Page 11 - Impact: Collected Essays on Expanding Access to Justice

a lawyer, the help of a well-trained non-lawyer standing by a litigant’s side – providing guidance and support, forms, and assistance in assembling documents and identifying possible sources of funding – is far preferable than no help at all .
Even with all these efforts, more is needed . The private bar in New York has a long tradition of pro bono . Many lawyers in our state understand that giving of our time and skill to those in need is a core value of the legal profession . But with more lawyers volunteering to help, we could make a bigger difference . In order to encourage and support pro bono work, we have undertaken an array of programs designed to reach groups within the profession . The Attorney Emeritus Program seeks to increase pro bono by retired lawyers or those reaching the end of their legal careers . For many experienced lawyers, pro bono service is a deeply satisfying way to continue to use their knowledge . Looking to newly-minted lawyers, the 50-hour rule requires applicants to the New York bar to perform 50 hours of pro bono work before they can be admitted to practice law in our state . The 50-hour requirement both increases available legal services for the poor and teaches prospective lawyers that service to others is an integral part of what it means to be a lawyer . The Pro Bono Scholars program allows law students to sit for the bar exam in February of their third year in exchange for devoting their last semester in law school to pro bono work . By participating in this program, students gain valuable real-world experience, help people in need, and can be admitted to the Bar immediately upon graduating from law school . Growing out of that program, Poverty Justice Solutions places Pro Bono Scholars in legal service jobs immediately following law school for a two-year period, establishing them in public service careers and providing much needed assistance to institutional providers . For in-house lawyers who are admitted out of state but working in New York, we instituted a rule permitting them to litigate in New York in pro bono cases, increasing the pool of eligible pro bono attorneys and making it possible for companies to promote department-wide pro bono projects . Finally, to better measure current pro bono efforts by the Bar, we instituted mandatory reporting of pro bono hours and charitable contributions as part of the biennial attorney registration . This will serve to clarify how much and where work is being done, will periodically focus lawyers on their level of volunteerism, and will inform efforts to encourage pro bono service in the future .
These measures have gone a long way towards providing the assistance we need to ensure equal justice in our state . With all that we have accomplished in the last seven years, we must not and cannot lessen our efforts . As much progress as we have made and as many voices have been raised in this cause, our work is not near complete . There continues to be a dire need for legal services by the most vulnerable in our society . In the coming years, all of us who care about fairness must re-commit ourselves to the ideal of equal justice . It is up to judges, lawyers, our elected officials, and our communities to make that ideal a reality for all . •
Justice, Justice Shall Ye Pursue
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