Vol. 71, No. 2, February
1998
President's Perspective
Providing pro bono service requires individual
commitment, unique solutions
By Steven R. Sorenson
"There has to be a solution" rings in my head as I contemplate
all the initiatives taking place throughout the United States and in Wisconsin
to provide legal services to underrepresented people. The frustration is
incredible since
I know the problem cannot be solved until we recognize there are no universal
answers. But what is the solution?
Over the last several years, the State Bar of Wisconsin has tried to
pave the way for a lasting solution to the legal services dilemma. The American
Bar Association and most every state also, to some degree, have spent time
and money trying to solve the problem. Still there is no universal answer
on the horizon.
At the legislative level, efforts have yielded little or no support for
increased funding despite the fact that many states' governments are enjoying
surpluses. Even our federal government supposedly will have a surplus this
coming year. However, the talk in Washington and in the state capitols is
the same - no one wants to allocate their available funds to the Legal Services
Corporation or similar agencies for legal services.
Campaigns abound nationwide to raise money to support the delivery of
legal services. In Wisconsin, the Bar has committed several thousand dollars
for fundraising to support legal service agencies. In July, the Equal Justice
Coalition kicked off its three-year effort to raise $5 million to provide
direct legal services to Wisconsin's poor. A recommendation of former State
Bar President John Skilton's Delivery of Legal Services Commission led to
the coalition's creation. The coalition's goal is to secure for legal services
programs a diverse funding base from individual attorneys, law firms, corporations
and foundations to restore federal funds that Congress cut.
Even if the Wisconsin fundraising drive and similar drives nationwide
are successful, the real question becomes, "Can they be sustained annually
to meet the needs?" I very much doubt it.
I believe we must face this situation as an individual problem.
The leaders need to recognize that all lawyers live in different circumstances.
The contribution that can be given to the delivery of legal services by
a senior partner at a large corporate practice firm is very different than
the contribution that can be given by a recent U.W. or Marquette law school
graduate.
We need to recognize that pro bono service is part of our commitment
to professionalism. We need to look at our own practices and decide how
to contribute to a solution. We do not need to be told by others what we
should do to meet the need for pro bono service. It should be up to each
of us as professionals to evaluate what we can do and how we can best accomplish
the universal goal of the effective delivery of legal services to the indigent.
Certainly it is very difficult for a senior partner in a major metropolitan
law firm who practices in international banking law to provide direct representation
to an indigent client. However, these individuals collectively can use their
financial strengths to support pro bono activities within their firms or
through cash donations to legal service agencies. Or perhaps they can fund
internship programs for attorneys willing to work in the inner city, rural
communities, on Indian reservations or other areas that need legal advocacy.
The new law school graduate who does not have the financial ability to
support delivery programs can fulfill her or his commitment by donating
time and expertise to the local child care improvement project, domestic
abuse center, tenants association, legal hotline or other group. Mid-sized
or small law firms that may lack the expertise, time or finances to provide
direct legal services may provide space, secretarial support or other resources
to lawyers who can provide the services to those in need. There should be
no limit to methods if we can only think of ourselves as being part of a
larger community and fulfill our professional responsibility to those in
need.
Recently, an attorney told me that he hoped we never got to the point
where every Wisconsin lawyer was required to provide up to 50 hours of pro
bono service a year. I compared that comment to one from an attorney in
northern Wisconsin who told me that the only people who fear reporting their
pro bono time are those who consider it a chore. As he said, a lawyer who
is truly a professional recognizes that it is simple common decency to help
those in need. I understand what both individuals were saying, and I certainly
do not want to see the State Bar immersed in the bureaucracy of validating
the lawyer's dedication to common decency and professionalism; however,
I do recognize the reality that not all lawyers are doing their part.
Still, there has to be a solution, and as president of this association,
I have the responsibility to help find that solution. I have stated generally
how I think we Wisconsin professionals can creatively and individually help
solve the problem. Here is a specific suggestion for thought and debate:
If each of us were to commit 50 hours to pro bono, we could extrapolate
that figure into a dollar amount. For example, if our annual billing rate
averaged $150 per hour, we could satisfy this criteria by contributing $7,500
to legal services organizations. Because that contribution probably would
be tax deductible, we could increase the amount in recognition of the tax
advantage. Perhaps donating money is not the appropriate solution; if we
were members of a large firm, of perhaps 300 lawyers, we would have 15,000
hours of pro bono service available to us as a firm. If the average attorney
in our firm has 2,000 billable hours a year, we could hire 7.5 attorneys
annually to provide pro bono service through our firm. Or, we could fund
a charitable contribution, a legal services firm of 7.5 attorneys, and accomplish
the same result. A 10-person firm would have only 500 pro bono hours, but
perhaps could allow one associate to devote 25 percent of his or her time
to represent clients from the local domestic violence center or other group.
Those of us who practice in very small firms in rural areas can accomplish
the same pro bono goals as a large law firm through our local bar associations.
For example, the 20 members of a rural Wisconsin county bar may decide they
lack the expertise to adequately provide pro bono services to the indigent,
but they could provide an office and secretarial support for an attorney
willing to provide the services. Perhaps the local bar members could make
charitable contributions to help supplement that attorney's income. Or if
a pro bono legal services center was set up, they could give their own time
or their staff's time to the effort to satisfy the local need.
If we establish a benchmark and we equate that benchmark to time or to
dollars, we each can individually resolve to fulfill our pro bono commitment
and gauge our success in the effort. We each need to do this so we can stand
firm and say that we have no qualms about reporting to the supreme court
or anyone else, the pro bono work that we have done. If we as Wisconsin
lawyers can universally swear that we have met our ethical, moral and professional
commitments then, in reality, no one will ever ask us to so report. Only
when the majority of us are unable, in good conscience, to say that we have
met our benchmark, will we face the bureaucratic nightmare of having to
report pro bono service.
There is a solution and it is unique to each of us. No one can tell me
that I have to give money to fulfill my obligation to pro bono service.
Likewise, no one can tell securities and exchange attorneys that they have
to represent tenants in landlord/tenant disputes to fulfill their pro bono
commitments. When we set the benchmark and reach it, we will have answered
the question for ourselves in our own unique and versatile way. There is
a solution. The result will be far fewer underrepresented clients, and we
will have helped to preserve democracy, freedom and justice.
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