Celebrating National Pro Bono Week
By: Amanda Warner, Esq. & Iliana Lukasik, Law Clerk
The 2023 National Celebration of Pro Bono, with the theme “Voices of Democracy: Ensuring Justice for All,” will be held October 22-28. Pro bono, whose English translation of the Latin phrase is “for the public good,” refers to professional services that are provided at no or very low cost.[1]
The American Bar Association launched the National Celebration of Pro Bono in 2009 in response to the increased need for pro bono services during harsh economic times, and the unprecedented response of private attorneys to meet this demand. Every October since 2009, legal organizations across the United States participate in the National Celebration of Pro Bono to shine a spotlight on those who give their time year round, and to encourage others to join the effort to ensure justice for all. [2]
Pro Bono work is not mandatory for attorneys in New York State, but it is strongly encouraged. The American Bar Association Model Rule 6.1 establishes the professional responsibility to provide pro bono services. Under this Rule,
“Every lawyer has a professional responsibility to provide legal services to those unable to pay. A lawyer should aspire to render at least (50) hours of pro bono public legal services per year.”[3]
Model Rule 6.1 stands in recognition of the pressing need for greater access to the legal system to support the goals of our justice system.[4] Despite numerous nonprofit organizations striving to provide access to representation, older, disabled, and low-income adults still face significant unmet needs that negatively impact their quality of life. [5] In 2022, the Legal Services Corporation published a study finding that 71% of low-income households experienced at least one civil legal problem in the past year, yet 86% of the civil legal problems reported by low-income Americans received inadequate or no legal help.[6] Free legal services agencies are often overburdened by their caseloads, and cannot meet the volume of new urgent legal matters that arise every day, resulting in an access to justice gap [7].
Increased private attorney volunteerism is key to addressing these justice gaps that threaten the integrity of our legal system. In addition to the urgent need for greater access to the legal system due to the volume of cases that are not adequately addressed, there has been a decline in funding from Interest on Lawyers’ Trust Accounts (IOLTA)- which is a method of raising money for charitable purposes- as well as Legal Services Corporation, which make up a significant portion of funding for indigent people.[8] When legal services programs can’t meet the needs of the people they seek to serve, they often rely on volunteer attorneys to bridge the justice gap by providing pro bono representation to those who have no other place to turn.[9]
The benefit of pro bono flows in both directions. In assisting pro bono clients, lawyers enhance their practice and sense of purpose in the legal profession. New lawyers can gain experience handling matters that would normally be reserved for more senior associates. Pro bono can also be a way to gain experience in other areas of law normally outside the realm of an attorney’s day to day practice. The result is a broader and deeper understanding of our legal system, resulting in better representation of all clients.[10]
When attorneys provide pro bono services, they have the ability to lift an enormous weight off of struggling individuals, and create a powerful ripple effect out in the community.
Please join CELJ in celebrating those who have committed to pro bono, and consider joining our effort to close the justice gap today!
[2] https://www.americanbar.org/groups/center-pro-bono/celebrate-pro-bono/
[3] https://www.americanbar.org/groups/probono_public_service/policy/aba_model_rule_6_1/
[5], [6] NOTE: IN SUPPORT OF A MANDATORY PRO BONO RULE FOR NEW YORK STATE., 57 Brooklyn L. Rev. 177, 184
[8], [9] ARTICLE: ATTORNEYS' ETHICAL RESPONSIBILITY TO PROVIDE PRO BONO LEGAL SERVICES TO THOSE IN NEED, 33 Buff. Pub. Interest L.J. 1, 8-9
[10] Donald W. Hoagland, “Community Service Makes Better Lawyers,” The Law Firm and the Public Good 104, 109 (Robert A. Katzman ed., 1995) (citing Keynote Address, Judge Frank M. Coffin, Program on Professional Ethics and Responsibility, Boston University School of Law, Jan. 8, 1990).
