To kill a Mockingbird remains one of my favorite books.
Not just because I'm a lawyer and it may well be the best lawyer
story ever written, but because In my own life I remember
when public defenders, and legal aid lawyers didn't
exist. Every practicing lawyer took his or her (mostly his
back then) turn in the Dock and you just got what the local judge
assigned you on a rotating basis. I remember the huge
satisfaction that I felt when a client just appreciated that I
would help and they even though they could not pay me I was their
lawyer and I paid attention to their problem. Alas, firms
started to grow and the system broke down because senior lawyers
started passing the cases down to the new associates and due purely
to inexperience the quality of representation deteriorated.
Ah, indeed a gentler time with less stress and more time to be
Atticus Finch. Lawyers really made a difference in those days
by doing what lawyers did, represent clients, preserve rights and
defend principles without worrying about who could and couldn't
pay. Don't get me wrong I am not condemning today's lawyers,
they occupy a different time and space and face a whole different
set of restrictions and constraints. Billing sheets and
pretrial schedules rule the practice and we have many more rules
and regulations to contend with in just the same number of hours in
a day. The question now becomes what role if any do (should)
practicing lawyers play in societies obligation to make sure that
our courthouses and halls of government don't come with toll booths
that deny access to active participation by the poorest of
us.
I recognize that virtually every organized bar has some form of
Pro Bono program where practicing lawyers participate but from the
perspective of a critical observer of the processes, they don't hit
the mark. They do great work and fill a nook or cranny here
and there in the need, but the needs outnumber for the resources of
participating lawyers. Again I am not criticizing, just observing
that time demands of today's practice doesn't allow many of us to
do much pro bono work and give it the time that it deserves.
Frankly the system is better off without me if I can't give it my
undivided attention. So where does this leave us? Do we
no longer have a role? Is it now someone else's
problem? Where can we fit in the process? I believe
that, as lawyers, when we take our oath of practice, we obligate
ourselves to take the responsibility for providing equal access
--end of discussion. That pretty much answers all three questions
and places the responsibility right where it belongs with the legal
profession. So how do we do it and still survive in the
practice? Simply stated, there is not one simple
answer. The question requires creativity just to get your
arms around the size of the problem. let's look at options.
Legal Aid and Public Defenders - Yes we can buy
our salvation and pay someone else to fight our war. It
worked for centuries for the wealthy, right up to the Second World
War and the wars got fought. Our problem - If we rely on this
option we need to figure out a way to fund it, because right now
this system is stressed to the max and we don't seem to want to
deal with it at a legislative level (state or federal)
effectively. Perhaps we should put another opt out (check the
box) box of $2.00 on our motor vehicle registration forms like we
do in Montana to fund state parks. Since it is included in
the total at the bottom of the statement, unless i check the box
and manually calculate a lesser figure, we could raise thousands
from the general public without them really know it. I
suggest this only slightly in jest, society has an obligation to
help the legal profession provide access to justice in this pay as
you go world. Lastly we need to get legislatures to fund
these programs so that the client load in public practice somewhat
resembles that in private practice
Pro Bono Programs -- These need to be a part of
the equation, but how do we get more participation? Well I am
glad I asked - Boomer lawyers are aging but many of us remain
pretty sharp and given that our spouses and significant other may
or may not what us home during retirement on a full time basis, we
could tap this pool. All we need is a system to match needs
with talents and some conference rooms (law firms could donate the
space) for client meetings.
Effective Self Help Programs - These work well
when properly coordinated and administered. Lawyers and
Paralegals can operate these on a volunteer basis for simple things
like "no asset, no children divorces" with a good set of forms and
a public meeting room in the public library. How can we
expand these into assisting with other simple legal problems?
Let's get creative.
IOLTA Funding - IOLTA programs currently
contribute a significant part of access to justice funding on the
civil side of the equation. These programs need to be beefed
up and we need to bring banks into the programs so that they become
willing participants and provide competitive interest rates on
IOLTA accounts. Some banks are great and others simply don't
get how important this piece is to Access to Justice equation.
Now to the heart of the question where does the practicing
lawyer fit into all this. Just about anywhere he or she
wants, but most importantly, by helping the local Bar Association
Foundation or Pro Bono program by making a generous contribution of
time and/or money. Bar Foundations got their start mostly as
IOLTA pass through trust, but have evolved a great deal as the
IOLTA funding became woefully in adequate and now work tirelessly
to raise money for many different access to justice programs.
Pro Bono programs have re-born to help fill the void in many ways
and the need for lawyer participation will never dry up.
These efforts by lawyers don't have to be burdensome. My own
experience working with juvenile offenders has been very rewarding
and in most instances it doesn't take more than a few hour per case
and the rewards are so much greater than money.
Bottom line - Get involved and make a
difference. I promise you will make a difference and your
practice will be more fun as a result.