May 21, 2007
New Orleans CityBusiness
Thomas Leggett 

As the city pool of public defenders continues to shrink, nonprofits and law firms are taking the gavel into their own hands.

Through public and private funding, the groups have been working to beef up the city’s pro-bono resources, tackling housing and property cases more prevalent post-Katrina.

“We’ve seen a tremendous increase in our housing unit,” said Sarah McMorris, a Katrina legal fellow working at the nonprofit New Orleans Legal Assistance Center. “We’ve been devoting a lot of time to issues of property title successions, FEMA rental assistance and evictions.”

Orleans Parish lost 38 percent of its public defenders after Hurricane Katrina, dropping from 42 to 26. Many remaining public defenders are working on temporary contracts.

After Katrina, NOLAC appointed two legal fellows to coordinate housing and FEMA-related services. Although NOLAC receives grants and donations from a handful of nonprofits, most of its funding comes from the Legal Services Corps, a national nonprofit created by Congress in 1974.

The Legal Services Corps represents the nation’s largest funding for civil legal aid. On Feb 15, House Joint Resolution 20 appropriated more than $348 million for 2007 to 138 LSC programs in more than 900 offices nationwide. Louisiana’s share is $7.6 million.

According to LSC, 38 percent of all funding is allocated to family matters, followed by 24 percent for housing issues. Income maintenance, consumer concerns and health-related issues are also covered.

Pro bono mandate

Effective March 1, 2004, the Louisiana Supreme Court amended Rule of Professional Conduct 6.1 for the Louisiana Bar Association to set a goal of 50 hours of pro bono service per attorney each year.

While most law firms encourage pro bono service, Adams & Reese of New Orleans is the first firm in the city to mandate it.

“When we established this policy, we set out to become a leader in the field of pro bono work,” said Martin Stern, an attorney with Adams & Reese. “Each lawyer is given a pro bono goal of 10 hours for 1007 with an increased goal of 20 hours for 2008.”

Stern said Adams & Reese works directly with the New Orleans Pro Bono Project -- a nonprofit that matches volunteer attorneys with clients -- handling unemployment compensation, wage disputes, adoptions and title successions.

ConocoPhillips donated $40,000 in November to help support a full-time fellowship position at Adams & Reese devoted to the direction of Louisiana Appleseed, the local chapter of Appleseed Foundation, a nonprofit with 16 chapters nationwide.

“We’re trying to develop practice, systemic solutions to problems,” said Christy Kane, an attorney at Adams & Reese who directs Louisiana Appleseed.

One of Appleseed’s projects is to improve legal representation for the mentally ill by joining with Louisiana Justice Coalition to prepare a handbook to help lawyers understand clients with mental illness.

Stern said many lawyers at Adams & Reese donate more hours than the required minimum. He recently took a criminal case involving an appeal to the Louisiana Supreme Court on behalf of Patrick Kennedy, the only person in Louisiana sentenced to death for a non-homicide crime. Stern worked more than 200 hours on that case.

“Pro bono hours count toward overall billable hourly goals so in effect the firm donates this time to the community,” Stern said.

In response to the increasing need for pro bono counsel, New Orleans firm Stone Pigman Walther Whittmann established attorney Jackie M. McCreary as a liaison to coordinate its pro bono cases from the New Orleans Pro Bono Project.

McCreary said all lawyers are encouraged but not required to become involved. Katrina increased the need for succession work.

“Stone Pigman recently participated in a succession title program administered by Southeast Louisiana Legal Services,” McCreary said. “This program alone cleared titles to approximately 200 properties.”

Steven F. Griffith Jr., a commercial litigation attorney with Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz, was recognized by the firm for work on three pro bono cases last year for clients in wage disputes.

“It’s a responsibility of the profession,” Griffith said.

Beyond duty, Griffith described the personal gratification he and other attorneys get from pro bono work.

“Pro bono is extremely rewarding because you’re helping people who need it,” he said. “I’ve talked to people who said certain cases were difficult or time-consuming but I’ve never talked to anyone who has regretted doing it.”

More volunteers

Most community legal organizations exist mainly to recruit volunteer attorneys and coordinate services.

“Because we’re not a staff-based model, we depend mostly on volunteers and donations,” said Rachael Piercey, executive director of the New Orleans Pro Bono Project.

Nonprofits and law firm efforts are generally directed toward civil cases because, unlike criminal cases, there is no constitutional mandate for the state to fund indigent representation.

Piercey said the New Orleans Pro Bono Project noticed an increase in title succession cases because The Road Home and other grant programs require proper title documentation.

Cases involving child custody, wills and testaments and wage claims are also up but Piercey said the largest increase could occur in Chapter 7 bankruptcy cases.

Piercey said the Pro Bono Project lost volunteers post-Katrina but availability is now increasing in part because of volunteers from other states.

“The city appears to have lost more sole practitioners and attorneys with small firms, who historically contribute the bulk of pro bono service because they are comfortable with a wide range of cases,” she said.

On Jan. 17, the Louisiana Supreme Court ordered a one-year extension of the Supplemental Emergency Pro Bono Civil Legal Assistance Rule, which allows non-admitted lawyers to provide limited pro bono civil legal services to victims of hurricanes Katrina and Rita. That triggered an influx of volunteer attorneys from outside Louisiana.