Recommendations of the conference on the delivery of legal services to low-income persons

Fordham Law Review

Volumn 67, Issue 5, 1999, Pages 1751-1789

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EID: 0345830810     PISSN: 0015704X     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
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References (27)

1. The recommendations are consecutively numbered for ease of reference. Citations to these recommendations elsewhere in this volume shall be as follows: Recommendations of the Conference on the Delivery of Legal Services to Low-Income Persons, 67 Fordham L. Rev. 1751, Recommendation _, at _ (1999) [hereinafter Recommendations].
2. Model Rules of Professional Conduct Rule 6.1 (1998).
3. Id.
4. See, e.g., Carolyn A. Eldred & Roy W. Reese, Temple Univ. Inst. for Survey Research, Legal Needs Among Low-Income Households: Findings from the Comprehensive Legal Needs Study 50 tbl.5-7 (1994) [hereinafter Comprehensive Legal Needs Study] (noting that 16% of households surveyed cited cost as the main reason for doing without legal help).
5. References to "the Group" throughout Part II refer to this working group.
6. See Black's Law Dictionary 779 (6th ed. 1990) (defining "informed consent" as "[a] person's agreement to allow something to happen (such as surgery) that is based on a full disclosure of facts needed to make the decision intelligently . . . .).
7. For a more thorough discussion of this new role for judges, see Russell Engler, And Justice For All - Including the Unrepresented Poor: Revisiting the Roles of the Judges, Mediators, and Clerks, 67 Fordham L. Rev. 1987 (1999).
8. See, e.g., Rena M. Atchinson, A Comparison of Gender Bias Studies: Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals and South Dakota Findings in the Context of Nationwide Studies, 43 S.D. L. Rev. 616, 616, 626 n.67 (1998) (noting forty-one gender bias reports).
9. We used the phrase "court-annexed programs" to include not only court clerks in the ambit of this recommendation but also programs administered or initiated by the courts, such as programs that provide advice to unrepresented parties. An example of such a program might be the City-Wide Task Force on Housing Court funded at the outset by the New York State Office of Court Administration. For more information on this program, see Alex J. Hurder, Nonlawyer Legal Assistance and Access to Justice, 67 Fordham L. Rev. 2241 (1999).
10. See Derek A. Denckla, Nonlawyers and the Unauthorized Practice of Law: An Overview of the Legal and Ethical Parameters, 67 Fordham L. Rev. 2581, 2597 n.106 (1999).
11. See 5 U.S.C. 555(b) (1994).
12. This notion of "unbundling" is discussed in greater detail in the report and recommendations of the Working Group on Limited Legal Assistance. See Report of the Working Group on Limited Legal Assistance, 67 Fordham L. Rev. 1819 (1999); infra Recommendations 47-64.
13. Cf. John P. Gillard, Jr., Comment, Pay-Per-Call Legal Advice, Professional Integrity, and Legal Licenses: Why 1-900-LAWYERS Is a Call to the Wrong Number, 79 Marq. L. Rev. 549, 555-56 (1996) ("Some people fear, however, that unscrupulous attorneys will establish 'boiler room' pay-per-call operations with no accountability to users . . . .").
14. These recommendations concerning collaboration between lawyers and nonlawyers drew heavily upon Paula Galowitz's conference paper, which provides most of the background information necessary to explain these recommendations. See Paula Galowitz, Collaboration Between Lawyers and Social Workers: Reexamining the Nature and Potential of the Relationship, 67 Fordham L. Rev. 2123 (1999).
15. See id. at 2137.
16. See supra Part II.B.
17. See Commission on Nonlawyer Practice, American Bar Ass'n, Nonlawyer Activity in Law-Related Situations 137 (1995).
18. See HALT, HALT - An Org. for Legal Reform (last modified Mar. 3, 1999) 〈http://www.halt.org〉.
19. There was some dissent to this subpart.
20. Model Rules of Professional Conduct Rule 6.1 (1998).
21. Id.
22. See 45 C.F.R. § 1614.2 (1998).
23. Model Rules of Professional Conduct Rule 1.1 (requiring lawyers to provide "competent" service).
24. See id. Rule 1.7.
25. Comprehensive Legal Needs Study, supra note 3, at 52 tbl.5-8.
26. See id. at 52-53 tbls.5-8 to -9.
27. Cf. Robert J. Rhody, Comparing Legal Services to the Poor in the United States with Other Western Countries: Some Preliminary Lessons, 5 Md. J. Contemp. Legal Issues 223, 241-42 (1994) (estimating that "over fifteen percent" of the licensed bar provides pro bono services to the poor in the United States).