By: Steve Grumm and Jamie Bence

Happy Friday, Dear Readers!  Much of the content for this week’s Bulletin was drafted with assistance from Intern Extraordinaire Jamie Bence.  It takes a special kind of nerdiness to put together this news bulletin.  And Jamie’s got it!

This week: $12.5 million to New York State legal services providers; but in Montana, funding woes force a legal services branch office closure; speaking of funding woes, mounting pushback against Garden State legal services cuts; from the Upstream Swim Department, an Illinois prosecutor is pushing to raise his attorneys’ salaries(!); salt-in-wound: the debt-ceiling madness even managed to produce bad news for grad student loans; the San Diego D.A.’s prisoner re-entry program earns kudos; pretty big changes to Seattle’s indigent defense system; what will deficit-cutting measures mean for Uncle Sam’s civil servants?; LSC announces its star-studded Pro Bono Task Force; a Bay Area debate about employers looking at prior convictions of job applicants; NDAA appoints its first woman president; the growth in unpaid legal internships; a report on the Empire State’s strained indigent defense program; an op-ed out of Seattle in opposition the proposed 26% LSC budget cuts; more opposition to legal services funding cuts in New Jersey; Wisconsin’s public defenders are way, way short-staffed; and New York State’s new indigent defense office gets moving. 

• 8.3.11 – good news, for a change, concerning legal services funding.  In New York, the state judiciary has begun making good on its plan to bolster legal services by distributing $12.5 million among 56 organizations.  The New York Law Journal reports that the funds will be applied to serving clients who face troubles with the “essentials of life,” like housing, public benefits, and safety from domestic abusers.  The funding is seen by Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman as the beginning of a steadier stream of funding to support legal services providers at a time when other funding streams have diminished.

• 8.3.11 – bad news from the Treasure State.  The Montana Legal Services Association is being forced to close its office in Butte, and to relocate that office’s sole staff attorney to Helena.  The Montana Standard reports, “Butte District Judge Brad Newman said Tuesday while the effect of the closure remains to be seen, he said that the office provided ‘critical legal services that would be difficult to replace’.”

• 8.3.11 – in New Jersey, the battle for legal aid funding continues. The Assembly Judiciary Committee requested a public hearing over the recent line-item veto, Shore News Today reports. Even fiscally conservative members point out that current funding will probably not sustain an already stressed system.

• 8.2.11 – in Kane County, top prosecutor Joe McMahon is seeking better salaries so that he can retain his experienced staff. McMahon pointed out that keeping a top-flight staff requires several years of training before new attorneys can prosecute the more difficult cases, and by that time they may move on to more lucrative private-sector jobs. “We need to take a significant step in closing the gap in the disparity of pay,” McMahon said according to the Courier News.

• 8.2.11 – while many in Washington were excited to avert a downgrade in the nation’s credit rating this week, our friend Heather Jarvis points out that the Budget Control Act of 2011 has some unfortunate consequences for graduate students. “The elimination of the graduate and professional in-school interest subsidy and the direct loan repayment incentives are estimated by the Congressional Budget Office to produce a savings of $21.6 billion.   $17 billion of that savings will go to shore up the Pell Grant program, and $4.6 billion will be used to reduce the deficit.”

• 8.2.11 – congratulations are in order for the San Diego County District Attorney’s Office, which recently won prestigious Achievement Award from the National Association of Counties (NACo) for the DA’s Helping Others Pursue Excellence (HOPE), a prisoner reentry program. Corrections.com has the story.

• 8.1.11 – more news from the Left Coast. This time, the City of Seattle is making changes to its indigent defense contracting.  The Seattle Times reports: “For the first time in 40 years, the King County public defense firm The Defender Association will not have a presence in Seattle Municipal Court.  On Monday, the Seattle City Council awarded a $1.5 million annual contract for a portion of the city’s misdemeanor public defense work to Northwest Defenders Association, said Eileen Farley, executive director of the Northwest Defenders Association. The city’s decision not to award the contract to The Defender Association had been met with a restraining order, a lawsuit and an appeal. But The Defender Association lost its legal battle.”

• 8.1.11 – Washington Post points out that the debt deal discussed above could also squeeze federal jobs. “I am pleased to see that the deal does not include any immediate cuts to federal pay or pensions,” National Treasury Employees Union President Colleen M. Kelley said in a statement Monday. “However, the impact on the federal workforce remains uncertain and agencies are likely to face reductions in their budgets.”   Government Executive has additional details, as well as perspectives from federal employees unions.

• 8.1.11 – LSC has appointed over three dozen public interest luminaries to its pro bono task force. The Blog of the Legal Times reports: “The task force is a project of the Legal Services Corp., the federally funded nonprofit that is the largest source of funding for civil legal aid. Republicans in Congress have warned the organization that it faces potentially deep budget cuts, and they’ve pushed it to find new ways to help the poor with problems like home foreclosures and domestic violence cases.”  Here’s a press release from LSC that lists all task force members.   This push for pro bono has historically been a double-edged sword.  On one hand, it’s absolutely vital to engage the private bar in efforts to support legal services.  On the other, pro bono should not be seen as a means to substitute for funding.  Pro bono to supplement the work of legal services providers: yep.  Pro bono to substitute for the work: nope.  We’ve already offered our thoughts on this topic in a prior blog post.

• 8.1.11 – Time Magazine reports from San Francisco on a new movement to keep employers from considering prior convictions when they review job applications. “‘These people are in the community regardless,’ said San Francisco District Attorney George Gascón. ‘Do we want to marginalize them and keep them on the edge’?”

• 8.1.11 – as we reported earlier this week, the National District Attorneys Association has named Sacramento District Attorney Jan Scully their new president. Ms. Scully becomes the first female president of that organization, but as PublicCEO points out, it’s merely the latest in a series of groundbreaking roles for her.

• 8.1.11 – PilotOnline investigates the growing number of unpaid internships for law students, and how many unpaid positions are becoming remarkably competitive. Even students at elite schools, and those working for large government agencies, face an increasingly tight market.

• August, 2011 – New York’s public defender and legal aid systems are in crisis, but with the state budget quickly shrinking, it’s unclear whether they will get a desperately needed overhaul. Some in the state are questioning whether public defenders, faced with growing caseloads, are meeting the constitutional standard of care, Gotham Gazette reports.

• 7.31.11 – LSC board chair John Levi and LSC board member Harry Korrell take to the pages of Korrell’s hometown newspaper, the Seattle Times, to pen an op-ed laying out the potential 26% funding cut that LSC is facing, and explaining how this will hurt Washingtonians: “In Washington, nearly a quarter of the population is eligible for civil legal assistance.  At the Northwest Justice Project, there are pleas from women trying to escape domestic violence and protect their children. There are requests for help from elderly people deceived by scam artists. Families who are desperate call, worried about losing the roof over their heads because of foreclosure or eviction. Often callers are seeking unemployment benefits, or feel financially overwhelmed and see bankruptcy as the only path to a fresh start.”

• 7.31.11 – more from the growing legal aid funding crisis in New Jersey. The New Jersey Record said the following in a Sunday editorial: “Legal Services President Melville Miller Jr. told legislators the new bottom line most likely will mean 100 fewer lawyers, the closure of at least three offices and 10,000 fewer people getting legal help by the end of the year. As a result of the last cuts, Miller estimates that two out of three people seeking help are turned away. This new round may mean three out of four people with a real need for attorneys’ services are out of luck. It’s a deplorable state of affairs.”  There has been considerable backlash on the legal services funding cut, and it will be interesting to see if Gov. Christie reconsiders.

• 7.29.11 – as we blogged about earlier this week, Wisconsin’s public defenders face a dire situation. Less than 25% of offices have enough attorneys to staff the cases referred to them. In many counties, public defense has been contracted out to private firms. WTAQ has the full story.

• 7.29.11 – New York’s newly created State Office of Indigent Legal Services has sent out its first contracts this week, Gotham Gazette reports. “If [you’re] a cynic you can look at it as a small step,” ILS director William Leahy said of sending out the first contracts, “but we look at it as an important step forward.” Leahy said that when discussing indigent services with county officials he was repeatedly told, that it was the first time they had ever, “talked to anyone from the state about public defense and what they need.”

By Jamie Bence

From Wisconsin, more bad news for public defenders facing budget cuts, and the possible impact on defender services. According the report, just 25% of Wisconsin’s public defender offices have enough attorneys. WTAQ explains:

The constitution requires all criminal defendants to have attorneys, regardless of income. And counties must arrange to have private lawyers represent those that the public defender’s office cannot handle.

The report also called on states to consider more of a defendant’s needs when representing the poor.

Thompson says her agency is working on that. It’s working with non-profit service agencies to offer poor defendants help with finding jobs, housing, and mental health care. She says the goal is to reduce the possibility that criminals will offend again – thus keeping them out of the criminal justice system.

The findings come from a report from the Justice Policy Institute, which we blogged about last week.

By Jamie Bence

While most public interest internships have always been unpaid, the recent downturn in the economy and budget cuts across the private sector and government have forced a growing number of students to take on unpaid summer jobs. PilotOnline explains:

Legal interns in government jobs this summer are learning a painful message: The law doesn’t always pay. Once a fallback for underemployed liberal arts majors, law school has become an expensive path to a profession with no guarantee of a high-paying job.

According to the article, even unpaid opportunities have become increasingly competitive:

Shrinking opportunities in the private sector have also made it tough for young lawyers to land lower-paying public sector jobs, industry experts said. “It’s even more competitive than it was before,” said Kevin Donovan, senior assistant dean for career services at the University of Virginia School of Law. “Even at a top school like Virginia, they have to work hard.”

The problem with the expectation that students can take on unpaid work is twofold:

(1) students are divided up into those who can afford to complete an unpaid internship through support from family or school and those who cannot, and

(2) schools are divided into those that can (or will) allot a significant amount of money to support students during their unpaid summer jobs (while conversely collecting tuitions in student loans from those students during the year).

While the internships can provide invaluable experience and may seem like a surefire way to gain experience, they are almost always limited to a select group of students from certain types of schools.

By: Steve Grumm

This week: continued concern over drastic state funding cuts to Legal Services of New Jersey; five new appointees to the Georgia Public Defender Standards Council, and one of them is named “Gator”; speaking of under-resourced public defenders, there’s a new Justice Policy Institute report on just that topic; the debate over city funding to help Jacksonville Area Legal Aid; Jack McCoy is giving his troops a raise!; the brand-spanking-new Houston public defender’s office (How could a city that big wait so long?); a Florida legal services provider is one of the Sunshine State’s best companies to work for (Were salaries a criterion in this contest?); heavy stuff: legal services as a bridge connecting low-income communities to society; Connecticut public defenders feeling the pinch of strained resources; rockin’ out to benefit Lone Star State legal services providers (But why is my favorite Texan band, Centro-matic, not in the mix?); the Wake County, NC prosecutors pull double duty as receptionists; and an interview Keith Findley, founder of the Wisconsin Innocence Project, which has 16 exonerations under its belt.

• 7.28.11 – the Philadelphia Inquirer covers hearings across the Delaware about state funding cuts which will have a serious impact on Legal Services of New Jersey:  “Two-thirds of those who contact Legal Services of New Jersey and qualify for its help are not being assigned lawyers because the agency doesn’t have the money to meet the demand, its president told legislators Wednesday. Melville Miller Jr. told an Assembly Judiciary panel examining state budget cuts that he expects to lay off 100 staff members, close at least three offices, and serve 10,000 fewer clients than last year because Gov. Christie cut the agency’s appropriation by $5 million for the budget year that began July 1. The cut comes atop a $9.7 million reduction last year. The total state appropriation for legal services for the year is $14.9 million, down by about half from two years ago.”

• The Press of Atlantic City’s editorial board chimed in on the funding cuts, and they’re not happy: “Christie didn’t just cut the $5 million for Legal Services that Democrats added to the $5 million in aid Christie had proposed in his own budget. The governor cut it all – $10 million – including the $5 million he was previously willing to give the agency. The only explanation for that, folks, is pure vindictiveness toward the Democrats, who had the gall to propose their own budget….  The deep cuts that Legal Services have endured over the last three years raise the question of what kind of nation we are. Do we want to create a nation where only the wealthy get legal representation?”

• 7.28.11 – Georgia’s Public Defender Standards Council, oft the subject of controversy, is getting five new members.  One of them is named “Gator.”  Yes!  Here’s a blurb from the AP: “Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal has appointed five new members to join the board overseeing the state’s public defender system.  Deal announced the appointments to the Georgia Public Defender Standards Council on Wednesday.  The appointees are Donna Avans Seagraves, G.S. “Gator” Hodges, Lamar Paris, Ron Cross and David Sims.  Seagraves is a veteran public defender who lives in Athens.  Hodges is a Butts County commissioner and veteran police officer.  Paris is a Union County commissioner, and Cross chairs the Columbia County Commission.  Sims is a veteran trial lawyer who has worked in Savannah and Atlanta.”  Here’s a bit more background on the five GPDSC appointees, courtesy of The Weekly.

• 7.27.11 – the Justice Policy Institute has released a new report, System Overload: The Costs of Under-Resourcing Public Defense, which looks at the troubled state of indigent defense programs nationwide: “Public defense systems serve millions of people in the United States every year. Yet many systems across the country have been in a state of ‘chronic crisis’ for decades. The defender systems that people must rely on are too often completely overwhelmed; many defenders simply have too many cases, too little time and too few resources to provide quality or even adequate legal representation.  Ensuring that public defense systems have the resources necessary to provide quality representation to their clients can result in a more just system that reduces costs and incarceration and improves public safety and communities.”

• 7.27.11 – a Florida Times-Union editorial weighs in on deliberations by Jacksonville’s City Council about an assessment to fund civil legal services.

• 7.26.11 – the New York Times reports that as the Manhattan District Attorney’s office works through some recent setbacks that have affected staff morale, it has made an announcement that is sure to produce some smiles: salary raises!  The office, led by D.A. Cyrus R. Vance Jr., has recently faced some setbacks in high-profile cases.  Also, since Vance took over for Robert M. Morgenthau, who served as D.A. for over 30 years, the office has experienced funding constrictions and layoffs.  Managers in the office have been working on boosting morale. Well, raises probably aren’t a bad start.

• 7.26.11 – an update on the newly created public defender’s office in Houston.  KUHF reports: “After being one of the last major cities without one, the Harris County Public Defender’s office was created for the purpose of representing mentally ill defendants facing misdemeanor charges, and appeals cases for the indigent….  The county launched the office with a $4 million dollar state grant, but with plans to eventually fund it for about $7 million dollars a year…. The public defender’s office should expand its caseload to include juvenile and felony cases within two years.”

• 7.26.11 – congrats to Community Legal Services of Mid-Florida!  The organization has been named by the Florida Trend magazine as one of the Sunshine State’s best companies to work for. Here’s some coverage from theDaytona Beach News-Journal: “Agency Executive Director Bill Abbuehl, said ‘a committed and dedicated staff, one that will meet the demanding needs of nonprofit legal aid’s challenges, needs to be consistently made aware that they are needed and wanted and valued.’ The firm has 90 employees throughout Central Florida, including about 45 in Daytona Beach.”

• 7.21.11 – Corey Shdaimah, a professor at the University of Maryland School of Social Work, has authored Negotiating Justice: Progressive Lawyering, Low-income Clients, and the Quest for Social Change.  On the American Constitution Society’s website, Shdaimah previews Negotiating Justice, in which he interviewed 11 legal services lawyers and 30 clients: “Perhaps as important as [direct representation of clients’ interests] is the need for solidarity at a time when our societal divisions are growing. The interests of an ever-smaller group at the top are set against those who struggle as more people lose their jobs, their homes, and their savings…. Legal services programs sit on that divide; legal services lawyers, most of whom graduated elite law schools, choose to work directly with communities in need. Providing day-to-day legal services requires interactions between lawyers and clients. For clients, this means not feeling entirely abandoned by government agencies and society at large.”

• 7.21.11 – Connecticut public defenders, facing deep cuts, are concerned that they may not be able to meet ethical and constitutional obligations with ever-growing caseloads. Boston.com reports on the growing fears of state public defenders. “If the caseloads are too big, our people cannot spend the time they need to spend on a case and with their clients,’’ said Deputy Chief Public Defender Brian Carlow. “Our biggest initial concern is cases not moving as quickly as they can when people are locked up.’’

• 7.24.11 – Business News reports that legal aid providers in Texas have come up with a loud and fun way to raise funds for legal services. Seven bands, composed exclusively of area judges and lawyers, will rock out on August 20^th in Dallas. Ticket information and more details are available here.

• 7.19.11 – In Raleigh, NC, WRAL reports that attorneys in the Wake County DA’s office are pulling double duty- as lawyers and secretaries- as a result of budget cuts that have forced drastic reductions in staffing. ” ‘I have some of the most skilled lawyers in this county who are answering telephones on a daily basis, because somebody has to answer the phones – and we have to share that duty,’ said Wake County District Attorney Colon Willoughby. ‘We’re pinched. Each day, it’s robbing Peter to pay Paul’.”

• 7.24.11 – From Madison.com, an interview Keith Findley, founder of the Wisconsin Innocence Project. Since 1998, the initiative has helped free 16 people who were wrongly imprisoned, and today has expanded to issues such as improving compensation for public defenders.

By Jamie Bence

Today on the American Constitution Society’s Blog, more information about the probable impact of proposed cuts to LSC funding. Corey Shdaimah writes, based on his experience interviewing legal services attorneys and clients:

In the flurry of budget discussions and funding cuts, money to the Legal Services Corporation is again on the chopping block, estimated to result in turning away 235,000 people across the country. This comes when estimates already show that for each eligible client served, another is turned away from LSC-funded programs and at least 80% of civil legal needs go unmet. Legal services for low-income clients are no luxury; they are often necessary to ensure basic survival. Funding cuts such as these always come at a time when such services are most needed. If we can shore up corporations and financial institutions, why can’t we shore up people, communities, and their faith in our legal system? In the U.S., access to justice without lawyers is largely a hollow promise.

For the complete post and more information on Shdaimah ‘s Negotiating Justice, please click here.

By Jamie Bence

Last week, Legal Services Corporation (LSC) released its 2010 Annual Report, detailing the growing need for legal services in the wake of the recession, and difficult choices made by providers facing diminished resources:

The future is brighter for the millions of Americans who have been served by the 136 nonprofit civil legal aid programs that are funded by the Legal Services Corporation.  These LSC program closed more cases in 2010 than the year before, and their casework reflected our nation’s slow recovery from the
economic downturn. Matters involving foreclosures, landlord-tenant disputes, unemployment, bankruptcy and consumer finance, and, sadly, domestic violence all increased in 2010 compared to the previous year.

At many LSC-funded programs, cases related to the economy have increased for three consecutive years. During this period, Congress provided LSC with budget increases, with the Corporation receiving $420 million in funding for Fiscal Year 2010.

Still, the number of Americans living in poverty and eligible for LSC funded services continues to grow, and many LSC programs are unable to meet the legal needs of those who sought civil legal assistance. Despite a 7.7 percent rise in LSC funding in 2010, significant sources of non-federal funding were essentially flat or declined, constraining the expansion of legal assistance.

LSC President Jim Sandman described the importance of finding innovative solutions in difficult times:

Collaboration across the access to justice community is particularly important in an era of reduced resources and increased demand for civil legal services. By coordinating with and reaching out to others, I hope to increase the efficiency of service delivery to clients, avoid unnecessary duplication of effort, and streamline LSC’s dealings with the programs it funds.

As Congress considers another round of cuts to LSC funding, the report underscores the growing need for legal services.  Read the complete report here to learn more about LSC’s outlook.

By: Steve Grumm

Wow, it’s hot.  That’s about all I can muster for a greeting this morning.  This week’s Bulletin includes news running from legal services funding hither and yon to volunteer federal prosecutors in New Jersey to “Courtmageddon” in the Bay Area.  There are a couple of news items out of Chicago, which may or may not have been included because they would give me an opportunity to note that the Glorious Philadelphia Phillies Baseball Franchise marched into Wrigley Field and took 2 of 3 from the Cubbies this week.  And hello to my friends at the Chicago Bar Foundation!  Well it turns out I could muster a proper greeting after all.

This week: the Texas legal services community gives props to those who went to bat for state funding; don’t run, walk to benefit Chicago Volunteer Legal Services!; speaking of the Windy City, a look at the work of the Legal Aid Bureau; Minnesota’s 2012-13 budget plan a mixed bag for public interest lawyers; Uncle Sam is recruiting volunteer federal prosecutors?; Lone Star pro bono; the proposed 26% drop in LSC funding is “cutting to the bone”; speaking of funding, it’s tough times for Garden State legal services programs; a North Carolina county cuts funding to an “aggressive” legal services program; “Courtmageddon” in San Francisco; how will LSC cuts impact Western Michiganders?; some legal services shuffling in Louisiana.    

• 7.21.11 – From a press release entitled Texas Access to Justice Commission and Foundation Applaud the Texas Legislature for Providing Funding for the State’s Legal Aid System: “In a tremendous show of bipartisan support, the Texas Legislature has appropriated $ 17.5 million for civil legal aid and $7.6 million for county indigent defense programs in general revenue during the recent Special Session. Gov. Rick Perry signed Senate Bill 2 that included an amendment for funding civil legal services on July 19.  This funding makes up for the $20 million awarded in the 2009 Session to mitigate the decline in interest on lawyers’ trust accounts (IOLTA) funds, a primary source of funding for legal aid. IOLTA funding has declined more than 75 percent since 2007.”

• 7.20.11 – when it comes to record-setting heatwaves, the biggest concern among public interest lawyers is typically the health of elderly, low-income clients who may not be able to stay cool at home.  But the heat can affect the public interest community in other ways.  To wit (and on a lighter note): with Chicago temps exceeding 100 degrees, “[o]fficials on Wednesday made the decision to turn [the 18th annual Race Judicata 5K fundraiser] into a walk, with food and beverages served before and throughout the untimed ‘race,’ due to concerns over high heat.   Proceeds from the event benefit the Chicago Volunteer Legal Services Foundation, Chicago’s first and pre-eminent pro bono provider of free civil legal aid to citizens with financial need.”  Race Judicata took place yesterday, 7/21.  Kudos to the participants, and here’s to your continued hydration!  (Report courtesy of NBC Chicago.)

• 7.20.11 – more Chicago.   WGN News highlights the work of the Legal Aid Bureau of Metropolitan Family Services, including LAB’s work today and the many changes that Chicago’s legal aid movement has spawned, both on the criminal and indigent defense fronts.

• 7.19.11 – Minnesota’s FY 2012-13 budget plan (which characterized as a “working agreement” between the governor and state legislators), is a mixed bag for public interest lawyers.  According to the Twin Cities Daily Planet (great name!), civil legal services funding would be cut.  “State funding for civil legal services has already fallen below 2006 levels. The working agreement cuts civil legal services by nearly $2 million in FY 2012-13, or seven percent…”  On the other hand, courts and public defenders will see a funding boost.  As to defenders: “There is a $2.5 million increase, or two percent, in funding to help address a deficiency in public defenders, who represent low-income clients in criminal cases. Past budget cuts have taken a significant toll – in half the state’s counties, there no longer are sufficient attorneys on staff to represent clients at their first court appearances.”

• 7.18.11 – volunteer AUSAs?  United States Attorneys are getting creative in the midst of a DOJ hiring freeze.  From the New Jersey Law Journal: “Newly announced openings at the U.S. Attorney’s Office in New Jersey could provide valuable experience and serve as a resume booster, but there’s one thing they won’t provide: a paycheck.  The office on Wednesday posted the job openings in Newark and Camden for uncompensated ‘Special Assistant U.S. Attorneys,’ following the recent example of other offices across the country….  The full-time positions — for which the office requests a one-year commitment — are open to newly minted lawyers and those wrapping up judicial clerkships… Ineligible are attorneys who were deferred by but received a payment from a law firm, as well as those who will be receiving any sort of compensation from a firm during the unpaid employment period.”  And here’s an interesting twist: “…[S]pecial assistant hires will not necessarily have an advantage in seeking a job with the office. In fact, they are prohibited from applying for any position in the office that might arise during the unpaid employment term.  That restriction was put in place so that candidates who can financially afford to take on the unpaid position ‘don’t necessarily get an immediate advantage’ over outside candidates.”  The piece notes that U.S. Attorneys in Connecticut and Pennsylvania have also posted for volunteers.  Here’s some more coverage from Main Justice.

• 7.18.11 – a piece in the Texas Lawyer highlights some of the Lone Star State’s all-star pro bono firms, namely Akin Gump, Fulbright & Jaworski, Hunton & Williams, and Weil Gotshal.  As for pro bono among Texas’s large-law firm community more generally: “The State Bar of Texas and the American Bar Association recommend that attorneys donate 50 hours each year to pro bono activities. Twenty-two of the largest firms in Texas provided Texas Lawyer their pro bono statistics for 2010. The 22 firms had an average full-time equivalent (FTE) Texas attorney count of 5,457 in 2010 and donated an average of 33 pro bono hours per attorney.”

• 7.18.11 – a National Law Journal article, “Cutting to the Bone,” covers the threatened 26% cut to the Legal Services Corporation’s federal appropriation.  The article notes that this large proposed cut would take place at a time when other legal services funding streams have tapered to a trickle; highlights the plight of cash-strapped legal services providers in California, Florida, and New Jersey; and looks at what’s driving the LSC debate here in steamy Washington.  On a related note, we blogged yesterday on the importance of adequately funding the legal services community, and the role that pro bono plays in supplementing, but not substituting for, the work of legal services organizations.

• 7.16.11 – the Express-Times reports on the toll that large state budget cuts will take on Legal Services of Northwest Jersey: ” [T]he nonprofit program took its biggest hit in recent years this month from a severe budget cut.  Democrats asked for an additional $5 million in next year’s Legal Services budget. Instead, Gov. Chris Christie cut $5 million…. By the time the Christie cuts hit, [Legal Services of Northwest Jersey] — which serves Hunterdon, Morris, Somerset, Sussex and Warren counties — will have lost 31 percent of its budget since 2008. They’ve cut staff, implemented salary freezes, stopped retirement contributions for employees, and curtailed benefits. But its caseload remains substantial.”

• 7.16.11 – amidst all the recent discussion of politicians cutting legal services funding out of fiscal necessity, here’s some nostalgia: politicians cutting legal services funding because the program is “going overboard” in its “aggressive” representation of clients.  We’re not talking about much money here, but in the current economic climate every dollar counts.  And North Carolina-based Pisgah Legal Services is losing all of its funding from Henderson County.  From the Hendersonville Tribune: “The [county] commissioners retained removal of the county’s entire $16,745 that would have gone to Pisgah Legal Services….  This change late in the budgeting process was led by commissioners’ Chairman Mike Edney. Edney, an attorney himself, explained he is among those who have seen indications of or who are concerned with allegations that PLS is overzealous. He cited as an example charging its attorney fees from landlords…. But PLS Executive Director Jim Barrett countered June 15 to the commissioners that there were very few cases of charging attorney fees, typically from a landlord defeated in court for an illegal practice. He said the average case costs $523 in PLS legal fees.”

• 7.15.11 – California has recently suffered two “-mageddons.”  One, Carmageddon, seemed a bit silly to your author, an East Coast city dweller who has difficulty grasping how the weekend closure of a freeway would cause such havoc.  The second, up in the Bay Area, is anything but silly.  This one is “Courtmageddon.”  Earlier this week we blogged about the looming closure of 25 out of 63 courtroom in San Francisco Superior Court.  As reported by the Bay Citizen: “[T]he cuts are the result of a state budget that eliminated $350 million from courts throughout California, leaving the San Francisco Superior Court with a $13.75 million deficit.  ‘This is the worst crisis in legal services that I can think of in my professional career in more than 20 years,’ said Bill Hebert, a San Francisco lawyer who is president of the State Bar of California.” 

• 7.15.11 – the Herald-Palladium reports on how the proposed LSC funding cut would affect Western Michiganders.  If the $100+ million cut goes through in Washington DC, LAWM would stand to lose about $500,000.  According to the program’s deputy director, Mary Drolet, “It would probably mean closing one office [among its seven].”  The trouble, of course, is that there is no shortage of clients.  “Drolet said 30 percent of people living in the 17 counties are eligible for services because they meet the income standard, which is less than 200 percent of the federal poverty level. ‘With those kinds of numbers the need is greater than it’s ever been,’ she said.”

• 7.15.11 – in the Pelican State, WAFB reports that Southeast Louisiana Legal Services is opening a Baton Rouge office:  “SLLS was recently selected by the federal Legal Services Corporation (LSC) to receive federal funding for civil legal aid in Baton Rouge and other parishes previously served by the Capital Area Legal Services. The LSC grant began in July. But, the entire LSC grant for the Baton Rouge area will not be available to SLLS until January.”

By: Steve Grumm

New Pro Bono Data Are Interesting, But…

Recently the American Lawyer released its annual pro bono report, which showed that BigLaw pro bono hours dipped markedly in 2010.  From AmLaw’s overview:

“Average pro bono hours for lawyers at Am Law 200 firms plummeted 8 percent in 2010 to their lowest level in three years, reversing a decade of steady growth. The overall average percentage of lawyers who did more than 20 hours of pro bono work dipped 5.2 percent.”

The Pro Bono Institute’s Esther Lardent, writing last week in the National Law Journal, took issue with the “melodramatic headlines” used in reporting those numbers.

“The ‘doom and gloom’ headlines overlook some important facts and figures….  Although it is true that major firms contributed significantly fewer hours of pro bono service in 2010 than in the previous two years, it must be noted that 2010’s law firm pro bono hours were still the third highest in history. That — after the worst recession in living memory and profound, destabilizing and continuing changes in virtually every aspect of the finances and operations of major law firms — is, in context, an accomplishment.”

…The Real Story Is…

Lardent is right.  The pro bono number changes are largely a function of fluctuations in 1) staffing and 2) fee-paying business at law firms.  (Law firms had downsized their ranks of attorneys by 2010, so the pool of potential pro bono volunteers was smaller.  And then, fee-paying business started to pick up, making BigLaw attorneys busier and leaving less time to volunteer.)  Does this explain all of the drop-off?  Maybe not.  But it explains a good bit of it.  And Lardent’s point above should not be lost: 2010’s hours were the third highest historical total.  Not too shabby. 

Another thing that should not be lost is pro bono’s end goal.  Most pro bono advocates devote their time to helping poor people achieve meaningful access to the justice system.  These advocates rely on the support of legal services providers and pro bono clearinghouses to best serve clients.  And right now, the real threats to access-to-justice are 1) the underfunding of Legal Services Corporation grantee organizations and 2) the continued slumping of non-LSC sources (chiefly, IOLTA revenues and state appropriations) which affects LSC grantees, non-LSC providers, and pro bono clearinghouses alike.

A National Law Journal piece published earlier this week highlights the financial troubles plaguing the legal services community, particularly in light of a threatened drastic slashing of LSC’s appropriation:

Pressure on the budgets of legal services programs has been building for three years, since the recession began to eat away at their various sources of funding. It began with the drop in interest rates, cutting into the money from lawyer trust accounts known as IOLTA funds, and it continued with state reductions.

The latest federal proposal by U.S. House Republicans is a 26% cut in congressional funding for the Legal Services Corp. (LSC), which with $404 million in funding makes grants to 136 groups across the country. The proposal follows a 4% midyear cut approved by Congress in April.

Directors of legal services said they’re facing painful choices, as they’re forced to make plans for scaling back their organizations to levels that existed in the 1990s

As LSC had noted in a July 6 press release, the proposed 26% slash in its funding being considered by the House could have a drastic impact on providers and their client communities:

Funding for the Legal Services Corporation (LSC) would be cut by 26 percent in Fiscal Year 2012 under a proposal announced by the House Appropriations Committee [on July 6th]. The Committee bill proposes a $300 million budget for LSC—rolling back LSC funding to a level not seen since 1999.

LSC’s preliminary estimates show that about 235,000 low-income Americans eligible for civil legal assistance at LSC-funded programs would be turned away if the Committee proposal were enacted.

…

LSC-funded programs by the end of 2011 project net staff reductions of 445 employees, including more than 200 attorneys, because of layoffs and attrition, according to survey responses provided by 121 of the 136 LSC-funded programs.  In the responses, 57 percent of the programs project budget deficits for 2011 totaling more than $19 million. Forty-two percent of the respondents said they had imposed a salary freeze, and 31 percent anticipate reducing employee benefits this year.

Some would argue that any cuts in legal services funding can be offset by the contributions of pro bono advocates.  They cannot.  Pro bono attorneys rely on legal services providers and clearinghouses to identify client communities, conduct intake, diagnose clients’ legal problems, and in some circumstances to begin handling cases before the pro bono attorneys take the reins.  Even after that point, many pro bono volunteers look to the legal services community for continued support, technical assistance, and training.  I experienced this firsthand while working as an attorney in a pro bono clearinghouse, and I hear it over and over again from pro bono counsel at law firms.

A large-scale slashing of legal services funding can not simply be offset if volunteer attorneys bump up their hours.  That is a short-sighted “solution” that demonstrates ignorance about the legal services infrastructure, and which will do little to help poor people achieve justice. LSC President Jim Sandman put it succinctly in a recent interview:  “The biggest challenge facing legal services today is lack of funding.”  Pro bono, Sandman went on to note, is a “critical supplement” to the work that legal aid lawyers do.  And he’s right.  But pro bono is not a substitute for adequately funding legal services providers.

…And Here’s What’s Next for the Access-to-Justice Funding Debate…

The LSC funding rollback to $300 million made it through the full House Appropriations Committee’s markup, and it very well could be passed by the full House in the next several days.  Undoubtedly legal services proponents in the Senate and the Obama Administration will push for a more robust appropriation.  And the National Legal Aid & Defender Association, among others, is on the case.

Nonetheless, it is very troubling that at a time when client need is so high and resources are already strained, legal services funding is on the chopping block.  Now is the worst possible time to slash the vital funding that will allow legal services providers to maximize not only their own resources, but also to leverage the pro bono resources that play a signficant role in ensuring that “equal access to justice” is an achievable end, not an empty slogan.

By Lauren Forbes

The social media storm has not passed over legal aid advocates.  The growth of social media offers new ways for advocates to connect with and learn from one another. Which resources are advocates using? A recent survey conducted by the editorial team of Clearinghouse Review: Journal of Poverty Law and Policy attempted to learn more about poverty lawyers’ current use of online resources.

By a wide margin, the most popular online resource used for legal research or professional development is listservs, which are used by 81% of respondents. Only 29.1% of respondents indicated that they use RSS newsfeeds to stay on top of relevant news and information. In addition, although more respondents reported using social media than in earlier surveys, professional use of social media is still quite limited.

A more detailed summary of the survey results is available at Techno.la, a technology blog for legal aid and public interest advocates. The editors of Clearinghouse Review are grateful to the survey respondents for their input. The information collected in this and other surveys will be extraordinarily helpful as we plan future content for Clearinghouse Review.

By Jamie Bence

The National Law Journal reports today on the House of Representatives’ proposed 26% cut to Legal Services Corporation funding, following a 4% reduction in April. As we had previously reported, LSC definitely seems to be on the discretionary-spending chopping block in the House:

Rep. Frank Wolf (R-Va.), the chairman of the House Appropriations subcommittee with jurisdiction over the LSC, describes himself as a supporter of its work. At a July 13 hearing, Wolf didn’t directly address the LSC, instead speaking generally about the need to reduce the federal budget deficit. “In this austere budget climate, we have had to make some tough choices in order to preserve at a freeze level the funding for core federal law enforcement functions,” Wolf said.

Still, the proposed 26% cut to LSC is much deeper than the 6% cut to all programs that fall within Wolf’s subcommittee. Those programs include such popular initiatives as the National Science Foundation, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and Commerce Department trade promotion.

The impact of such cuts on the ground will likely be drastic. Providers have already seen cutbacks in staffing, resources and the types of services they are able to provide:

“How do you choose between, for example, somebody who’s being evicted and someone who’s the victim of domestic violence? And yet those are the kinds of choices we have,” said Melville “De” Miller Jr., president of Legal Services of New Jersey. “None of them are satisfactory. They all deny equal access to justice.”

Miller said his state had 720 legal services workers at the beginning of 2008, but the number has since dropped to 490 and will likely continue to fall. An array of other cuts are under consideration, he said: closing offices, restricting the types of cases handled and lowering the income ceiling to be eligible for services.

While this proposal would likely pass in the House, there are several other players yet to weigh in. While LSC requested $516.5 million, the Obama administration has requested the same appropriations made in 2010. The Senate appropriations will likely be higher than the House numbers, but in these early stages, it remains unclear how deep the cuts will run.  One certainty is that access-to-justice advocates are going to be gearing up for a fight to ensure that LSC doesn’t suffer too large a cut.