Pro Bono and the Courts
Court involvement is an essential element of pro bono delivery. Judges, for example, by virtue of their position, are viewed as leaders in both the legal community and the community at large. Recently, the ABA House of Delegates approved policy promoting judicial support and promotion of pro bono . Judicial support of pro bono can increase lawyers' acceptance of pro bono responsibility and increase the acceptance of pro bono as a necessary component of the delivery of access to justice.
How Judges Can Participate in Pro Bono
Although members of the judiciary are unable to represent clients, they are able to participate in pro bono in a number of meaningful ways. Proposed language to the ABA Model Code of Judicial Conduct allows judges to encourage attorneys to participate in programs providing pro bono legal services. The proposed commentary also encourages judges to train attorneys to do pro bono legal work and to recognize pro bono attorneys who do pro bono work.
Three states also include in their Codes of Judicial Conduct commentary specifically addressing judicial involvement in pro bono. For example, Nevada's commentary clarifies that judges can assist organizations in recruiting attorneys to provide pro bono legal services as long as the recruitment is not perceived as coercive. Its commentary also states that judges can provide an organization with solicitation material for use in its recruitment materials and can request that attorneys accept pro bono representation of cases before them. Both Florida's and Indiana's codes have commentary which state that judges may engage in activities intended to encourage attorneys to perform pro bono services, including participating in events that recognize attorneys for doing pro bono work.
Judges may support local pro bono programs by writing general letters to local bar members, encouraging them to join the pro bono panel. Judges may appear at pro bono recognition events and present recognition awards to recipients. Judges can also promote pro bono representation by assigning pro bono counsel a specific time for appearances to reduce their waiting time, and if feasible, to allow these cases to be placed first on the docket. These and other activities are permitted under most judicial ethical rules and are of great assistance to pro bono programs.
The ABA Center for Pro Bono has numerous materials available suggesting options for judicial participation in pro bono, including articles "Expanding Pro Bono: The Judiciary's Power to Open Doors" and "A Rule to Show Cause On the Courts: How the Judiciary Can Help Pro Bono" Part I and Part II , in past issues of Dialogue that describe various activities suitable for the judiciary. Additionally, the Center's Clearinghouse Library contains additional materials concerning judicial involvement in pro bono, including sample recruiting letters, sample resolutions, speeches and articles on pro bono by judges, and much more.
Court-Based Pro Bono
Judges may also participate in and promote pro bono by creating programs in the courts. Court-based pro bono programs may range from something simple to complex. For example, the U.S. District Court in northern California posts cases in need of pro bono attorneys on its website. An example of a more complex program is the U.S. District Court in northern Illinois , where attorneys are required to join a pro bono panel when they are members of a court-associated bar. Additional models for court-based pro bono are described in the Compendium of Pro Bono Rules and Policies: U.S. Courts, available through the Center for Pro Bono's Clearinghouse.
The Judiciary: Leading the Pro Bono Effort Statewide and Locally
The judiciary may play a leadership role in promoting and developing pro bono on a statewide level. The Conference of Chief Justices has encouraged judges to do so, in Resolution VII "Encouraging Pro Bono Service in Civil Matters" adopted in 1997 and in Resolution 23 "Leadership to Promote Equal Justice", adopted in 2001. The Maryland Judicial Commission, established by the Chief Judge, issued a report with findings and recommendations for, among other things, the role the judiciary could play in pro bono. In New York, the Chief Judge of the Unified Court System created a position of Deputy Chief Administrative Judge for Justice Initiatives to work on pro bono and other legal services delivery issues. The New York judiciary also played a role in establishing a rule providing CLE credit for pro bono representation.
Judicial involvement in and promotion of pro bono may also take place locally. Florida, New Mexico, Nevada , Indiana, and Maryland involve judges in a "hands-on" manner to promote pro bono. In these states, court rules establish a system in which pro bono efforts are organized into districts with local judges responsible for each district's efforts. The involvement of judges at the local level in these states has helped to increase local bar support for pro bono and the recruitment of pro bono attorneys.
How Other Attorney Employees Can Participate in Pro Bono
Courts can set an example for the bar by encouraging their own attorney employees to do pro bono work. These attorneys are subject to the rules of professional responsibility, in particular, those pertaining to pro bono where they are admitted to practice, and they should have the opportunity to engage in pro bono and public service work as described by the rules. Attorneys who are court employees can engage in a wide range of pro bono work, including estate planning, benefit counseling, landlord-tenant disputes, and debtor-creditor issues. Naturally, all matters should be carefully screened to ensure that the lawyer's pro bono work does not create conflicts of interest. Court attorney employees who are interested in pro bono can also view the Standing Committee's webpage on Government Attorneys and Pro Bono to get some additional ideas for types of pro bono work available.
Where to Get more Information on Judicial and Court Attorney Employee Involvement in Pro Bono
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The Center for Pro Bono maintains a large collection of materials on judicial pro bono involvement in the Center's Clearinghouse. For more information or materials on pro bono activities for members of the judiciary, please contact the Center for Pro Bono at (312) 988-5759 or .
