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
Friday, 17 September 2010
Tuesday, 31 August 2010
Courts Taking the Lead on Access to Justice
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
Posted by
Patrice Dziire
IBA Pro bono and Access to Justice Committee
Monday, 26 July 2010
Cooley Law School 10CORE Project
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
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
Thursday, 8 July 2010
Low Bono versus Pro Bono: A Some or Nothing Approach?
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
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
Friday, 18 June 2010
Pro bono public interest writ reveals heart-rending living conditions of widows in India
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
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
Thursday, 3 June 2010
Law School Clinic’s Petition Brings Relief to Puerto Rican Community
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
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
Friday, 21 May 2010
The potential for pro bono legal services in the health sector in Uganda
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
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
Tuesday, 27 April 2010
Simplifying Pro Bono
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
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
Tuesday, 20 April 2010
Legal education for pro bono
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
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
Monday, 29 March 2010
New York Law School’s Safe Passage Immigration Project
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
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
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