by Richard Prior
Staff Writer
Michael Figgins got a warm reception when he pled his case for more pro bono involvement before the Jacksonville Women Lawyers Association.
“Generally, when you say pro bono, two things happen: someone raises their hand or someone leaves the room, he said. “Generally, they leave the room.
“I am continually grateful for the support from this organization, not only for your time, but your treasure as well.”
Figgins refreshed some memories about the kind of work that qualifies for pro bono and the amount of work available through Legal Aid. He also renewed his pitch to younger lawyers to continue the tradition of helping those with the greatest needs.
“The spirit of the Legal Aid program we have is we want to help as many people as we can,” he said. “The staff is experienced, and they go the last mile to get whatever they can, to ask that last question to make sure they’re not missing anything.”
Two key elements in determining if a case is pro bono are the ability to pay and the expectation of a fee. If the attorney doesn’t expect to be paid, it qualifies as pro bono.
“It’s basically doing stuff for free,” said Figgins. “If a deadbeat client doesn’t pay you, that’s not pro bono.”
There are advantages to going through JALA as attorneys look for cases to satisfy the Bar’s pro bono requirements.
The first is that Legal Aid takes care of malpractice coverage. More important, JALA covers the costs of items such as experts’ fees, discovery, depositions and litigation.
“If you do pro bono on your own,” said Figgins, “you’re going to cover those costs yourself.”
Attorneys interested in helping lighten Legal Aid’s load of pro bono cases have a broad spectrum to pluck from.
“Pro bono is literally everything,” said Figgins. “Low-income people have all the legal problems everyone else has. Too many times people think pro bono is just one type of law when in reality it’s all areas of law.”
For starters, those cases include housing, housing discrimination, health care, family law, domestic violence and predatory lending.
There are special projects for the mentally ill, refugees, seniors and persons with AIDS.
“We have many issues involving employment, wages, unemployment, sometimes discrimination in employment,” said Figgins. “If you want to do any of these things, let us know. We can use the experience you already have, or we can get you the experience you’d like to have.”
If the greatest need happens to be in an area the volunteer isn’t familiar with, JALA offers training “in all areas of law from quality people, either from the Legal Aid staff or from other people in the Bar who will train you as part of their pro bono.”
Legal Aid also will take all the help it can get with a special project, the Pediatric Initiative, conducted with doctors at Shands Hospital.
Pediatricians have told Legal Aid that many women and children who come to the hospital for well-baby visits are so overwhelmed by “social-economic issues” that their health is affected.
“They’re worried to death about bills . . . about a spouse, about a custody battle,” said Figgins. “They’re worried about a landlord who’s not doing what he’s supposed to be doing. They’re trying to get someone on disability.
“They have so many social problems that impact their health care needs. It not only affects them but their children as well.”
Legal Aid now sends volunteers and staff to the hospital to collect information about those patients’ legal needs.
“We can certainly use volunteers for that,” said Figgins. “This is a great place to do all kinds of legal issues.
“That’s new; that’s cutting edge. And it really helps the people that need the most help in our community.”
Local attorneys now volunteer between 4,000 and 5,000 hours of pro bono work a year — the full-time equivalent of three or four attorneys.
“Keep in mind there’s at least 2,000 attorneys in the Jacksonville Bar Association,” said Figgins. “So it may sound like a lot of hours, but we can do better.”
To spread the word about the need for more pro bono help, Legal Aid is targeting young lawyers at its first-ever Breakfast of Champions at the Radisson on April 28.
“We’re not getting much response from young lawyers for pro bono or for giving to our annual campaign,” said Figgins. “The young lawyers are the future of this community, and we are concerned that people who support Legal Aid won’t be here in the next 10, 20 years.
“This will be an opportunity for the champions of our profession to talk to the young lawyers with anecdotes and funny stories: things they did wrong, things that went right, things they wish they’d never done.”
Figgins hopes a good number of young lawyers will help preserve the Legal Aid legacy in Jacksonville, which has done more than most communities to provide “a wealth of justice for those who have neither.”
“Most Legal Aid programs are going to say, ‘What’s your income? Too high. Goodbye,’” he said. “We’re real fortunate to have the kind of staff that we have in Jacksonville. I think it adds to the community, and it makes us all better lawyers.”