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The Unmet Legal Needs Of The Poor In Maine: Is Mandatory Pro Bono The Answer?, Wendy F. Rau Apr 2020

The Unmet Legal Needs Of The Poor In Maine: Is Mandatory Pro Bono The Answer?, Wendy F. Rau

Maine Law Review

In 1989, the Maine Commission on Legal Needs was formed to study the civil legal needs of Maine's poor population and to develop a plan for meeting those needs. Similar projects have been undertaken in a number of other states and by the American Bar Association in recent years. Each study has revealed a significant unmet need among the poor for assistance with legal problems. There seems little doubt that the situation is serious and widespread. The difficulty lies in finding a solution. One proposal that has been advanced is mandatory pro bono, a program that would require attorneys to …


Whose Public Interest Is It Anyway?: Advice For Altruistic Young Lawyers, Patricia M. Wald Apr 2018

Whose Public Interest Is It Anyway?: Advice For Altruistic Young Lawyers, Patricia M. Wald

Maine Law Review

The Third Annual Frank M. Coffin Lecture on Law and Public Service was held on September 28, 1994. The Honorable Patricia M. Wald, Judge, United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, presented “Whose Public Interest Is It Anyway?: Advice for Altruistic Young Lawyers.”


A Fraction Of A Percent: A Call To Legal Service Providers To Increase Assistance To Community Nonprofits Using Biglaw Pro Bono, Rebecca Nieman Apr 2018

A Fraction Of A Percent: A Call To Legal Service Providers To Increase Assistance To Community Nonprofits Using Biglaw Pro Bono, Rebecca Nieman

University of Arkansas at Little Rock Law Review

No abstract provided.


In Pursuit Of The Public Good: Lawyers Who Care, Ruth Bader Ginsburg Feb 2018

In Pursuit Of The Public Good: Lawyers Who Care, Ruth Bader Ginsburg

Maine Law Review

The Eighth Annual Frank M. Coffin Lecture on Law and Public Service was held on November 22, 1999. The Honorable Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court, delivered the lecture. Established in 1992, the lecture honors Judge Frank M. Coffin, Senior Circuit Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit and long-time friend of the University of Maine School of Law.


The Impact Of The Current Economy On Access To Justice, Kathleen A. Mckee Oct 2017

The Impact Of The Current Economy On Access To Justice, Kathleen A. Mckee

Maine Law Review

The adequacy of access to justice in the American legal system is not a newly emergent issue. Discussion acknowledging this right dates back to colonial times. For example, in 1932, the United States Supreme Court noted in the case of Powell v. Alabama that the right to counsel in criminal proceedings can be traced back to colonial times in America. The Court remarked that the right to be heard must encompass the right to be heard by counsel if it is to be meaningful. In the ongoing dialogue on this issue, primacy has been given to the right of criminal …


A Foundation Upon Which Justice Is Built: The Chicago Bar Foundation's Innovations To Improve Access To Justice During Tough Economic Times, Danielle Elyce Hirsch Oct 2017

A Foundation Upon Which Justice Is Built: The Chicago Bar Foundation's Innovations To Improve Access To Justice During Tough Economic Times, Danielle Elyce Hirsch

Maine Law Review

“Equal justice for all” is one of the United States’ most proudly proclaimed principles, embellished on courthouse entrances and regularly cited in constitutional decisions. The Illinois Constitution also contains a strong commitment to equal and unimpeded access to our legal system for all of our citizens: “Every person shall find a certain remedy in the laws for all injuries and wrongs which he receives to his person, privacy, property or reputation. He shall obtain justice by law, freely, completely and promptly.” Notwithstanding these constitutional principles, a large number of people with urgent and important issues at stake—such as the custody …


Reflections On Forty Years Of Private Practice And Sustained Pro Bono Advocacy, Stephen H. Oleskey Oct 2017

Reflections On Forty Years Of Private Practice And Sustained Pro Bono Advocacy, Stephen H. Oleskey

Maine Law Review

I am going to address two topics. The first is the one Judge Coffin asked me to address in October 2009, when I was invited to give the 2010 Coffin Lecture: how to combine the private practice of law with an active pro bono practice. The second topic is the one Dean Peter Pitegoff and I agreed to add: a brief discussion of legal developments in national security law since 9/11. My pro bono involvement in Guantanamo Habeas litigation began in 2004 and led directly to my interest in national security law and to my recognition of how difficult it …


Alternative Business Structures: Good For The Public, Good For The Lawyers, Jayne R. Reardon Oct 2017

Alternative Business Structures: Good For The Public, Good For The Lawyers, Jayne R. Reardon

St. Mary's Journal on Legal Malpractice & Ethics

There has been a shift in consumer behavior over the last several decades. To keep up with the transforming consumer, many professions have changed the way they do business. Yet lawyers continue to deliver services the way they have since the founding of our country. Bar associations and legal ethicists have long debated the idea of allowing lawyers to practice in “alternative business structures,” where lawyers and nonlawyers can co-own and co-manage a business to deliver legal services. This Article argues these types of businesses inhibit lawyers’ ability to provide better legal services to the public and that the legal …


The Untold Story Of The Justice Gap: Integrating Poverty Law Into The Law School Curriculum, Vanita S. Snow Sep 2017

The Untold Story Of The Justice Gap: Integrating Poverty Law Into The Law School Curriculum, Vanita S. Snow

Pace Law Review

No abstract provided.


Poverty, The Great Unequalizer: Improving The Delivery System For Civil Legal Aid, Latonia Haney Keith Jan 2017

Poverty, The Great Unequalizer: Improving The Delivery System For Civil Legal Aid, Latonia Haney Keith

Catholic University Law Review

When individuals in the United States face civil justice issues, they are not entitled to legal counsel and therefore must secure paid counsel, proceed pro se or qualify for free legal assistance. As a result of the economic downturn, the number of Americans who are unable to afford legal counsel is now at an all-time high. In response to this ever-widening justice gap, the public interest community has launched multiple initiatives to supplement the underfunded legal aid system. Though valiant, this article argues that this approach has unfortunately created a complex, fragmented and overlapping delivery system for legal aid. This …


Characterizing Ghostwriting., Debra Lyn Bassett Jan 2014

Characterizing Ghostwriting., Debra Lyn Bassett

St. Mary's Journal on Legal Malpractice & Ethics

It is well known that legal services are costly and that existing pro bono services are inadequate to help every individual who would benefit from legal assistance. Compounding this unmet need are various restrictions on the types of clients and types of cases that qualify for pro bono services. For example, Legal Services Corporation lawyers may not represent undocumented individuals, and may not undertake a representation in an abortion, desegregation, or assisted suicide matter. One attempt to mitigate this unmet need is ghostwriting. Analogous to presidential speechwriting, ghostwriting in the legal context occurs when a lawyer drafts a pleading or …


“Nudging” Better Lawyer Behavior: Using Default Rules And Incentives To Change Behavior In Law Firms, Nancy B. Rapoport Jan 2014

“Nudging” Better Lawyer Behavior: Using Default Rules And Incentives To Change Behavior In Law Firms, Nancy B. Rapoport

St. Mary's Journal on Legal Malpractice & Ethics

In the changing landscape of law practice—where law firm profits are threatened by such changes as increased pressure from clients to economize and the concomitant opportunities for clients to shop around for the most efficient lawyers—are there ways to change how things are done in law firms so that firms can provide more efficient and ethical service? This article suggests that an understanding of cognitive biases and basic behavioral economics will help law firms tweak their incentives and default rules to promote the improved delivery of legal services.


Mandatory Pro Bono: The Path To Equal Justice, John R. Desteiguer Jan 2013

Mandatory Pro Bono: The Path To Equal Justice, John R. Desteiguer

Pepperdine Law Review

No abstract provided.


The Quiet Revolution In The American Law Proffesion: Remarks Before The Commission On Professionalism Of The American Bar Association, Peter Megargee Brown Jan 1986

The Quiet Revolution In The American Law Proffesion: Remarks Before The Commission On Professionalism Of The American Bar Association, Peter Megargee Brown

Fordham Urban Law Journal

This Speech discusses the decline of the law profession in its commitment to public service. It analyzes the reasons as to why the practice of law has evolved from a profession once thought to epitomize professionalism into one that does not seem much different from other businesses. It discusses the consequences of such a reality. The author suggests measures that the American Bar Association should employ to ameliorate the effects of this reality and outlines steps it should take to help restore the high level of professionalism to the industry.