by Kathy Para
JBA Pro Bono Committee Chair
The Florida Bar defines pro bono public service in our Rules of Professional Conduct:
RULE 4-6.1 PRO BONO PUBLIC SERVICE
(a) Professional Responsibility. Each member of The Florida Bar in good standing, as part of that member’s professional responsibility, should (1) render pro bono legal services to the poor and (2) participate, to the extent possible, in other pro bono service activities that directly relate to the legal needs of the poor. This professional responsibility does not apply to members of the judiciary or their staffs or to government lawyers who are prohibited from performing legal services by constitutional, statutory, rule, or regulatory prohibitions. Neither does this professional responsibility apply to those members of the bar who are retired, inactive, or suspended, or who have been placed on the inactive list for incapacity not related to discipline.
(b) Discharge of the Professional Responsibility to Provide Pro Bono Legal Service to the Poor. The professional responsibility to provide pro bono legal services as established under this rule is aspirational rather than mandatory in nature. The failure to fulfill one’s professional responsibility under this rule will not subject a lawyer to discipline. The professional responsibility to provide pro bono legal service to the poor may be discharged by: (1) annually providing at least 20 hours of pro bono legal service to the poor; or (2) making an annual contribution of at least $350 to a legal aid organization.
The Rule goes on to state that collective discharge of this professional responsibility is permissible by law firms when the plan has been previously filed with the circuit pro bono committee and only when providing pro bono legal service to the poor.
Collective satisfaction of this professional responsibility is permitted by law firms only under a collective satisfaction plan that has been filed previously with the circuit pro bono committee and only when providing pro bono legal service to the poor (1) in a major case or matter involving a substantial expenditure of time and resources; or (2) through a full-time community or public service staff; or (3) in any other manner that has been approved by the circuit pro bono committee in the circuit in which the firm practices.
Here are some of the comments on the Rule from the Florida Bar: Pro bono legal service to the poor is an integral and particular part of a lawyer’s pro bono public service responsibility. As our society has become one in which rights and responsibilities are increasingly defined in legal terms, access to legal services has become of critical importance.
This is true for all people, be they rich, poor, or of moderate means. However, because the legal problems of the poor often involve areas of basic need, their inability to obtain legal services can have dire consequences. The vast unmet legal needs of the poor in Florida have been recognized by the Supreme Court of Florida and by several studies undertaken in Florida over the past two decades.
The Supreme Court of Florida has further recognized the necessity of finding a solution to the problem of providing the poor greater access to legal service and the unique role of lawyers in our adversarial system of representing and defending persons against the actions and conduct of governmental entities, individuals, and nongovernmental entities.
As an officer of the court, each member of The Florida Bar in good standing has a professional responsibility to provide pro bono legal service to the poor.
“Pro bono legal service” means legal service rendered without charge or expectation of a fee for the lawyer at the time the service commences.
Legal services written off as bad debts do not qualify as pro bono service.
Most pro bono service should involve civil proceedings given that the government must provide indigent representation in most criminal matters. Pro bono legal service to the poor is to be provided not only to those persons whose household incomes are below the federal poverty standard but also to those persons frequently referred to as the “working poor.”
Lawyers providing pro bono legal service on their own need not undertake an investigation to determine client eligibility. Rather, a good faith determination by the lawyer of client eligibility is sufficient.
Pro bono legal service to the poor need not be provided only through legal services to individuals; it can also be provided through legal services to charitable, religious, or educational organizations whose overall mission and activities are designed predominately to address the needs of the poor. For example, legal service to organizations such as a church, civic, or community service organizations relating to a project seeking to address the problems of the poor would qualify.
There are many opportunities to provide pro bono legal services to low-income families throughout the Fourth Judicial Circuit. For information on those opportunities, contact Kathy Para, chair of The JBA Pro Bono Committee,[email protected], 356-8371, ext. 363.