates regarding the efficacy of low bono versus pro bono in fostering access to justice have also emerged. In a recent law review article, prominent low bono advocate Luz Herrera argues that: “Pro bono models do not sufficiently address the inadequacy of affordable legal services by the private bar” and that a “shift from a pro bono to a low bono legal services model would improve access to the judicial system…” Luz Herrera, Rethinking Private Attorney Involvement Through a “Low Bono” Lens, 43 Loyola L.A. L. Rev. 2009, 1.

As full-service low bono law firms pick up steam, will we come to a “some” or “nothing” crossroads? Should certain types of services remain pro bono regardless of ability to pay “something”, i.e. domestic violence?

Posted by
Patrice Dziire
IBA Pro bono and Access to Justice Committee

Pro bono public interest writ reveals heart-rending living conditions of widows in India

2010-06-18T02:27:00.000-07:00

The National Commission for Women (NCW), India recently submitted its survey report to the Supreme Court of India on the neglected condition of widows living in India. The NCW conducted this survey after an order was issued by the Supreme Court of India that accepted a pro bono writ petition filed by Ravindra Bana, a senior practising counsel at the Supreme Court and Founder Director of the Environment & Consumer Protection Foundation (ECPFO).

The writ petition was filed by Ravindra Bana on behalf of ECPFO as a Public Interest Litigation, based on a newspaper report titled White Shadows of Vrindavan that highlighted the deplorable conditions of widows who are driven out of their homes after the death of their husbands to live the rest of their lives in the pilgrimage town of Vrindavan in the state of Uttar Pradesh in India. On being approached, the Supreme Court of India immediately admitted the petition and issued notices to the state and central government for their responses. In order to secure fair and detailed information about the status of these widows, the Court requested the NCW to conduct a comprehensive survey on these atrocities committed against women and to submit a report to the Court. The survey report was recently submitted after a delay and will now come up for discussion before the Court in July 2010 when the Court re-opens after its summer break.

Meanwhile, ‘The Times of India’ newspaper has provided some information about this issue, which is available here.

On a related note, the Princeton University Art Museum, New Jersey, USA, hosted an exhibition titled Beloved Daughters, which explored the lives of dispossessed widows and the challenges confronting women in India. The powerful exhibition consisted of exclusive photographs of Indian women paired with their testimony. A brief news article about the exhibition can be read on the Princeton University website.

Posted by
Anurag Bana
IBA Legal Projects Team

Law School Clinic’s Petition Brings Relief to Puerto Rican Community

2010-06-03T08:01:00.000-07:00

Along with the American Civil Liberties Union Foundation and the American Civil Liberties Union of Puerto Rico, the International Human Rights Law Clinic at American University Washington College of Law filed a Petition for Precautionary Measures before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights of the Organization of American States (“IACHR”) on behalf of residents of Villas del Sol, a community in Puerto Rico. This video, prepared by the law students and the school’s media personnel, describes the residents’ plight (English translation).

Finding that the community was on a flood plain, the local government had ordered the residents to vacate. Electric and water service had ceased. Three weeks from the scheduled eviction date, the government had not publicly identified the relocation site. Alleging violations of the American Declaration on the Rights and Duties of Man and asserting the risk of further physical harm, increased mental suffering, and possible forced eviction, and relying on some 40 affidavits collected by the law students over a single weekend, the residents petitioned the IACHR on April 28, 2010 to order the United States government immediately to take measures to:

• restore the provision of water and electricity services,
• prevent further police violence,
• end police interference in emergency medical situations,
• halt the process of forced evictions,
• ensure that the relocation process of community members be peaceful—without threat to community members' lives or homes, and
• ensure that the relocation of community members be to an area where they will have access to water and electrical services and to dwellings that are safe and inhabitable and in an area free of unreasonable police surveillance or interference.

The petition was covered widely in the media and within 24 hours, water services were restored to the community. The parties are now working toward further peaceful resolution of the matter.

Posted by
Robin Wright Westbrook
IBA Pro bono and Access to Justice Committee

The potential for pro bono legal services in the health sector in Uganda

2010-05-21T05:55:00.000-07:00

Litigation through pro bono services has a vital role to play in addressing the gaps in the area of public health law in Uganda. Although litigation has not effectively been used to promote public health in the country, a number of opportunities exist, including article 50 (1) of the Constitution which allows any person who claims that his or her right has been violated to seek redress from court, including compensation.

In addition, article 52 of the Constitution empowers the Human Rights Commission (HRC) to ‘investigate, at its own initiative or on a complaint made by a person or group of persons against the violation of any human rights’. The HRC has established a tribunal which handles human rights complaints against both the state and individuals. However, according to the annual Report of the HRC for 2008 over 1000 complaints were handled in the tribunal but only three were relating to health rights. In an interview with the person in charge of the Health Rights Desk at the commission it was revealed that the right to health section in the commission is relatively new. Unlike cases of torture (which had majority of the cases handled in the tribunal) where the commission collaborates with Non-governmental Organizations to help in handling the technical issues of the complaints before they reach the commission, the commission has not established such a collaboration on handling health rights complaints. This means that the majority of health rights complaints do not reach the tribunal. This provides an opportunity for working with the commission to handle health rights related complaints in Uganda.

Although there are a number of organizations working on health rights in Uganda, there is no specific organization that is focusing on litigation as an advocacy strategy for health rights. Although there are also some opportunities for provision of legal aid in Uganda, the main focus of this legal aid is in other rights such as the right to property (mostly land) and not on health rights.

The Center for Health, Human Rights and Development is working on a program of work to offer pro bono services with a specific focus on the right to health. The focus of this program of work will be on exploring the possibilities of utilizing legal remedies available to redress the problems pertaining to health rights. The anticipated outcome is an increase in pro bono legal services to improve health rights and refinement of litigation strategies in those areas where precedents of legal action exist and in those where precedents have yet to be set in Uganda and the East African Region.

The complete article is available here

Posted by:
Moses Mulumba
Center for Health, Human Rights and Development
Uganda

Simplifying Pro Bono

2010-04-27T06:06:00.000-07:00

The Law Society of Upper Canada recently agreed to modify the standards for conflict of interest for lawyers participating in pro bono “brief” programs. The amount of time that it was taking to search and clear conflicts for lawyers volunteering at their Help Center and in their Small Claims Project was taking from 20 minutes to 3 hours. Clients were getting frustrated and law firms were being forced to drop out of the program altogether because they were being overwhelmed by the number of conflict searches required.

Denise McCourtie of the Law Society of Upper Canada provides this interesting update in the April 2010 edition of Ontario Bar Association’s official magazine Briefly Speaking.

Posted by
Robin Sully
IBA Pro bono and Access to Justice Committee

Author: Denise McCourtie
Source: Ontario Bar Association’s Briefly Speaking Magazine, April 2010

Legal education for pro bono

2010-04-20T05:53:00.000-07:00

Two discussions I recently had at an Italian university constituted a perspicuous proof of how much the tradition of pro bono has to do with the legal education.

What triggered my meetings with over a hundred law students was a blooming initiative of a legal clinic in the city of Turin. I was asked to introduce the concept to the future lawyers, as it is still a pioneering enterprise in the country (surprisingly enough, if you consider how much the European legal culture owes to the Romans). The approach I adopted was to explain the rationale and the challenges of the clinical adventure through the lenses of ethical dilemmas usually anticipated and often actually faced by clinical students.

The students were very enthusiastic about the clinical project and genuinely brainstormed the ethical issues. Admittedly, the first-year students interacted less but they got the message: lawyering is not (only) about books, but (also) about clients, many of whom are underprivileged in their access to justice, and it is also up to the community of lawyers to remedy the situation.

At a certain moment a professor I gave the class together with asked these fresh participants: Why did you enroll for the law studies? What are usually the reasons why an individual decides to be an avvocato? What is the viewpoint of the society at large on this? Whereas there were diverse answers to the first two questions, ranging from purely materialistic to highly missionaire, the latter issue was unequivocal to all gathered: the Italian society considers the avvocati indifferent to their service, their responsibility for the rule of law and for the access to justice to all. We received the same negative feedback on the question whether the university endeavours to sow in the students' minds and hearts the seeds of pro bono approach and, more generally, some sense of mission.

Each group of students I encountered that day, despite different studying record, was similarly immature. Their alma mater gives them only a very technical, book-oriented training, which leaves them deprived of any tools and sensitivity useful in resolving ethical issues. Often, they are not aware of the need for pro bono.

Also recently a Spanish colleague asked me how an initiative of promoting pro bono in his country can be relevant for the efforts of developing clinical programs (they have been running there for a few years). I pinpointed to the casual provision in pro bono declarations of lawyers' associations where the necessity of improving legal education is underlined (see para. 4 of the IBA Pro Bono Declaration) and argued that it must not be understood as offhand. Accordingly, I suggested that establishing cooperation between abogados and the academia is natural and should be fruitful to both. Fortunately, I have met quite some Italians who believe it as well.

Posted by
Jacek Kowalewski
University of Warsaw graduate
Pro bono activist in Poland and Italy

New York Law School’s Safe Passage Immigration Project

2010-03-29T04:50:00.000-07:00

The Safe Passage Immigration Project is a unique pro bono model. We are part of the Justice Action Center of New York Law School. The project’s co-directors are Professor Lenni B Benson and Adjunct Professor Lindsay A Curcio. Safe Passage trains and mentors pro bono attorneys to represent children needing immigration assistance.

A recent study found that an estimated 43,000 unaccompanied illegal immigrant children were removed from the US in 2007 and that 50 to 70 percent of unaccompanied minors who appeared before an immigration judge that year did so without legal representation. [Read a PDF of the report here.] Some of these children are escaping abuse or political turmoil in their home countries. Others have been victims of smugglers or trafficking. In some situations, children have lived most their lives in the US unaware that their parents or guardians failed to secure a legal immigration status for them. While these children are entitled to counsel in immigration proceedings, the federal government does not provide this legal representation as immigration is a civil matter.

US immigration laws provide special relief for some, but not all these children. Special Immigrant Juvenile Status is extraordinary relief leading to permanent residence for eligible children, teens and young adults under the age of 21. The Safe Passage Immigration Project helps social service providers, foster care agencies and non-profit organizations screen juvenile populations and identify immigration issues and relief available to these children. Safe Passage brings together pro bono attorneys, including New York Law School alumni, and current volunteer law students dedicated to providing direct client services for special immigrant juvenile status cases. Safe Passage continues to monitor each case throughout the process.

New York Law School students may volunteer for the Safe Passage Immigration Project to develop training and intake materials for special immigrant juvenile status cases. Our students also provide language translation assistance between volunteer attorneys and clients and assist in research and case preparation. In addition to their volunteer work with Safe Passage they participate in other immigration events such as clinics and initiatives sponsored by the New York City Bar Association, Justice for Our Neighbors and the American Immigration Lawyers Association.

In Spring 2008, Safe Passage received the New York State Bar Association’s President’s Pro Bono Award for its innovative program. For more information about Safe Passage and special immigrant juvenile status, please visit the site, which also contains our current newsletter.

Posted by
Lindsay A Curcio
New York Law School

Legal aid funding and the financial crisis

2010-03-15T08:28:00.000-07:00

In December 2009, the District of Columbia Access to Justice Commission and the D.C. Consortium of Legal Service Providers issued a report that reflected the negative effect the financial crisis has had on the funding of legal aid programs in the DC.
Among other things, the report revealed a 60 percent drop in Interest on Lawyers’ Trust Accounts (IOLTA), which is an important source of funding for legal aid; a 20 percent drop in local government funding support for legal services; and a decrease of more than $1 million in charitable donations and volunteer services. As a result, 21 lawyers working for legal aid organizations along with 30 non lawyers had to be laid off. At the same time these cuts were being made, the demand for legal assistance increased by 20 percent.

The DC experience is mirrored in Connecticut, which has traditionally also been largely dependent on IOLTA accounts to provide funds for its legal service organizations. One Connecticut legal service organization avoided layoffs by its staff of lawyers and non lawyers agreeing to a 20 percent reduction in salaries and a 4 day work week.

The IBA Pro Bono and Access to Justice Committee, the IBA Bar Issues Commission, and the IBA Forum for Barristers and Advocates will be co-presenting a session at the IBA Annual Conference in Vancouver, 3-8 October 2010, that will explore the issue of legal aid funding, including the ramifications when governments fail to provide adequate funding for legal aid programs.

We doubt that DC and Connecticut are unique in suffering these problems and would welcome further examples from other jurisdictions in order further to inform our Vancouver discussions.

Posted by
Patricia N Blair
IBA Pro bono and Access to Justice Committee

A revolution in legal aid -- obligatory legal assistance bill in Israel

2010-02-24T05:35:00.000-08:00

A new bill, under which the Israel Bar Association will be obligated to provide legal assistance to under-privileged populations, was approved by the Knesset in late November 2009.

Initiated by the President of the Israel Bar, Adv. Yori Geiron, and Knesset-Member, Yariv Levin, the new law made the current non-obligatory function of providing legal assistance to deprived populations, into an obligatory one. The bill gained the support of a large number of Knesset members, wanting to ensure that access to the justice system will be available to all people, regardless of their financial means.

This is an important precedent for the Israel Bar, as for the first time, it is the Bar itself which undertakes to provide legal services to the public, a project which is fully sponsored by the Bar.

It is important to note, however, that the new law does not require each lawyer to take on pro bono work, but it is an obligation of the Bar itself, through its volunteer lawyers.

The law will become effective over the next few months, once rules determining eligibility for such legal assistance by the Bar will be adopted.

President Yori Geiron: 'Practicing law is not just a profession, it is a social responsibility, and one of its missions is to increase access to the justice system, as a basic right. It is with this in mind, and after a continuing debate within the Bar, that the Bar was able to operate its pro bono program, "Schar Mitzva", for the past 7 years, providing legal assistance to under-privileged people across the country, with over 2,500 volunteer lawyers. This is an essential project, which provides legal assistance and full representation to thousands of people each year.'

Knesset-Member Yariv Levin: 'This bill is an important stage in the efforts to empower under-privileged populations and help many to break out of the circle of poverty. Using the legal advice provided to them, many people could fight for what they are legally entitled to and protect themselves, against suits filed against them. This way, those people will be able to break out of the circle of poverty. At the same time, this will prevent court decisions, obligating those people to pay enormous amounts, simply due to the fact that they were not represented in court, thereby, sending them back to the circle of poverty.'

Posted by Adv. Dikla Elkabets
Israel Bar Association

The Polish Pro Bono Centre

2010-02-17T09:04:00.000-08:00

Further to Penny Blair’s 6 July 2009 post on pro bono clearinghouses and the fruitful thread that followed, the example of the Polish Pro Bono Centre can illustrate how broad activities can a clearinghouse roll out to strategically mainstream pro bono. The Polish Pro Bono Centre does not only work as focal point between NGOs and law firms. It is also active in promoting the culture of pro bono and in amending the legal framework in order to facilitate lawyers' commitment to pro bono.

The Centre is involved in granting the annual Pro Bono Lawyer Award, established by the Polish Legal Clinics Foundation. It has been lobbying for exemption of pro bono legal advice from VAT. In turn, if we look on the side of the NGOs, the lawyers who cooperate with the Centre gave five workshops to over 150 NGO managers on the legal framework of the non-profit sector.

The Centre is a young (operating since 2008) and small entity, but it is already quite well-known. Mind that it is a fruit of a discussion accompanying the signing of the Pro Bono Declaration in mid-2007. The signing ceremony was hosted by the Polish Constitutional Tribunal with participation of some important representatives of the country's legal world. “This Declaration - expressed Filip Czernicki of the Legal Clinics Foundation during the event - is inspired by the Polish legal community’s long professional tradition of public service, and affirms the critical role of pro bono practitioners in ensuring fair and equal access to justice among all segments of society.” (www.probonoinst.org/wire/09207-8.pdf, The Pro Bono Wire, Sept. 2007) The same can be said about the Centre, and I find its ability to build on and to develop the pro bono tradition a useful hint for some current West-European initiatives aiming at launching national clearinghouses.

Interestingly, the Centre has been constituted by the Polish Legal Clinics Foundation, which underlines the link between the training of young lawyers and the practice of more mature professionals.

For more information, consult:
- www.centrumprobono.pl/en/
- The Polish Legal Clinics Foundation/Lawyer Pro Bono
- The Pro Bono Wire, Sept. 2007 (the text of the Polish Pro Bono Declaration)

Posted by Jacek Kowalewski
University of Warsaw graduate
Pro bono activist in Poland and Italy

Haiti: a Setback for Legal Aid in Port-au-Prince

2010-01-20T01:54:00.000-08:00

According to news reports, the extent of the devastation in Port–au-Prince, the capital of Haiti, grows daily. One important project affected by the earthquake is the young and developing legal aid program in Haiti.

At the IBA Annual Conference in Chicago in fall 2006, the then-President of the Port-au-Prince Bar and Vice-President of the Federation of the Bars of Haiti, Gervaise Charles, discussed the legal aid program of the Bar in the context of the many other access to justice issues presented by the Haitian legal infrastructure. This legal aid program, in effect for less than two years, was limited to penal matters, but had achieved favorable results beyond which those that the Port-au-Prince Bar had thought were possible. A summary of Gervaise Charles' presentation at the IBA Pro Bono and Access to Justice Committee's session in Chicago may be viewed on our website.

Since then, the International Legal Assistance Consortium (ILAC), a consortium of NGOs throughout the world providing technical legal assistance in post conflict situations, has worked tirelessly to develop a legal aid program in Haiti. There are 15 judicial districts in Haiti, including Port-au-Prince, all of which have local bar associations. ILAC has established eleven offices around the country, with 120 local employees. The coordinating office is located in Port-au-Prince. The earthquake on January 12, 2010, destroyed the Port-au-Prince legal aid facility. Fortunately, all of those who work on the legal aid project in Port-au-Prince escaped uninjured. All the other legal aid offices in Haiti remain operational.

The need for legal aid/pro bono programs during the aftermath of natural disasters is well-known in the United States, where the legal infrastructure virtually collapsed in New Orleans, Louisiana, for a short period of time, following the devastation of Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Hopefully, ILAC's legal aid project can quickly "regroup" as it will clearly be needed in the coming months to deal with the legal problems that will necessarily confront Port-au-Prince's largely indigent population as they seek to recover from the loss of life and possessions.

Posted by
Patricia N Blair
IBA Pro bono and Access to Justice Committee

You may also wish to read about or donate to the IBA Appeal for the Reconstruction of the Haitian Judiciary.

Student Support for International Pro Bono Work

2010-01-12T02:09:00.000-08:00

We at the HOPE Public Interest Resource Center at the University of Miami School of Law are always looking for new ways to collaborate and support innovative pro bono programming. Because of my background with the UNICTR and the UNHCR, I am particularly interested in engaging students in international human rights and am very interested in exploring ways to partner with members of the International Bar Association’s Pro Bono and Access to Justice Committee, particularly in the following ways: (1) support of litigation remotely via the Pro Bono Legal Research Project and (2) HOPE Fellowship placement.

First, at the HOPE Office I manage the Pro Bono Legal Research Project (PBLRP). The PBLRP is a way to help support practitioners doing crucial work when they might not have the legal research or drafting support they need. In the past we have had students working on a number of different cases dealing with issues such as constitutional law related to housing rights, reparations for Holocaust victims, and a recent case dealing with criminal procedure that was heard by the Florida Supreme Court. The typical format has been for an attorney with a pro bono or public interest case to contact our office for research support and complete a short form. I then send an e-mail to our PBLRP students with the information to determine which students are able to provide research and have an interest in the specific topic. At that point I either connect the attorney with the interested students or, I provide the student resumes for the attorney to decide the appropriate match. After that, the HOPE office is a point of contact for the students and the attorney regarding ongoing management of the research project but the specific scheduling and content of the work product is between the students and the attorney. We have a number of students who are very keen to be involved in international litigation and would surely be thrilled to contribute to the work of the members of the IBA Pro Bono and Access to Justice Committee.

Second, at the University of Miami School of Law we have a unique HOPE Fellowship program available to students during their 1L and 2L summers. HOPE Fellows work with domestic and international public interest agencies and non-governmental organizations to provide much-needed legal advocacy. Over the years, the program has grown from two local agencies to include international placements in countries such as Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Lebanon, England, and China. The HOPE Public Interest Resource Center sponsors the program and helps students to identify agencies that match their passions for service. Students receive a stipend for their work and are required to identify ways in which they can uniquely contribute to the agencies and constituencies they serve. When they return to campus, Fellows then design a project to involve other UM Law students in advocacy related to the their area of concentration. HOPE is eager to establish relationships with organizations needing support and receptive to HOPE Fellows applications. I am happy to provide more information and learn about your organization's specific needs.

I look forward to supporting the work of the members of the IBA Pro Bono and Access to Justice Committee. Please contact me at loneill@law.miami.edu for more information and to learn more about the HOPE Office. Additionally, I welcome ideas for further collaboration not addressed above.

Posted by
Lara O’Neill
Project Coordinator
HOPE Public Interest Resource Center
University of Miami School of Law

Pro Bono and Public Interest Commission of the City of Buenos Aires Bar Association

2009-12-18T04:27:00.000-08:00

The Pro Bono and Public Interest Commission [Comisión de Trabajo Pro Bono e Interés Público] convenes and gathers a group of lawyers engaged in providing pro bono services in public interest cases and who understand the law as a tool of social change and modification of public policies.

Organized as a Pro Bono Network of law firms, the Commission provides free legal services to public interest cases which involve collective interests and thus project their effects to broad sectors of the community.

In practice, the Commission operates as a link between individuals or civil entities requesting pro bono services –- pro bono demand -- and the law firms of the Pro Bono Network -- pro bono offer.

The Commission was created in December 2000 by the initiative of a group of members of the City of Buenos Aires Bar Association [Colegio de Abogados de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires] and works in association with other bar associations in Latin America.

In particular, the Commission works on four areas of interest: disability, microfinance, NGO advice and transparency. The pro bono criminal area was set up in 2009 and new areas of interest, such as childhood and adolescence, are scheduled to begin in 2010.

Among the main achievements attained during 2009, we can mention:

As to the area of disability, a favorable judgment was obtained in a summary action [amparo] filed by the lawyers of the Commission against the City of Buenos Aires Government (GCBA) seeking compliance with the 5% quota of disabled employees provided under the Constitution of the City of Buenos Aires.

In the area of microfinance, the approval of a US$50,000 grant was obtained from IDLO (International Development Law Organization) to organize seminars, workshops, conferences and publications with public authorities seeking the amendment of the regulatory, tax and labor frame and to foster the development of microfinance in Argentina. The approval of a trust to generate funding for microcredit ventures was obtained from FOMIN (IDB).

In the areas of NGO advice and transparency, two successful seminars were organized attended by prominent participants in local public opinion. The first seminar dealt with 'NGOs - Legal and Tax Issues', and the second one with 'Political transparency, citizen participation and civic duties of lawyers'. In this area the Commission provides pro bono services to several and prestigious NGOs who conduct activities related to the Pro Bono Network.

Posted by
Naldo F. Dasso
IBA Pro bono and Access to Justice Committee

About My Office

2009-12-07T05:29:00.000-08:00

Osun State is located in the south-west part of Nigeria.

It covers an area of approximately 14.875 square kilometers, lies between longitude 04 00E and latitude 05.558 and is bounded by four (4) other states i.e Ogun, Kwara, Oyo and Ondo States in the South, North, West and East respectively.

The people of the State are composed of Yoruba tribe. However non-indigenes from all parts of Nigeria and foreigners reside in the State, living together in harmony.

A reasonable segment of the populace comprises traders and artisans. The State has 31 Local Government Councils with Osogbo as the State Capital.

In December 2008 the Governor of Osun State in his Budget speech created the Office of the Public Defender and Citizens Rights and I was appointed as the pioneering director in March 2009. Five months later four additional lawyers were appointed to the Office. All of them are below 5 years at the Bar.

In order for us to function effectively a law was proposed and drafted by me and approved for the House of Assembly's deliberation and passage.

The Office has power of corporate personally and its main functions among others is to provide free legal services to the indigent people of the State and embed the culture of providing legal representation on a pro-bono basis with the legal profession in the state and provide ready means of assistance to less privileged.

The Office is to institutionalize mediation, reconciliation, conciliation and alternative dispute resolution in the administration of Justice in the State by ensuring that parties enter into ADR processes voluntarily.

The office has the status of an agency under the Ministry of Justice and is situated at the Government Secretariat Osogbo the capital city of the State.

However, it can be said that the world economic situation has seriously affected the takeoff of the office since its establishment.

Already we have received over 50 complaints from the general public on disputes such as landlord and tenant, employer and employee, domestic violence and family inheritance, debt recovery, accident at work, domestic accidents, fatal accidents, breach of agreements, human rights etc.

However only about five cases of these disputes have been successfully handled by my office. The reasons are not farfetched.

Firstly, the manpower is limited i.e only five lawyers are appointed to service the whole State of 31 Local Government Councils.

Secondly there are no enough infrastructure for counsel to work. We have not been able to attend any of the cases outside the state capital because there is no official vehicle to embark on such trip. Office equipment are also not adequate.

Thirdly, I am the only person in the office who has a reasonable experience and training in pro-bono and ADR work. Other lawyers are very young at the Bar with no experience in this field.

The above scenario is generating disenchantment and lack of interest in the lawyers and thereby making the generality of the people in the State to lose hope and confidence in the office.

A CASE STUDY

One Mrs. 'A', a 32yr old mother of three, came to our office to report her husband a police officer who abandoned her and three children without care and support. My office wrote to the officer who had been transferred out of the State. A copy of the letter was sent to the Boss; a Divisional Police Officer (DPO) demanding that the officer should come to a meeting in our office. At the meeting he was advised to pay monthly living allowance to the three children out of his monthly salary. An agreement was mutually entered into by the parties and a legal agreement was drafted in that respect. The officer paid three months installment before he was transferred to Ondo State. Since he left for Ondo State three months ago, he has failed to pay the monthly allowance to his three children. Now we have difficulty in reaching him in his new place of posting which is about four hours drive to Osogbo, the State capital.

Also in a related development, Mrs. 'F', a widow of seven children, is yet to receive her husband's entitlement from Nigerian Custom Services, a Federal Government establishment 6 years after her husband’s death. The law establishing the agency requires that the head office should be at the capital of the country, Abuja. A letter of demand to the agency on behalf of the widow was ignored. Litigation on behalf of the widow will cost so much and my office is yet to be funded. Meanwhile the widow and seven children are languishing in abject poverty.

That is the typical situation of my office.

Posted by
Toyin Adegoke
IBA Pro bono and Access to Justice Committee

Dubai International Financial Centre Pro Bono

2009-11-13T04:17:00.000-08:00

The following has just appeared on the news wires: The new pro bono system in the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) Courts -- the DIFC's independent, common law judicial system tribunal and the first of its kind in the Middle East -- will be tested for the first time shortly in an employment case.

After a period of public consultation, the guidelines for the DIFC's pro bono programme took effect last month and the scheme immediately attracted interest from the legal community with seven law firms having already registered their voluntary services. To date, five pro bono litigant applications have been filed at the DIFC Courts. The first pro bono case will be heard in the Court of First Instance, most likely before the end of the year.

The IBA Pro Bono and Access to Justice Committee were consulted on the preparation of the guidelines and were pleased to be able to contribute to the establishment of this new venture. Very few similar systems have been introduced across the globe (the US Immigration Court system has one, as does the US Tax Court, and we would welcome news of any others) and it will be interesting to see, therefore, how it develops. Perhaps it will also provide a boost to the provision of pro bono elsewhere in the Emirates, the GCC and the Middle East as a whole?

Posted by
IBA Pro bono and Access to Justice Committee

Australia’s National Pro Bono Aspirational Target

2009-10-19T06:32:00.000-07:00

Australia’s National Pro Bono Resource Centre, an independent organization that promotes pro bono legal services in Australia, recently released its second annual report summarizing the number of pro hours undertaken by signatories to its aspirational annual target of 35 hours of pro bono per lawyer. Signatories and pro bono hours increased substantially over last year, with the Centre reporting the number of lawyer signatories up from 2900 last year to 5700 this year and pro bono work up from 113, 356 hours to 180,771.5 hours. Reports indicated that the success of the Centre’s initiative was helped by the Australian government’s decision to take account of whether its firm or lawyer vendors had signed on to the target. However, the total number of signatories to the aspirational target is still only about 11% of the country’s lawyers.

The Centre’s initiative and individual attorneys' pro bono work is commendable. There is always the lingering question, though: Are aspirational targets enough?

Posted by
Patrice Dziire
IBA Pro bono and Access to Justice Committee

Access to justice in the Rural Philippines

2009-09-29T06:10:00.000-07:00

Attorney Angelito Orozco is chief legal counsel of the local government of Olongapo City in Central Luzon, Philippines, and describes that office’s work for poor clients there as follows:

It is an integral part of my job to provide mediation/arbitration, albeit in an informal way, especially to poor clients who cannot afford costly and lengthy formal litigation. Their cases would range from simple collection of small money claims, grievances against neighbors or employees of the city government, family matters, and the like. We also dispense legal advice on matters involving eviction/ejectment, petty crimes, annulment of marriage, adoption of minors, and the like.

Further, we coordinate with the Bureau of Jail Management and the regular courts for visits to detention prisoners to ensure that their basic constitutional rights and right to Speedy Trial Act are being observed; otherwise, such can be a ground for the dismissal of their cases. Lastly, we also provide legal representation to indigent clients but on a limited number and basis at this point, owing to financial and time constraints.

Posted by
Robin Westbrook
IBA Pro bono and Access to Justice Committee

Pro bono in South Africa

2009-09-16T04:42:00.000-07:00

During 2002, the members of the Cape Law Society (including attorneys in the Eastern, Northern and Western Cape), unanimously adopted a resolution giving rise to a rule obliging all practising lawyers (with one or two exceptions) to render a minimum of 24 hours pro bono service to those who cannot afford to pay legal fees.

Following this, the Cape Law Society concluded joint venture agreements (and continues to do so) with NGOs serving the poor who required free legal assistance on behalf of the people they serve or, in certain circumstances, assistance to the NGOs itself.

The law societies with jurisdiction in other provinces in South Africa (the Free State Law Society, Law Society of the Northern Provinces and KwaZulu Natal Law Society) all adopted similar rules, with KwaZulu Natal being the last province to consider whether or not the rule should be made obligatory.

The provincial law societies have all appointed provincial co-ordinators, and the Law Society of South Africa has appointed a national co-ordinator to facilitate the process of pro bono nationally. We are currently working towards convening a national conference with the view to establishing a rule to set in place national norms and standards for pro bono.

Edward Nathan Sonnenbergs ('ENS') is the largest law firm in Africa, with offices in Cape Town, Gauteng (Johannesburg) and KwaZulu Natal (Durban). ENS is currently the only firm in South Africa to establish dedicated pro bono offices.

Its first pro bono office is in the township called Mitchell's Plain, an impoverished area in the Western Cape, where ENS renders services to the communities of Khayelitsha and Mitchell's Plain.

Its second dedicated pro bono office is in the township of Alexandra in Gauteng, with the aim of bridging the historical divide that exists between suburbs such as Alex and Sandton, two very different worlds.

Both offices are managed by qualified lawyers, and every professional of the firm dedicates 32 hours per year rendering services to the poor on their doorstep, rather than expecting them to find their (often impossible) way to Cape Town or Sandton.

Posted by
Taswell Papier
IBA Pro bono and Access to Justice Committee

More pro bono celebration

2009-09-14T03:56:00.000-07:00

The First Annual United States National Pro Bono Celebration is scheduled for October 25 through 31, 2009. Sponsored by the ABA Standing Committee on Pro Bono and Public Service, the celebration is a coordinated national effort to showcase the great difference that pro bono lawyers make to the nation, its system of justice, its communities and, most of all, to the clients they serve. The week is also dedicated to the quest for more pro bono volunteers to meet the ever-growing legal needs of this country's most vulnerable citizens.

The ABA Standing Committee on Pro Bono and Public Service chose to launch this important initiative now because of the increasing need for pro bono services during these harsh economic times and the unprecedented response of attorneys to meet this demand.

Although national in breadth, this celebration provides an opportunity for local legal associations across the country to collaboratively commemorate the contributions of America's lawyers and, most important, to recruit additional volunteers to meet the growing need.

One of the guiding principles of the Pro Bono Committee's planning is to support existing local pro bono awards, events and programs. The legal needs of the poor are local issues, and although nationwide, this celebration is intended to have a local focus and impact. Goals for the celebration include:
1. Recognizing the pro bono efforts of America's lawyers
2. Recruiting more pro bono volunteers
3. Mobilizing community support for pro bono.

The Celebrate Pro Bono website at www.celebrateprobono.org is designed to maximize participation in the National Pro Bono Celebration. Please visit often for updates, additional information and assistance.

Posted by
Anthony H. Barash
Director Emeritus, ABA Center for Pro Bono

Pro bono celebrations

2009-08-27T05:27:00.000-07:00

There are many occasions to take a critical look at access to justice issues and to challenge why we aren't doing better as a society and as a legal profession in meeting current access to justice needs. Striving to achieve equal access to justice and engaging legal professionals in these efforts should be a constant pursuit. It also is necessary to reflect on the accomplishments we have achieved and energize the legal profession's participation in improving access to justice and delivering pro bono legal services.

Raising awareness and celebrating pro bono efforts serves a number of purposes: it highlights the need for increased funding, it connects individuals and organizations in need of legal services to lawyers able to provide them, it augments the image of the legal profession, and it energizes legal professionals. Many jurisdictions offer annual celebrations that inform the public and celebrate the pro bono work lawyers are doing while also trying to engage and activate further participation by lawyers. In Canada, we host bi-annual conferences (www.probonoconference.ca) and also engage in national pro bono week celebrations (www.probonoweekcanada.ca). Our colleagues in the United States, Australia, and the United Kingdom also have similar celebrations. National pro bono celebrations provide the opportunity to reflect on the values of the legal profession and celebrate ongoing pro bono efforts while challenging the legal profession to do more. Do others have examples of pro bono celebrations and awareness raising events of this nature?

Posted by
Pamela Kovacs
Chair, Canadian Bar Association Pro Bono Committee

Mandatory pro bono considered in Israel and adopted in the Phillipines

2009-08-14T03:52:00.000-07:00

The Israel Bar Association was established in 1961 as an autonomous statutory entity, under the Bar Association Law - 1961, in order to incorporate the lawyers in Israel and to assure the standard and integrity of the legal profession. The Bar Association is a body corporate, and is subject to inspection by the State Comptroller. Membership is mandatory and is a pre-requisite to practicing law in Israel.

The above-mentioned law distinguishes between the statutory obligatory functions of the Bar Association (section 2) and its other non-obligatory functions and competences (section 3). One of the non-obligatory functions which appears in section 3 is "to provide legal assistance to persons without means".

A new bill, proposed by one of the members of the Knesset (Israel’s parliament), suggests converting this non-obligatory function into an obligatory one. The Knesset Research & Information Center reports that this proposal is being discussed now in the Constitution, Law and Justice Committee of the Knesset.

More information about the Pro Bono program of the Israel Bar Association is on the bar's website here.

The Philippines has recently adopted mandatory pro bono effective 1 January 2010. See here and here for more information.

Posted by
Anthony H. Barash
Director Emeritus, ABA Center for Pro Bono

The above news could form the launch pad for a more wide-ranging debate on whether mandatory pro bono is necessarily a good thing:

- If it becomes mandatory, does it lose an important element of pro bono? Or is the end result all that matters?
- Does it make it more difficult to ensure quality of service is of a uniform standard with client work?
- If charity donation is made compulsory, doesn't it become a tax?

We welcome your comments by clicking the comment link below.

Posted by
Tim Soutar
IBA Pro bono and Access to Justice Committee

The prospect of mandatory pro bono can provoke concern in some instances. See Marcos Fuchs's remarks, delivered at the IBA Annual Conference in Buenos Aires in October 2008, in which he describes the resistance of the 47,000 lawyers in Sao Paulo State who rely on government subsidy for representing the underserved to any form of pro bono mandate. Their concern derives from the possibility that lawyers offering services pro bono might engage in unfair competition. Likewise, lawyers in the U.S. who cultivate practices based on fee-shifting regimes voice concern that judges will minimize fee awards if they believe that the work is more appropriately done on a pro bono basis. See Samuel R. Bagenstos, "Mandatory Pro Bono and Private Attorneys General," 101 Nw. U. L. Rev. Colloquy 182 (2007).

More fundamentally, in a jurisdiction which considers pro bono work as an ethical obligation, one might say that providing the work is mandatory in any case. See David Fagelson, "Rights and Duties: The Ethical Obligations to Serve the Poor," 17 Law & Ineq.: A J. of Theory & Prac. 171, 182-189 (Winter 1999); see generally Robin Westbrook, "Lawyering and the Low-Income Taxpayer," 124 Tax Notes 704 and 705-706 (August 17, 2009).

Posted by
Robin Westbrook
IBA Pro bono and Access to Justice Committee

Reducing too business-oriented sentiment from clever lawyer

2009-07-24T05:41:00.000-07:00

The corporate world has made the business lawyers too business-oriented, this means that business lawyers would only work for financially lucrative case and not bothering working for pro bono service that would bring some kinds of positive impacts to the community or a society as a whole.

Getting back to the legal education, we as the law students, have been taught to better the society and to protest against any phenomenon that we believe will bring negative impacts to the society. And indeed, we have been very active in seeing the society in a critical way and devoting our brain to bring in the good into the society.

The hectic corporate world has almost totally changed everything, as business lawyers become too busy with lucrative business cases and they have to fight day and night for the clients, leaving with no time to give some helps to the society they are living in.

As a law student and legal adviser, I feel that lawyer or legal practitioner would be the most qualified and efficient person, if he/she is the one who does the legally systematic thinking to clean the defects, whether such the defects are related or not related to legal aspect, in the society; will the politicians, economists, students, the public, etc, can positively rectify the society in term of legal aspects better than us?

What I am saying here, is that I just wish to suggest to all clever lawyers in the world to consider pro bono work for their society or any society as another piece of cake after work.

Posted by Vicheka Lay
Legal Consultant, Cambodia

Lawyers as society's self-regulating guardians of justice

2009-07-17T04:17:00.000-07:00

Commentators such as David Fagelson* derive the obligation to provide legal service pro bono from attorneys' central role in the justice system. Justice is a fundamental social value, and equality before the law is its key element.

For a person to participate in a complex, adversarial justice system, a lawyer's expertise is indispensable. The state acknowledges and enables this expertise with various entitlements: most significantly, a monopoly, which lawyers themselves regulate, on the practice of law and on access to courts. Monopoly pricing is deemed to result, and pro bono service is deemed an appropriate acknowledgment of the power to price services beyond the reach of many. Some observe, perhaps more philosophically, that the self-regulation which secures the monopoly - the ability to determine who can join the club - itself secures important social values.

Thus, an independent, self-regulating legal profession, free to admit members of its own choosing who can exercise their profession without government direction, best preserves the rule of law. As society's self-regulating guardians of justice, lawyers are best positioned to secure its fundamental value of equality of all before the law and to work toward universal access.

While this may seem rather lofty, consider recent developments in Fiji where, as of June 30, all lawyers must apply for a Practicing Certificate from the newly-installed, military-backed regime, which moved the licensing of lawyers from the law society to an army-appointed major.** A lawyer was prevented from delivering a speech to the Fiji Institute of Accountants Congress, scheduled for June 12, 2009, due to its discussion of Fiji’s political and financial crisis and the impact of the recent coup on human rights. Download the text of his speech here [PDF file].

Against this backdrop, a correlation between lawyers' autonomy and an ethical obligation to further access to justice does not seem extreme.

Posted by Robin Westbrook
IBA Pro bono and Access to Justice Committee

* 'Rights and Duties: The Ethical Obligation to Serve the Poor', 17 Law and Inequality: A Journal of Theory & Practice 171, Winter 1999.
** Rowan Callick, 'Fiji's military-led judiciary no paradise for business', The Australian, 5 June 2009, http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/business/story/0,28124,25588281-36418,00.html, accessed 17 July 2009.

Pro bono 'clearing houses'

2009-07-06T01:59:00.000-07:00

During this troubled economy, there has been a notable increase in the number of lawyers in the United States volunteering to work pro bono with legal aid organizations -- a trend likely to be mirrored in other countries. Some of these recent volunteers, however, have no experience in dealing with loss of public benefits, evictions, discriminatory practices, and comparable issues that low income, legal aid clients generally confront. Instead, they are transactional lawyers experienced in finance, security laws, tax matters etc.

The problem of matching pro bono lawyers with deserving organizations that are in need of their skills is handled in São Paulo, Brazil, by the Instituto Pro Bono. This facility acts as a 'clearing house' in pro bono matters, assisting NGOs and other non-profit organizations find qualified attorneys for civil, criminal, and labor law issues.

In Washington DC, the Community Economic Development Project matches community based non-profits with law firms that can best address their business and transactional requirements.

The Pro bono and Access to Justice Committee leadership invites comments identifying additional clearing house facilities to which it can refer members for assistance in finding suitable pro bono projects.

Posted by Patricia Blair
IBA Pro bono and Access to Justice Committee

The expat pro bono lawyer: some policy considerations

2009-06-18T09:44:00.000-07:00

A variety of programs deploy volunteer attorneys to advance democracy and the rule of law, protect human rights, promote equitable economic development worldwide and advance the social and economic well-being of people in developing countries. For some examples, see here. Today, I'd like to explore the role of the lawyer in legal reform and examine some policy considerations that should concern every lawyer considering an expat pro bono assignment and every sponsoring organization. In brief, they are:

• Staffed vs. volunteer programs
• "Pay to play"
• Independence of the volunteer
• Setting and implementing the funder's/volunteer's agenda
• Institution building vs. general political/economic development

First, let's look at the difference between staffed legal assistance programs and volunteers. Staff, of course, are paid employees. Volunteers, though they may have their expenses covered, are donating their time. Staff are typically in career positions. Their country assignments last 2-3 years. They frequently work on contract and often move from employer to employer, sometimes working for a national government or an international body and sometimes working for an NGO. Their career arc depends on performance evaluations and references. Conversely, the volunteer is usually in country for a year or less, though many stay longer and often use the volunteer assignment as a springboard to a new career.

Volunteers come in all shapes, sizes and backgrounds. Most often, the recruitment and engagement of volunteers is on a level playing field – what experience and skill sets are needed at the time determines who in the applicant pool gets the nod. But, some NGOs favor volunteers who've supported the organization financially and otherwise. Some call this "pay to play", and it is an issue not limited to organizations that recruit pro bono lawyers for international assignments. Prospective volunteers need to know and understand the policy of the sponsoring organization concerning expectations of financial support.

Let’s look at some people issues. How are people recruited for expat pro bono legal jobs? How are they trained? Who do they work for? What are their jobs? What are the risks and rewards?

Some observers have characterized various donor countries' foreign policies as "uncomfortable dualism", that is, ostensibly pro democracy when and where it suits the donor's national interest, but, in reality using democratization as an instrument of foreign policy. So, what's wrong with that? Must there be an internal consistency? What are the benchmarks? What are the implications vis a vis the rule of law? What do we mean by "the instrumentalization of pro-democracy policies"? Is wrapping security goals in the language of democracy promotion and then confusing democracy promotion with the search for particular political outcomes that enhance those security goals of concern to the prospective volunteer. Any examples come to mind? How about providing legal and other technical and financial support to anti-regime opposition parties and politicians in the name of election reform? It certainly happened in Georgia, Ukraine and Kyrgyzstan.

Lawyers have an interesting and complicated role to play in the democratization process. We (at least those of us who at some point in our careers practice law) are trained to approach problems not from our own perspectives but on behalf of a client. In the litigation and dispute resolution context, we are accustomed to assessing the facts of a situation (i.e., a case), spotting relevant legal issues, and advocating our client's best case against an adversary's best case. In the transactional context, we negotiate the best deal we can for our client.

So, as we assess the need for a legal reform program, design a program, determine its feasibility, implement it and evaluate it, who is our client? Or, do we have a client? This is a profoundly important and perplexing question. Can we escape our training and proclivity to need a client and be a neutral? Is our client the donor? Does the donor set the agenda? Are we, in short, advocates for the donor? Most donors view NGOs that receive funding from them as obligated to advance the donor's agenda, no matter how closely it is micro-managed. Not all of the people in the field feel that way.

Is our client the transitional host state? Do we have a conflict of interest if we are engaged in reform, such as anti-corruption strategies or judicial transparency, that are contrary to the perceived interests of the ruling elite?

Is our client the institution(s) and professionals with whom we engage, such as, government ministries, bar associations, judges, advocates or prosecutors?

Is our client the "people", i.e., the rank and file, of the host country?

For lawyers involved in development work this is an ongoing debate. For example, if our "client" is the donor country, and the donor country is in a strategic partnership with the regime, legal reform programs that are anti-regime potentially compromise the credibility of the lawyer. As an implementer of the donor’s foreign policy, the lawyer may have to pull her punches in criticizing the existing system. If the client is the institution, professions or "people", the lawyer advocating or providing technical support for reform may well be challenging the ruling elite with whom the donor country has a partnership, thus conflicting with the donor.

Are there any limits on the roles expat lawyers can play? Are we advocates, counselors, mentors, technicians, or all of the above, and what are the implications of each role?

Typically and appropriately the expat volunteer lawyer teams with local professionals, who provide local legal, political, language and cultural expertise. Those synergies and relationships are usually very positive by-products of the expat lawyer’s experience. The locals also tend to provide more continuity to programs than expats, who come for a limited time, often not coextensive with the funding cycle of the program.

There are, however, some risks. What are the risks and rewards for the expats? The locals? Obviously, the local may be a spy for the ruling elite. It happens, and it's very difficult to prevent. So, there must be some boundaries. The local lawyer, and his or her family, can also be at risk, professionally and personally. The relationship with the expat lawyer brings the local lawyer some significant benefits: income, networking, training, opportunity. But, if the reform fails, the local lawyer may well have sacrificed his future. So, he must also set boundaries, to assure that the voices of the expat and the local are distinct. The expat has the protective umbrella of his home country and a return ticket out of the host country.

What happens when the survival of the program, such as transferring cash to pay salaries and operating expenses, requires the expat and/or the locals to violate the local law? It happens. How specifically does a "Rule of Law" program address the issue? Is it appropriate for a donor supported NGO implementing a donor country’s program to violate local law? When? What are the risks?

The success of legal reform programs depends on the people who design and implement them. In addition to all the usual criteria (smart, ethical, self-starters, motivated, etc.), they must be trained and oriented to the new, different and unique circumstances they will encounter. They must think about their role, whom they represent, and their relationships with their colleagues. And, it is incumbent on the donors and NGOs to insist on and facilitate this training and orientation.

Posted by
Anthony H. Barash
Director Emeritus, ABA Center for Pro Bono
IBA Pro bono and Access to Justice Committee

Day Laborer Wage Clinic redresses abuse of immigrant employment rights

2009-06-15T02:09:00.000-07:00

A legal services organization in the United States encountered a serious access to justice issue involving its immigrant population. The legal aid attorneys discovered that there was a street in a major city where immigrants gathered daily to be "picked up" in trucks by employers to do landscaping, construction work and housekeeping chores.

In spite of the fact that United States laws require employers to pay at least a minimum wage regardless of whether a worker is in the country legally, employers often refused to pay these day laborers the wages they had earned. Due to a combination of factors, including ignorance of their legal rights and fear of threatened deportation if they complained, many of these immigrants simply did nothing and allowed their employers to benefit from their work, without having to pay for it.

In response to this gross inequity, the legal service organization opened a Day Laborer Wage Clinic and called upon the local bar association for assistance in staffing it. With the help of volunteers, pro bono lawyers and paralegals, the Clinic is open one night a week where immigrants, primarily non-English speaking, can come without any appointment for assistance in enforcing their employment rights and in obtaining the wages illegally withheld by their employers.

Employers are quickly learning of the existence of the Day Laborer Wage Clinic and that its legal aid and pro bono attorneys, paralegals, and interpreters will not tolerate the abuse of immigrant employment rights.

Posted by Patricia Blair
IBA Pro bono and Access to Justice Committee

A contribution of thoughts in regard to some shortcomings in relation to translation and interpretation

2009-06-01T04:33:00.000-07:00

Assurances that the principle of equality of arms is upheld in criminal proceedings in other jurisdictions than our own is fundamental for common trust. Based on the Swedish experience, an important source of problem in mutual recognition-based cooperation is the lack of sufficient guarantees of procedural rights in domestic systems. Deficiencies of this kind in many national systems and the lack of common minimum procedural standards regarding the protection of individual rights in criminal proceedings give rise to hesitation and lack of a sufficient basis for mutual trust and recognition.

Already in 2004 the European Commission, within its draft Framework decision on certain procedural rights applying in criminal matters throughout the European Union, therefore put focus inter alia on the access to interpretation and translation. The reason was quite simple; a suspect must know and be able to understand the suspicions and charges raised against him or her. Notwithstanding that this must be considered as a “basic right” common for every country based on the rule of law, the work of a common understanding within the European Union on the importance and need of translation and interpretation was buried for many years of political reasons.

Recently, however, the The Council of Bars and Law Societies of Europe (CCBE) has published a manifesto calling for ‘The right kind of justice for Europe’ in the light of the current drafting of the next five-year Strategic Agenda for Freedom, Security and Justice in the European Union, the so-called ‘Stockholm programme’.

One of the central parts of this Manifesto is the need for introduction of minimum common procedural safeguards for the right of suspects and defendants in criminal proceedings. One of the fundaments of these minimum procedural safeguards is access to free interpretation and translation, ensuring that persons, including relatives of the suspect, who are not capable of understanding or following the proceedings receive appropriate means for this.

Today there is not only lack of a minimum procedural right in respect of translation and interpretation in Europe and elsewhere. It is also, when such interpretation and translation can be disposed, often a questionable quality of the translation or interpretation services rendered. Furthermore, the defence counsels often have to bear the costs of interpretation and translation. In many countries this is a cost paid by the state only in case of acquittal. Hence, lawyers often bear the economic risk of having their clients’ justified legal interest and rights provided for. Pro bono work becomes a prerequisite of the fulfilment of minimum procedural rights.

Obviously, this must change. The CCBE Manifesto is a good start and my sincere hope and belief is that the Swedish Presidency of the European Union for the second half of 2009 succeeds in its declared efforts to pull a legislation on the right of interpretation and translation through the European legislative mills.

Let us at least have common minimum rights on the suspect’s understanding of the suspicion, and let it be at the expense of the states and not the lawyers.

Posted by Anne Ramberg
Secretary General of the Swedish Bar Association
IBA Pro bono and Access to Justice Committee

Opening the courthouse doors

2009-06-01T04:28:00.000-07:00

Courts can facilitate access by litigants who do not have counsel, paid or pro bono. They might provide simplified procedures, translation services, and, as in the case of the U.S. Tax Court, videos on how a pro se litigant can proceed. The Court expects to start mailing DVDs of the video shortly to unrepresented taxpayers.

What other steps can courts take to accommodate unrepresented litigants? In what situations are these measures most appropriate? What are opposing counsel’s duties and concerns in such a case? Does it matter if opposing counsel represents the government?

Posted by Robin Westbrook
IBA Pro bono and Access to Justice Committee

VAT on pro bono services

2009-06-01T04:21:00.000-07:00

Should pro bono legal services be subject to a value-added tax? Some jurisdictions do impose VAT on the value of pro bono legal services, while some limit VAT to the amount of fees actually charged.

As the U.S. contemplates imposing a value-added tax -- see 'Once Considered Unthinkable, U.S. Sales Tax Gets Fresh Look' for background -- the issue should be explicitly considered as related to pro bono, and lawyers presently subject to value-added taxation doubtless have a great deal to share.

What are your views and experiences in this area?

Posted by Robin Westbrook
IBA Pro bono and Access to Justice Committee

Are pro bono and public interest the answers for new law graduates?

2009-05-11T06:15:00.000-07:00

New law graduates have been particularly vulnerable in this recession. As many know, in the last several months, law firms have been pursuing a variety of measures to control costs and adjust for the declining demand for legal services in some areas, including cutting first year salaries, deferring start dates, offering stipends for public interest work, and, most recently, paying associates not to start at all.

Article from the New York Times
Article from Legal Week
Article at ABA Journal
Article at NY Lawyer (free registration required to view)

Where does this leave new law graduates who need appropriate training and mentorship opportunities? Can pro bono and public interest work fulfill the need?

Posted by Patrice Dziire
IBA Pro bono and Access to Justice Committee

Second season of service?

2009-04-30T09:45:00.000-07:00

The Pro Bono Committee of the Connecticut Bar Association has established an Emeritus Project which recruits senior lawyers to provide pro bono assistance to residents who cannot afford to pay for counsel.

There are approximately 30 states in the United States that have similar projects, which are based on the work of a former American Bar Association President, Karen Mathis, who called her original plan the "Second Season of Service."

By enlisting the pro bono services of senior lawyers, the Bar Association is trying to fill some of the vacuum created by legal aid agencies laying off lawyers just as the need for legal aid services increases as a result of the economic problems Connecticut is now confronting.

What are your thoughts about this initiative? We look forward to your comments below.

Posted by the IBA Pro bono and Access to Justice Committee

US Tax Court Judicial Conference, April 2009

2009-04-15T06:28:00.000-07:00

The United States Tax Court held its annual Judicial Conference in Galloway, New Jersey, USA, in early April. Among many other things, the conference embodied a very well-crafted and productive effort to highlight access to justice issues before a broad range of lawyers, some of whose daily work might not focus on those issues. The conference showed how a court can emphasize to everyone doing business there the importance of pro bono work. A large proportion of petitioners before the Tax Court appear pro se. Anyone with income can have a tax issue, and while the amount at issue may be small, the litigant’s need for adjudication may be great. Thus, the Tax Court very actively encourages pro bono representation, and the recent conference contributed to this overall effort.

The conference’s hosts were the Court’s Judges, of whom some 35 were in attendance, along with eight of their staff. Other participants included some 45 lawyers from the US Internal Revenue Service’s (IRS) Office of Chief Counsel, whose members represent the government in the Tax Court, as well as one from the Department of Justice, which represents the government when tax issues arise in other fora. Some 150 lawyers from the private bar attended, ranging from members of global firms to lawyers with solo pro bono practices. The network of IRS-funded Low Income Taxpayer Clinics was well-represented.

The discussion topics addressed substantive and procedural matters touching on the full variety of issues brought to the court, such as the valuation of interests in family trusts, rules for discovery of electronic records, judicial deference to agency regulations, and more. Notably, there were repeated opportunities for discussion of pro bono work. One panel focused on various bar- and clinic-sponsored programs which enable members of the bar to represent low-income taxpayers on an occasional or regular basis. Another discussed procedural provisions governing the collection of tax amounts owed, typically of interest to low-income taxpayers. Several judges hosted a breakfast for representatives of low-income taxpayers for informal discussion. A DVD addressed to pro se litigants, showing how they can pursue their cases in court, was distributed to all attendees.

Thus, members of the Tax Court bar had many occasions to hear about access to justice for underserved segments of the population. The International Bar Association and its Pro Bono and Access to Justice Committee have the same goal for our sessions at the IBA Annual Conference this year. We plan to use this blog to share a wide variety of ideas about how we as lawyers can find ways to keep this goal in mind.

Posted by Robin Westbrook
IBA Pro bono and Access to Justice Committee