State-by-State Pro Bono Reporting Policies
| ABA Model Rule 6.1 | Table of State Ethics Rules | Standards for Pro Bono Programs | Emeritus Attorney Rules | Pro Bono Reporting | CLE Credit for Doing Pro Bono |
| Guide for Bar Leaders and Others | Arguments in Favor and Against |
| Massachusetts State |
** (S.Ct. Mandatory Reporting |
Voluntary Reporting |
Number Report- ing |
Date of Adop- tion |
Comments | Type of Bar Unified (U) or Voluntary (V) |
Contact |
| Alabama | X | U | Linda Lund 334-269-1515 x2246 linda.lund@alabar.org |
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| Alaska | X | U | Krista Scully 907-272-7469 scullyk@ alaskabar. org | ||||
| Arizona | X (on dues statement) |
1994 | Response rates: 31% in '95; 35% in '96. | U | Betty Flores 602-252-4804 x215 Betty.Flores@staff.azbar.org |
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| Arkansas | X | V | Mary Henry 501-376-3423 mhenry@ arkansas legal services .org | ||||
| California | X | U | Sharon Ngim 415-538-2267 sharon.ngim@ calbar.ca.gov | ||||
| Colorado | Rejected
(S.Ct. rejected in 5/99) |
X | V | Kathleen Schoen 303-824-5310 kschoen@ cobar.org | |||
| Connecticut | X | V | Patty Renaud 860-612-2003 prenaud @ctbar.org | ||||
| Delaware | X | Janine Howard 302-478-8680 x207 jhoward dvls.org | |||||
| DC | X | U | Maureen T. Syracuse 202-737-4700 x290 msyracuse@ dcbar.org | ||||
| Florida | X (on dues statement--failure to report is disciplinary offense) |
1993, upheld 1997 | Rule 6.1. Compliance rates: 90% in '97 and '98; 87% in '99; 88% in '00. Annual cost approx. $10,000. Effected significant increases in participation and monetary contributions. |
U | Sheila M. Meehan 850-385-7900 sheila@ floridalegal. org | ||
| Georgia | X (on dues statement and on webpage) |
6/00 | Response rate: 8% in '98 (via CLE Form); Rule 6.1 adopted 6/00; reporting policy adopted after promotion by two members of S.Ct. | U | Michael Monahan 404-527-8762 mike@ gabar.org | ||
| Hawaii | X (separate questionnaire included with dues statement) |
1995 |
Rule 6.1. Compliance rates: 10% in '95; 33% in '96; 33.5% in '97. [12/97] |
U | Moya Gray 808-528-7051 moya@ vlsh.org | ||
| Idaho | X | U | Carol Craighill 208-334-4510 ccraighi@ isb.state. id.us | ||||
| Illinois | X (on dues statement) |
6/06 | V | Dina Merrell 312-554-1206 dmerrell@ chicagobar.org | |||
| Indiana | Rejected | X | Mandatory rejected in favor of judicial cmtes., i.e. Rule 6.6 adopted 10/97. [12/98] | V | Monica Fennell 317-639-5465 probono@ inbar.org | ||
| Iowa | X | V | Brett Toresdahl 515-244-8617 isbavlp@ dwx.com | ||||
| Kansas | X | V | Janessa Akin 785-234-5696 jakin@ ksbar.org | ||||
| Kentucky | X (on dues statement) |
1992 | Rule 6.1. Response rates: 12% in '96; 15% in '98. |
U | Tamra Gormley 859-255-9913 x18 tgormley@ ajfky.org | ||
| Louisiana | X (full page form enclosed with dues statement) |
6/98 | Response rates 8-9% in '98 and 12.66% in 2001. | U | Monte Mollere 504-619-0146 mmollere@ lsba.org | ||
| Maine | X | V | Anne Perillo 207-774-4518 x270 aperillo@ vlp.org | ||||
| Maryland | X (failure to report is a disciplinary offense) | 2/02 | Response rate: 7-8% in '96. Mandatory reporting adopted along with rule for local committees system. | V | Sharon Goldsmith 410-837-9379 sgoldsmith@ probonomd.org | ||
| Massachusetts | Rejected | X | Cmte. of Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) recommended mandatory in preliminary report 4/98 but eliminated from final report 11/98 due to controversy. | V | Meg Connolly 617-423-0648 meg@ gbls.org | ||
| Michigan | Under consideration |
Working Group (WG) of Planning Cmte. (PC) of Access to Justice Task Force (AJTF) recommended later consideration of mandatory if voluntary "does not sufficiently increase attorney participation." | U | Jerome Reide 517-346-6329 jreide@ mail. michbar.org | |||
| Minnesota | X | In 7/99, MSBA approved recommendation to petition S.Ct. for "required reporting" to be included with annual attorney registration statement. Petition to S.Ct. filed 10/99, hearing 12/99, denied 4/00: "Would not significantly advance or assist in the obligation of lawyers to provide pb. svcs." | V | Caroline Palmer 612-278-6308 cpalmer@ mnbar.org | |||
| Mississippi | X (failure to report is a disiciplinary offense) | 3/05 | Approved by Bd. of Bar Commissioners. | U | Shirley Williams 601-948-4476 swilliams@ msbar.org | ||
| Missouri | X (full page form enclosed with dues statement) |
5/97 | Rule 6.1. Average 10% response rate. |
U | Steve Murrell 573-638-2240 smurrell@ mobar.org | ||
| Montana | X | 2000 | U | Ann Gilkey 406-442-7660 agilkey@ montanabar. org | |||
| Nebraska | X | U | Jean McNeil 800-927-0117 jmcneil@ nebar.com | ||||
| Nevada | X (failure to report is not a disciplinary offense) | 5/03 | Rule 191 (adopted 1996) established statewide and local cmtes. In 10/98, State Bar terminated consideration of voluntary to avoid data collection role. | U | Lynn Etkins, Esq. 800-254-2797 ext. 404 LynnE@ nvbar.org | ||
| New Hampshire | U | Virginia Martin 603-224-6942 vmartin@ nhbar.org | |||||
| New Jersey | V | Sharon Balsamo 732-937-7505 x7544 sbalsamo@ njsba.com | |||||
| New Mexico | X (on dues statement) |
1996 | Rule 6.1. Compliance rates: 32% in '97; 33% in '98. |
V | Richard Spinello 505-797-6050 rspinello@ nmbar.org | ||
| New York | Rejected
(City Bar's recommendation in '94 -S.Ct. viewed as "first step" toward mandatory svc.) |
X | In '98, anonymous voluntary mail survey sent to 10% of NY Bar members regarding '97 pro bono activities to establish benchmark for 5/97 Resolution of the Admin. Bd. of the Cts.; compliance rate: 51.3%. | V | Cynthia Feathers 518-487-5640 cfeathers@ nysba.org | ||
| North Carolina | X | V | Michelle Cofield 919-657-1565 mcofield@ ncbar.org | ||||
| North Dakota | X | U | Deb Knuth 701-255-1406 | ||||
| Ohio | X | V | Dave Bell 614-752-8919 dball@ olaf.org | ||||
| Oklahoma | X | U | Karen ("Sunny") Langdon 918-295-9422 karen.langdon@ laok.org | ||||
| Oregon | X Reporting Form |
U | Debra Maryanov 503-431-6355 dmaryanov@ osbar.org | ||||
| Pennsylvania | X | In 1999, Bar Task Force for Legal Services to the Needy considered recommending that "every attorney be obligated to report his or her financial or time commitment to legal services to the poor," but withdrew proposal due to membership's negative reaction. | V | David Trevaskis 800-932-0311 david. trevaskis@ pabar.org | |||
| Rhode Island | X | U | Susan Fontaine 401-421-5740 sfontaine@ ribar.com | ||||
| South Carolina | X | U | Jill Rothstein 803-799-6653 jill.rothstein@ scbar.org | ||||
| South Dakota | X | U | Doug Cummings 605-336-9230 e01@ erlservices.com | ||||
| Tennessee | X (on TBA dues statement) | V | Rebecca Rhodes 800-899-6993 brhodes @tnbar.org | ||||
| Texas | X | 1992 | Resolution. Response rates: 94/95 - 39.5% 95/96 - 40.1% 96/97 - 34.7% 97/98 - 21.3% 98/99 - 17.3% 99/00 - 21.1% 2000 - 38.7% 2001 - 29.6% Format changes '97-'99 reduced prominence of legal services to poor category |
U | Emily Jones 512-463-1463 x2155 ejones@ texasbar.com | ||
| Utah | Rejected | X (on dues statement) |
8/98 | Rule 6.1. S.Ct. rejected Bar Commission's mandatory proposal. |
U | Toby Brown 801-297-7027 tbrown@ utahbar.org | |
| Vermont | S.Ct. Cmte. examining pro bono issues, including reporting. | Angele Court 802-863-7153 acourt@ lawlinevt. org | |||||
| Virginia | X | 2/99 Resolution of Council of State Bar directs VSB to "periodically provide its members with the opportunity, through the annual dues statement or other means, to voluntarily report." | V | Maureen Petrini 804-775-0522 petrini@ vsb.org | |||
| Washington | X | 9/1/03 | U | Sharlene Steele 206-727-8319 sharlene@ wsba.org | |||
| West Virginia | X | V | Jean Audet 304-343-4481 | ||||
| Wisconsin | X | In 3/02, Bar's Legal Assistance Committee proposed mandatory for four-year period. BOG sent rule back to committee for revision before September 2002 meeting. Proposal rejected. | U | Jeff Brown 608-250-6177 jbrown@ wisbar.org | |||
| Wyoming | X | U | Leigh Ann Manlove 307-632-9061 lmanlove@ wyomingbar. org |
State Pro Bono Reporting: A Guide for Bar Leaders and Others Considering Strategies for Expanding Pro BonoMassachusetts
