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| Give Thanks Through
Pro Bono Later
this month is the time we traditionally give thanks for the many blessings
we enjoy. It is also a time when we are reminded of those
who are less fortunate. And
many of us are moved to give of our time or money to help those in
need. This year I encourage you to volunteer your
skills as a lawyer to help solve a legal problem for someone in need. You have probably seen the bar association’s advertisement
in this magazine urging lawyers to “Rediscover the true meaning of
law” by volunteering to provide pro
bono civil legal services. “It’s
about justice and an opportunity for everyone … without you, someone
needing a lawyer to get justice will go without.”
You may have also heard about the MSBA
Legal Assistance to the Disadvantaged (LAD) Committee’s attorney recruitment
effort this year to “Up Your Pro Bono.” If not, you can read more about it on page 41
of this issue of Bench &
Bar I cannot say it any better than the advertisement, and
I cannot recruit any better than our LAD Committee.
But let me put the need in context.
The pro bono
efforts of the bar have never been more important.
We have a strong tradition of supporting legal aid and pro bono programs here in Minnesota and
of our lawyers volunteering their services.
But still the unmet needs are huge.
We have six legal assistance programs in Minnesota that
receive a portion of their funding from the federal Legal Services
Corporation (LSC). Over
the past year, LSC gathered
data from Minnesota and all other states to complete its study of
legal needs of low-income persons.
The study concluded in August 2005, before the hurricanes hit
our country’s gulf coast. LSC’s
report “Documenting the Justice Gap in America:
The Current Unmet Civil Legal Needs of Low-Income Americans”1
verified that 80 percent of the legal needs of the poor are not being
addressed. The study reports
that, of the actual legal needs that are identified, fewer than one
in five is addressed either by a lawyer privately (paid or pro
bono) or in a legal aid office. The study also found that there is a 50 percent refusal-of-service
rate for those who do seek assistance. That means for every one person who qualifies
for assistance and seeks it from an LSC-funded
program, there is one person who is turned away because of the program’s
lack of resources. LSC found that roughly 1 million cases are turned down each year because of
inadequate resources to handle the cases.
This “justice gap” is even greater when you consider that countless
people with legal needs never ask for assistance, and when you consider
that these numbers were tabulated before this season’s hurricanes
added thousands of victims to the rolls of those of needing legal
assistance. You might be asking, “Who is in need of my services?” The LSC
reports that the largest area of unmet need is family problems — including
domestic violence and abuse, custody issues, and issues involving
social services. The second
largest need is for assistance with housing problems.
Juvenile, employment, income and consumer issues also ranked
high. There is plenty of work for volunteer attorneys
in transactional work as well as litigation. Opportunities are available statewide and you can volunteer
by calling the lad Program
at (612) 278-6348 or toll free (800) 882-6722.
An MSBA staff
member will return your call. If
you prefer to explore opportunities on your own, see the directory
of opportunities online at http://www.projusticemn.org/oppsguide.cfm or
consult the listings of volunteer attorney programs on pages 50-53
of your 2005 Bench & Bar
directory. The civil legal needs of low-income people involve basic
and essential human needs — protection from abusive relationships,
safe and habitable housing, access to necessary health care, disability
payments to help lead independent lives, healthy child custody arrangements
with adequate child support, and relief from financial exploitation. This Thanksgiving, use your talents giving what you are
uniquely qualified to give. Let
others serve turkey to the needy while you provide pro
bono legal assistance to someone whose life may depend on it.
c Notes Update on Katrina Relief As was reported in this column last month, MSBA is mounting a major fundraising effort
to provide disaster relief assistance to victims of this summer’s
hurricanes. All members are
encouraged to contribute to the funds, administered by the Minnesota
State Bar Foundation, which include: Katrina Legal Relief Fund. Donations
to this fund will be used in rebuilding the legal infrastructure of
Gulf states affected by the storms.
In cooperation with the charitable foundations of bar associations
in the affected areas, the Fund will help to restore damaged offices
and records of legal services and pro bono programs so they can resume service
to their clients. Katrina Humanitarian Relief Fund. This
fund is for general humanitarian relief and donations will be sent
to organizations that provide such relief. Donors can designate their donation to the organization
of their choice. Contributions are tax-deductible.
For more information or to donate, call (612) 333-1183. |
