V I R G I N I A S T A T E B A R P R E S E N T E D B Y

S P E C I A L C O M M I T T E E O N A C C E S S T O L E G A L S E R V I C E S

An Introduction to Pro Bono: We Can All Do Something

Webinar Topics and Presenters

1. Pro Bono – What Is It? Why Is It Needed? Where Are the Opportunities for Pro Bono Work? - Christopher M. Malone, Richmond, VA

2. We Can All Do Something(Ethically): An Overview of the Rules of Professional Conduct That Apply to Pro Bono Practice – Joanna Suyes, Richmond, VA

3. Pro Bono in Harrisonburg: By a Solo Practitioner – Erin Layman, Harrisonburg, VA

4. You Are Not Alone: Resources and Assistance – Alexandra Fannon, Richmond, VA

PRO BONO – WHAT IS IT? WHY IS IT NEEDED? WHERE ARE THERE OPPORTUNITIES FOR PRO BONO WORK?

Christopher M. Malone ThompsonMcMullen, P.C. Richmond, VA

Pro Bono Service – What Is It? In broadest terms, pro bono legal services include: free or reduced fee legal services in traditional areas of:

1. poverty law, 2. civil rights law, 3. public interest law, and 4. participation in activities aimed at increasing the

availability of pro bono legal services.

Pro Bono Service – What Is It? (cont.)

Pro bono includes voluntary efforts by members of the bar

1. to address the unmet need for legal services for underserved populations and

2. to provide guidance and support to organizations that seek to improve access to legal services to the poor.

Types of Pro Bono Representation Landlord tenant disputes Domestic relations law, including divorce, custody, visitation and

protective orders Housing discrimination prevention/advocacy Veterans rights protection Guardianships/conservatorships for elderly and impaired Disaster response legal assistance Housing development for low-income individuals Disability determination Education law matters/special education law Homeless issues/access to services Estate planning Health care advocacy Consumer protection/protection from creditors Public benefits entitlement Foreclosure prevention/defense Bankruptcy law Estate administration Immigration/naturalization Representation of 501(c)(3) non-profit organizations on corporate

and business issues Unemployment compensation benefit matters Tax preparation assistance/tax appeals for individuals

Why Is Pro Bono Needed? The current need for legal services in the United States is staggering.

1. A 2013 Legal Services Corporation estimate suggests that there are more than 60 million Americans who qualify for pro bono services based on poverty guideline requirements for federally funded legal services programs.

2. In 2013, LSC estimates that over 80% of the legal needs of the poor go unmet.

3. In Virginia, the percentage of unmet legal needs of the poor is similar to the national number

Why Is Pro Bono Needed? (cont.) There are a number of negative and broad-ranging societal consequences of failing to meet the legal needs of the poor, including:

1. Families face eviction and foreclosure; 2. Children go without support; 3. Veterans are deprived of their benefits; disabled

individuals are lost in the system; 4. Immigrants are taken advantage of because of their

status; 5. Employees are denied just and fair wages; 6. Elderly face lack of benefits and compromised

healthcare.

Why Is Pro Bono Needed? (cont.) There are also economic consequences of failing to address the legal needs of the poor that impact everyone, including:

1. an increased demand for emergency services; 2. higher health care expenses; 3. compromised educational opportunities and

attainment; 4. greater demand for limited statutory benefits; and 5. employment instability.

Why Is Pro Bono Needed? (cont.) Perhaps the most important reason that pro bono is needed is that it is simply the right thing to do.

1. Practicing law is a privilege and a responsibility. We have been given the privilege to practice law in Virginia. With that privilege comes a solemn responsibility as professionals to serve the benefit of others, particularly the poor.

2. Professional Fulfillment. Experience demonstrates that lawyers who actively engage in pro bono work are more satisfied and more fulfilled as lawyers.

3. Tradition of public service. As a profession, we have a long tradition of service to the public to uphold and this work is not optional. Today, pro bono service is expected of lawyers not only by the bar and the courts, but increasingly it is expected of us by our clients.

4. Paying Clients Value Pro Bono. Major corporate clients today demand accountability from their lawyers in the area of pro bono services. Clients of all types anticipate that their lawyers are doing good for the community at large. In fact, clients take note of our work in this area in surveys about their choice of and satisfaction with their lawyers.

In short, pro bono work is good for the community and good for those performing it.

Where Are the Opportunities for Pro Bono Work? As of September 15, 2013, the American Bar Association website identified 63 different locations and programs that provide pro bono legal services including:

8 separately funded legal aid programs with 34 separate offices throughout Virginia Specialty law clinics and programs for domestic violence issues, veterans representation, disaster assistance and

recovery, and regional pro bono law centers

Community Tax Law Project

Legal Information Network for Cancer (LINC)

Pro Bono Hotline Programs throughout the state

Virginia Poverty Law Center

Greater Richmond Bar Foundation/Pro Bono Clearinghouse Numerous opportunities for pro bono service to charitable/non-profit organizations in need of pro bono assistance with

a broad range of pro bono programs

Firm sponsored pro bono initiatives to address particular community needs (e.g., Hispanic community needs; wills clinics; disability rights)

Firm efforts in high profile cases to address significant civil rights issues and to effect changes in policy or law

Law school sponsored programs/initiatives to pair law students with practicing lawyers to address discrete legal needs – e.g., Post Conviction Assistance Programs; Mental Health Programs; Special Education Programs; Environmental Protection Programs

WE CAN ALL DO SOMETHING (ETHICALLY) Joanna Suyes Marks and Harrsion, P.C. Richmond, VA

VSB Rule 6.1 (a) A lawyer should render at least two percent per year of the lawyer’s professional time to pro bono publico legal services. Pro bono publico services include poverty law, civil rights law, public interest law, and volunteer activities designed to increase the availability of pro bono legal services.

VSB Rule 6.1 (cont.) (b) A law firm or other group of lawyers may satisfy their responsibility collectively under this Rule. (c) Direct financial support of programs that provide direct delivery of legal services to meet the needs described in (a) above is an alternative method for fulfilling a lawyer’s responsibility under this Rule.

ABA Model Rule 6.1 Every lawyer has a professional responsibility to provide legal services to those unable to pay. A lawyer should aspire to render at least 50 hours of pro bono publico legal services per year. In fulfilling this responsibility, the lawyer should: (a) provide a substantial majority of the 50 hours of legal

services without fee or expectation of fee to • persons of limited means or • charitable, religious, civic, community, governmental and

educational organizations in matters that are designed primarily to address the needs of persons of limited means; and

ABA Model Rule 6.1 (cont.) (b) provide any additional services through

• delivery of legal services at no fee or substantially reduced fee to individuals, groups or organizations seeking to secure or protect civil rights, civil liberties or public rights, or charitable, religious, civic, community, governmental and educational organizations in matters in furtherance of their organizational purposes, where the payment of standard legal fees would significantly deplete the organization's economic resources or would be otherwise inappropriate;

• delivery of legal services at a substantially reduced fee to persons of limited means; or

• participation in activities for improving the law, the legal system or the legal profession.

ABA Model Rule 6.1 (cont.) In addition, a lawyer should voluntarily contribute financial support to organizations that provide legal services to persons of limited means.

Rule 6.5 Limited Legal Services (a) A lawyer who, under the auspices of a program sponsored

by a nonprofit organization or court, provides short-term limited legal services to a client without expectation by either the lawyer or the client that the lawyer will provide continuing representation in the matter:

1) is subject to Rules 1.7 and 1.9(a) only if the lawyer knows that the representation of the client involves a conflict of interest; and

2) is subject to Rule 1.10 only if the lawyer knows that another lawyer associated with the lawyer in a law firm is disqualified by Rule 1.7 or 1.9(a) with respect to the matter.

(b) Except as provided in paragraph (a)(2), Rule 1.10 is inapplicable to a representation governed by this Rule.

Other Ethical Considerations • Rule 1.1: Competence – no need for special training • Rule 1.7: Conflicts – do a conflicts check • Rule 1.8(e)(2): Conflicts – you can pay costs

Pro Bono in Harrisonburg BY A SOLO PRACTITIONER

Harrisonburg-Rockingham Pro Bono Structure

Blue Ridge Legal Services Inc. (“BRLS”) ◦ Client Intake/Screening ◦ Income Qualification Screening ◦ Presents to Team Leader Team Leaders ◦ 5 Attorneys From Local Bar ◦ BRLS pitches cases to Leaders on rotating basis ◦ Team Leaders assign cases to attorneys on their team Attorneys ◦ Correspond with clients and manage cases as they see fit ◦ Provided with intake information, forms, and assistance from BRLS BRLS: Case closed through them with follow-up through clients

Harrisonburg-Rockingham Bar Association Pro Bono Referral Program

The 1982 HRBA Pro Bono Resolution ◦ Every member of the HRBA would provide a minimum of

20 hours of pro bono service each year in civil matters referred by BRLS.

◦ Every member of the bar would be assigned to one of 4 teams.

◦ Each team would have a team leader who would attend case acceptance meetings at BRLS on a rotating basis, decide which cases were meritorious and appropriate for pro bono referral, and assign those cases to members of his or her team.

◦ BRLS would provide the administrative support in coordinating and following up on the referrals.

July 24, 2014 PREPARED BY JOHN E. WHITFIELD, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, BRLS 22

Harrisonburg-Rockingham Bar Association Pro Bono Referral Program

Thirty Years Later

Other than adding a fifth team in recent years, the Pro Bono Referral Program is still operating essentially as designed over 30 years ago. It has been recognized as one of the most successful, longest-running pro bono programs in the nation. The bar now has more than 200 members.

◦ The HRBA first received a local bar project Award of Merit from the Virginia State Bar for its Pro Bono Referral Project in 1988, when it was only five years old.

◦ Since then, the HRBA was identified as a model for the Commonwealth in the Report of the Joint Committee to Study Legal Services in Virginia created by the VSB and VBA.

◦ Various awards have been earned, including national Rural Pro Bono Attorneys of the Year (“a model of the best in rural pro bono programs nationwide”), the ABA’s Harrison Tweed Award, the VSB’s Lewis F. Powell Jr. Pro Bono Award, and recognition as recently as 2011 by the national Legal Services Corporation (LSC).

July 24, 2014 INFORMATION COURTESY OF JOHN E. WHITFIELD, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR,

BRLS 23

Harrisonburg-Rockingham Bar Association Pro Bono Referral Program

For the 25 year period from 1987 to 2011 (that is, since computerized records exist), the membership of the HRBA closed 2,673 cases with 21,561 hours of donated legal services.

At a conservative $150/hour, this would represent approximately $3.23 million in donated legal services.

Most recently, in 2012, the bar closed 120 pro bono cases with 773 hours of donated services, valued at approximately $116,000.

At least 85% of the bar’s firms and SOLO PRACTITIONERS were involved in pro bono representation during the last two years.

Two of the original team leaders continue to serve in that capacity, 31 years later: Steve Weaver and Glenn Hodge.

July 24, 2014 PREPARED BY JOHN E. WHITFIELD, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, BRLS 24

Virginia’s Pro Bono Referral Program

July 24, 2014 PREPARED BY JOHN E. WHITFIELD, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, BRLS 25

0.00

0.10

0.20

0.30

0.40

0.50

0.60

0.70

0.80

Central Region Eastern Region NorthernRegion

SouthsideRegion

SouthwestRegion

Valley Region Harrisonburg-Rockingham

Bar

Virginia Overall

Number of Pro Bono Cases* Handled Per Capita During Year By Region (FY 2010-2011)

Virginia’s Pro Bono Referral Program

July 24, 2014 PREPARED BY JOHN E. WHITFIELD, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, BRLS 26

0.00%

5.00%

10.00%

15.00%

20.00%

25.00%

30.00%

35.00%

40.00%

CentralRegion

EasternRegion

NorthernRegion

SouthsideRegion

SouthwestRegion

Valley Region Harrisonburg-Rockingham

Bar

VirginiaOverall

Percentage of Attorneys Actively Participating in Pro Bono Activity through Local Legal Aid Program (FY 2010-2011)

Virginia’s Pro Bono Referral Program

July 24, 2014 PREPARED BY JOHN E. WHITFIELD, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, BRLS 27

0.00

1.00

2.00

3.00

4.00

5.00

6.00

7.00

8.00

9.00

Pro Bono Hours Donated Per Capita During Year By Region (FY 2010-2011)

You Are Not Alone: Resources and Assistance Alexandra Fannon Greater Richmond Bar Foundation Richmond, VA

Greater Richmond Bar Foundation (GRBF) Our mission is to expand public access to the justice system in central Virginia by facilitating the delivery of pro bono legal services and service projects. 1. The Pro Bono Clearinghouse 2. Pro Bono Promise 3. JusticeServer www.grbf.org or 804.780.2600

Pro Bono Clearinghouse The Pro Bono Clearinghouse is a referral

service, linking experienced volunteer attorneys with nonprofit corporations in need of legal representation on a variety of transactional matters, like personnel issues, contract negotiations, bylaw review, mergers and intellectual property issues, so our nonprofits can focus more of their resources on their charitable purpose. Over $2 million in free legal services has been provided.

Pro Bono Promise To support the critical needs of our community,

GRBF urges firms and law departments to join the Pro Bono Promise with a pledge to commit a percentage of time to the provision of pro bono legal services to the disadvantaged, and/or to include financial support of the legal service entities each year. When a culture of pro bono service is fostered, then pro bono service can truly make a difference. The Pilot participants of the Pro Bono Promise have contributed 1000’s of service hours and over $100,000 to support pro bono service delivery.

JusticeServer JusticeServer™ is an all-inclusive case

management system that has revolutionized case management assignments by pro bono providers in central-Virginia. By reducing redundancy and combining the resources of the various pro bono providers, the maintenance and upkeep costs for the pro bono providers are reduced. Equally important, JusticeServer™ is completely scalable : throughout all of Virginia or even nationwide.

VSB Access to Legal Services Committee The Access to Legal Services Committee fosters

support for free and reduced fee legal services with the goal of improving access to the legal system for all Virginians and for nonprofit charitable and civic groups that serve the public good.

The Access Committee also promotes pro bono publico services by Virginia lawyers and encourages the integrated development of like contributions by law school faculty and students, lay mediators, court reporters, interpreters, tax accountants, paralegals and members of related professions.

For more information - http://www.vsb.org/site/pro_bono/resources-for-attorneys or 804.775-0522

VSB Pro Bono Initiatives The Access to Legal Services Committee of the Virginia State Bar is commencing four initiatives to increase participation in pro bono: 1. Education – In addition to the annual Pro Bono/Access to Legal Services

Conference, VSB will be offering a series of free webinars covering topics related to pro bono work. VSB will also conduct free seminars, often in collaboration with other law organizations and bar groups, on substantive and procedural areas of law and practicum. In exchange for free CLEs, participants will certify that they will perform a commensurate number of hours of pro bono work or agree to handle a case on a pro bono basis to completion.

2. Pro Bono Training Consortium – VSB is developing a coordinated, free training program with justice system stakeholders, including law firms, corporate counsel, law schools, state, local and specialty bar associations to create curriculum, recruit faculty, produce and distribute training materials, and conduct training events throughout Virginia for those attorneys who perform pro bono work.

3. Recognition – VSB will provide greater support and recognition of exemplary pro bono efforts as well as raise awareness of critical legal needs that would benefit from pro bono legal assistance through its print and online publications.

4. Data Collection – VSB will continue to survey the field to get more accurate data on attorney participation in pro bono

Virginia Access to Justice Commission Established by Virginia Supreme Court September

13, 2013 Mission is to promote equal justice access in Virginia

with particular emphasis on the civil legal needs of Virginia residents.

Goals include coordinating access to justice activities among various groups, mobilizing legal professionals to provide legal services to low income individuals, and encouraging the development of auxiliary resources for underserved populations.

Membership includes representation from judiciary, clerks of court, legal aid organizations, VSB, VBA, corporate counsel, and at-large attorneys.

American Bar Association The ABA’s Standing Committee on Pro

Bono and Public Service offers many resources of volunteer lawyers including Pro Bono rules and policies, a clearinghouse library and a directory of pro bono service providers in Virginia. http://www.americanbar.org/groups/probono_public_service.html

Other Pro Bono Resources Virginia Bar Association – Pro Bono Resource

Center lists a number of pro bono service providers that also offer malpractice insurance to volunteer lawyers. http://vba.org/displaycommon.cfm?an=1&subarticlenbr=65

ProBono.net/va – This website provides resources for pro bono and legal services attorneys to assist in the representation of low-income and disadvantaged clients. They also offer a Pro Bono Opportunities Guide. http://www.probono.net/va/