Albany, NY – With New York set to become the first state to require lawyers to perform 50 hours of pro bono work as a condition for getting a license, Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman and other officials plan to unveil details in Manhattan.
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Lippman, who announced the program in May, says it means about a half-million hours of urgently needed free legal work yearly for New York’s poor, while helping instill many career-long commitments to keep doing it.
About 10,000 new lawyers pass the state’s bar exam annually.
More than 20 law schools nationally require students to do pro bono work, while most others have clinics where students can get experience under faculty supervision.
Details will be announced Wednesday at New York University’s law school. The program starts next year.
This may be well-intentioned but short-sighted. Many law school provide “clinics” that parallel real-life practice but they do not necessarily provided enough practical skills to qualify newly minted lawyers to take on clients solo. Even though these pro-bono mandates say that experienced lawyers will supervise, it is quite a burden on them. I volunteered for a pro-bono program while still in law school but the experienced staff was so overworked that they had no time to train or assist me. I left the program because the people that came to the program were facing eviction. A mistake on my part could have mean homelessness for them. Half a loaf may be better than none, but I dont agree that applies to law. These well-meaning mandates can result in the poor getting harmed by inexperienced practictioners. I am willing to take a low paying entry level job where I can develop my skills under good supervisory attormeys, but using poor people as guinea pigs in pro-bono programs which by necessity are simply assembly line justice is not fair or helpful to anyone.
A 50 hour requirement is really not that much…most lawyers in our firm and other large NYC firm provide 75 to 100 hours annually and those hours are considered the same as “billable” hours for purposes of annual bonus determinations. Hopefully, more firms will encourage their attorneys to exceed the 50 hour requirment.
What about pro bono for doctors and dentists.
Seeing the billing practices that lawyers have today (1 hour minimum for a 1 minute phone call). I can see a lawyer going to Parking violations bureau. He will stand there for 1 hour, giving advice to 50 people for free. Voila! 50 billable hours and he is free for the next year.
A better way is to take his billable SALARY for 50 hours, and donate that amount. And that amount should not be deductable from taxes.
Not all attorneys end up in the white shoe law firms and can afford to contribute of their time while shaping their corporate image. Many attorneys have a hard time making ends meet and have hefty student loans to pay off on a 50,000 or less yearly salary in a small or mid sized firm (or in public interest etc.) bit is wrong to expect all attorneys to give back to the community equally. That’s like asking for everyone to pay taxes at the same rate! Maybe nurses and therapists should volunteer 50 hours yearly. Some of them make significantly more per year than attorneys that did not make law review or attend a top tier law school. How will the pro bono hours be calculated? Can you write off billable hours that were left unpaid? The closing you did for your brother in law? Legal advice you gave your cousin getting divorced?
Lawyers generally know nothing coming out of law school. Additionally, this is the worst job market for lawyers since the advent of the profession. This seems like a great idea.
10,000 new attorneys “each year” !!! Wew ! Now everyone can sue and counter sue anyone in NY and use a different lawyer every time. Is this the future of out economy? Disturbing news.
BTW 50 hours is very little for an attorney, the ones I know do it in an hour.
Isn’t forcing people to work for free called slavery in well adjusted societies?