OUR MISSION STATEMENT |
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The DC Pro Bono Library has been operated by the Law Offices of Carolyn Elefant since August 1999. We first developed the page because of our belief
that the Internet and technology could aid in addressing our legal profession's longstanding
challenge of ensuring that every member of our society has meaningful access to law.
However, in the five years that legal resources have been available on the Internet, little
progress has been made towards using those resources to provide pro bono services.
In recent years, my concern about our profession's ability to provide pro bono services to all who need them has increased, rather than decreased with the influx of large law firms and their expansive resources into the pro bono arena. For example, in the District of Columbia, where I practice, at least 30 large firms have volunteered to staff the DC Bar's Public Service Activities Pro Bono Clinic. (go to DC Bar Home Page, select pro bono option). Similarly, 700 firms nationally have banded together to create a Pro Bono Institute to trade ideas on large firm incorporation of pro bono into firm practice and to share ideas on pro bono matters such as client referral forms or ways of publicizing pro bono efforts. And the firms' billable hours devoted to pro bono are indisputably large; for example, this past year, Arnold and Porter was the winner of the DC Bar's Pro Bono Law Firm Award; it reported devoting 42,000 billable hours to pro bono work. But the problem is despite ALL of these massive efforts, according to Robert Weiner, Chairman of the DC Bar's PSAC program, "only a small fraction of the legal needs of the poor in the District of Columbia are met." And now, the bar has undertaken a study to explore what can be done to address the decline in pro bono now that law firms must put pressure on attorneys to put in more billable hours necessitated by recent salary increases. ALthoughwith cutbacks to programs formerly funded by the Legal Services Corporation, the needs of the poor for representation have probably increased and the large firm effort has merely replaced programs which have been cut. Still, I am also concerned that in many instances, we are not getting the full "bang for the buck" out of lawyers' pro bono efforts. I suspect that in many instances, pro bono attorneys, from solo practitioners to large firms are reinventing the wheel over and over again in handling cases which should be routine and that many of the hours reportedly spent on pro bono merely reflect this duplication of effort. I am also concerned that even with our best and most efficient pro bono efforts, that many individuals may still go unserved. That is because most of the legal aid organizations which refer cases to pro bono attorneys have in place low income cutoffs. Some individuals just marginally exceed these cutoffs and may experience some of the same problems as the very poorest, but at the same time, cannot afford to hire an attorney. By making pro bono work product publicly available through the Internet, solo practitioners and small attorneys may be able to lower the costs of assisting this class of clients and might be willing to take them on at a reduced fee schedule, thereby providing representation to a broader span of individuals. However, these developments -- elimination of duplication of effort and the expansion of lawyer access to pro bono work product -- are only possible with the Internet. And yet, the Internet offers few substantive pro bono resources. For example, pleadings and briefs filed in pro bono cases are PUBLIC RECORD -- anyone with significant time or inclination can go to the courthouse and track these materials down. Yet with only a handful of exceptions, these types of pro bono resources are not available anywhere on the Internet. Indeed, these materials are not yet available in the LOCE Pro Bono Library, though it is my aspiration to someday provide these materials. Another source of information absent from the Internet are the excellent training manuals prepared by the DC Bar and various legal organizations for training volunteers to handle pro bono cases. For example, in March 1999, I took a full day training course sponsored by the DC Bar on Consumer Protection issues. Both the instructors and the course manual prepared by them were absolutely top quality and I reference the manual often. But as I page through the 200 page manual, I can't help but think how useful it would be if it were made available on line. I am certain that all the materials in the manual were prepared on computer disk; the costs associated with uploading the materials either in a text format, or even converting the documents to HTML with links to case and statute URL's would be minimal. In fact, there are probably many individuals, such as paralegals or non-DC attorneys who would like to take on pro bono work but cannot because they are not licensed to practice in DC. Converting, researching and uploading training manuals would enable these individuals to carry out pro bono work. Finally, what I have found most frustrating in the District of Columbia is that it lags behind other jurisdictions in the availability of standard information, such as municipal regulations or judicial decisions. Although finally, as of September 1999, D.C. Court of Appeals decisions have gone on line, courtesy of the D.C. Bar, the DC Municipal Regulations nor and decisions or orders from the DC Superior Court remain unavailable on line. This is in stark contrast to other jurisdictions, such as New York or California, where judicial decisions, regulations, landlord tenant decisions and other materials are readily available. The DC Bar should take steps to assist the courts and government agencies in obtaining the funds to make these materials available or to secure the assistance of local law schools to undertake posting these decisions (for example, Georgetown Law School currently posts decisions from the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit). In any event, to start the ball rolling, I have, through the LOCE District of Columbia Pro Bono Resource Library, attempted to compile resources which would be useful in handling pro bono matters. The library links to the most substantive sources possible, which contain statutes, regulations, handbooks and forms which can be used to assist indigent clients. I hope that the site can facilitate and cut down on the time needed to research pro bono matters. I also hope that the site can be used to service clients directly at intake sessions; for example, lawyers can bring a laptop and modem to an intake facility and perhaps check a client's social security benefits or fill out an INS form directly on the spot by accessing these materials from the on-line pro bono library. Although the LOCE Pro Bono Library does not, at this point, contain the pleadings or briefs which I had wished for inclusion, I hope that in time that these materials will be made available on-line; if not at my site, then somewhere else publicly accessible. I believe that with the Internet and technology, as well as some creativity and cooperation, the bar can make great strides towards converting our profession's aspiration of "access to law for all" into a reality in the next millenium. |
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LOCE's DC Pro Bono Library LOCE Home Page |