NEW YORK - A report today
released by the Unified Court System recommends instituting
a statewide pro bono system to increase the amount of time
New York attorneys spend rendering free legal services to
the poor and to promote participation in pro bono by a greater
percentage of the state’s bar. The report, entitled
“The Future of Pro Bono in New York,” showed that
less than half of lawyers in New York (46 percent) performed
pro bono work for indigent citizens in 2002. This number represents
a slight decrease since 1997 when the number of attorneys
participating in pro bono was 47 percent, despite the fact
that in that year the State’s Administrative Board of
the Courts adopted a resolution urging attorneys to provide
annually at least 20 hours of pro bono services to poor persons.
According to the report, only 27 percentage of New York attorneys
fulfilled the Administrative Board’s Resolution minimum
of 20 hours in 2002.
Legal services for the poor are most drastically needed in
the area of civil disputes, since legal representation in
criminal cases and certain Family Court cases is required
by law and provided through public funds. However, according
to the report, pro bono service in civil matters is the category
that experienced the greatest decline over the past five years:
dropping from 39 percent in 1997 to 34 percent in 2002.
The two-volume report was compiled by the Office of the Deputy
Chief Administrative Judge for Justice Initiatives, Hon. Juanita
Bing Newton, and consists of a survey of 2002 pro bono activity
in New York and recommendations for increasing pro bono that
emerged from four Pro Bono Convocations held throughout the
state in 2002. The convocations were attended by representatives
from bar associations, legal services and pro bono providers,
judges, lawyers and legal educators. The convocations’
key recommendation of instituting a statewide pro bono system
includes the creation of local committees to oversee the development
and implementation of pro bono action plans in jurisdictions
throughout the state, with the support of a central statewide
standing committee. The recommendations outlined in the report
are subject to a 90-day comment period.
“It is a sad reality that the poor are often left to
fend for themselves in New York’s challenging legal
arenas because they cannot afford to hire a lawyer,”
said Chief Judge Judith S. Kaye. “In particular, the
lack of legal representation for poor persons in civil matters
is reaching epidemic proportions and threatens to create an
unfair system of justice in this state. For some families,
not having an attorney to help them could mean wrongful eviction
or financial ruin, yet countless low-income households are
forced to handle these trying circumstances without the benefit
of any legal assistance whatsoever. This is a situation that
we as a democratic society simply cannot tolerate. All members
of the bar and those in the wider community must work together
and earnestly examine what they can do to address these inequities.
In this regard, the Pro Bono Convocations’ recommendation
to create a statewide planning infrastructure, locally administered,
to expand pro bono services has great promise. The implementation
of these thoughtful and creative recommendations will surely
be a monumental step forward in helping to bridge the critical
gap of legal services for the poor in New York.”
In 1997, New York’s Administrative Board of the Courts,
the body that sets standards and policies for the administration
of the state court system, adopted the Pro Bono Resolution,
urging all attorneys to provide a minimum of 20 hours of pro
bono service annually and to support financially the work
of organizations providing free legal services to the poor.
At that time, the Administrative Board directed that a survey
be conducted to assess pro bono activity around the state,
and that 1997 survey now serves as the benchmark for such
data.
The report indicates that the percentage of New York attorneys
participating in pro bono dropped from 47 percent in 1997
to 46 percent in 2002. Other notable findings are as follows:
· The average number of hours spent by attorneys who
performed pro bono remained essentially unchanged from 1997
to 2002 (in 2002, 41.3 hours; in 1997, 41.9 hours).
· The decline in attorney participation in pro bono
was not uniform throughout the state: Albany, Erie, Monroe,
Nassau, Onondaga, Suffolk and Westchester Counties showed
decreases, while Bronx, Kings, Queens Counties and the remaining
50 counties outside New York City viewed as a group experienced
increases.
· Nearly two-thirds of attorneys would be willing voluntarily
to report their pro bono work as a means of helping to assess
the unmet legal needs of the poor.
· The percentage of attorneys giving financial support
to organizations that provide legal services to the poor decreased
slightly: 56 percent in 2002 from 57 percent in 1997. However,
the average contribution rose from $191 to $212.
Presently, there are over 100 pro bono programs in New York
State, operated by local bar associations, legal services
agencies, public interest groups and court personnel.
Copies of the report, “The Future of Pro Bono in New
York,” can be obtained from the court system website
at www.nycourts.gov/reports/probono/
or by calling 212-428-2500.
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