Many lawyers who retire or otherwise leave the active practice of law convert their bar membership to inactive status to avoid the expense of mandatory bar dues and continuing legal education programs. Some lawyers, particularly retirees, may have moved to states in which they are not licensed to practice law.

More than 80 percent of civil legal needs of low income persons are not being met. Yet, one source of volunteers, retired and otherwise inactive lawyers, face barriers to doing pro bono work because they are no longer active bar members or may live in a state in which they are not licensed to practice law. In the mid-1980's, states began to adopt pro bono practice rules to address the hurdles that licensure rules may pose when retired or otherwise inactive lawyers seek to participate in pro bono service.

The rules were originally aimed at retirees and designed to allow them to continue to practice law under certain circumstances. In recent years, the target audience has broadened beyond retired lawyers to attract otherwise qualified and experienced younger lawyers who are not in active practice but who are interested in public service. The trend is to encourage pro bono practice while also establishing guidelines to protect both the public and the profession by requiring that (1) the volunteer activity be performed under the auspices of a legitimate legal services or other non-profit organization; (2) the volunteer be a member of a bar in good standing; and (3) the volunteer work be supervised by a lawyer licensed in the jurisdiction.

Pro bono practice rules have a common goal but vary from state to state. What follows is a list of states and jursidictions that have enacted emeritus pro bono rules, the year the rules were applied, and contact information for a person responsible for overseeing the implementation of the rule.

No Longer on Their Own: Using Emeritus Attorney Pro Bono Programs to Meet Unmet Civil Legal Needs (free brochure)

The ABA Commission on Law and Aging has published a brochure designed to help states successfully recruit emeritus pro bono attorneys to provide critically needed legal services to vulnerable seniors and low- and moderate-income individuals who are now facing their legal problems on their own. The brochure is titled “No Longer on Their Own: Using Emeritus Attorney Pro Bono Programs to Meet Unmet Civil Legal Needs.” Limited print copies are available for free from the ABA Commission or download the PDF version online at http://www.abanet.org/aging/docs/V2_pro_bono_emeritus_brochure_3-5.pdf

For information to assist in enacting rules or establishing a pro bono emeritus program, contact David Godfrey at Godfreyd@staff.abanet.org.