Minnesota State Bar Association


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Access to Justice

ANNOUNCING ...

North Star Lawyer

A New MSBA Pro Bono Recognition Program

The Minnesota State Bar Association is proud to recognize members who provide 50 hours or more of pro bono legal services per year as North Star Lawyers.

Lawyers who serve the poor without charge should be celebrated. By generously donating their time and talent, they change lives. They help people who otherwise could not afford counsel achieve justice. The Minnesota State Bar Association is tremendously proud of our members who render free legal services to low-income persons.

Starting in 2013 (for hours volunteered in 2012), the MSBA will give special recognition to members who provide 50 hours or more of legal services in a calendar year to low income people at no fee and without expectation of fee.

Members who report such voluntary service will be recognized as a North Star Lawyer, and included on the annual roster published in Bench & Bar. They will also receive a certificate suitable for framing and will be invited to a gala event honoring all the North Star Lawyers.

Visit the North Star Lawyer home page for more details.

Certification forms can be found on the North Star page.

Real Faces of Pro Bono

As part of National Pro Bono Week, October 21 - 27, the MSBA presented a CLE entitled Real Faces of Pro Bono. Pro bono lawyers provide crucial representation to low income people who would not otherwise be able to afford their services. A panel of attorneys and their clients will discuss the work they have done together and how that work has affected both the client’s and attorney’s lives.

View the program here.

2012 Pro Bono Standard Firms

In 2008, the MSBA Assembly passed the MSBA Pro Bono Standard to encourage law practices to help meet the needs of low-income Minnesotans. The Standard asks firms to commit to providing one percent of the firm’s lawyers’ collective billable hours during the first year of participation, two percent during the second year, and, for firms with more than 100 lawyers, three percent during and after the third year. In 2011, the MSBA Assembly amended the Standard to include corporate, governmental and other public law offices in which at least one-half of the lawyers participate in pro bono service.

View the list of firms

Enroll in the Standard

Civil Gideon Task Force Final Report Now Available

The final report of the Civil Gideon Task Force is now available. Access to Justice: Assessing Implementation of Civil Gideon in Minnesota contains detailed information about low income people's needs for representation in matters involving basic human needs, the impacts when counsel is not available, and recommendations for addressing the justice gap. The report has been accepted by the MSBA Assembly and is being reviewed for potential further action by the Bar.

More information about the Task Force is here. Questions about the report can be directed to MSBA staff liaison to the Task Force, Steve Hirsh.

Minnesota Client Access, Barriers and Solutions Study

The Minnesota Client Access, Barriers and Solutions Study ("MN-CABS Study") was a joint project of the Minnesota State Bar Association, the Bremer Foundation, the Minnesota Legal Services Coalition and the Legal Services Advisory Committee. The purpose of the MN-CABS Study was to identify specific groups of legal services-eligible clients around Minnesota, the barriers they face to obtaining legal services, and strategies for overcoming those barriers.

This study was the first of its kind in Minnesota and in the country. Its innovative methodology - using direct surveys and focus groups of eligible clients, much of it conducted by staff from legal services and pro bono programs that have been trained by University of Minnesota researchers - provides a model of client-centered analysis that goes well beyond generic needs assessments.

The study was released on September 13, 2011 and is available at the following link: Final MN-CABS Report.

The MSBA Legal Assistance to the Disadvantaged Committee has developed a Program Self-Audit to help programs include the findings of the report as they set local priorities. Links to the Sel-Audit and other MN-CABS resources are available here.

For more information about the report, contact MSBA Access to Justice Director Steve Hirsh at shirsh@mnbar.org.

Celebrate Pro Bono: 2009 Report on Pro Bono Legal Service

Through partnerships with the courts, the legal profession, and the community, the MSBA promotes access to justice on several fronts. The MSBA plays a central role in advancing pro bono activities among lawyers, and supports programs providing legal services to low-income and disadvantaged Minnesotans.

For Lawyers: Resources, networking, and CLEs for pro bono and legal services lawyers.	For the Public: Multi-lingual fact sheets and booklets on poverty law topics and links to legal aid offices.

For the State: Grants for programs targeting legal assistance to the disadvantaged & other initiatives	For the Public: Online Self-Help Center to assist people representing themselves in District Court