Best Practices Manual
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Pro bono service providers have been working to increase access to justice for Maryland's poor and under-represented citizens since 1973, when the first pro bono referral program in Maryland was established by the Montgomery County Bar Association. Since then, an entire pro bono delivery service network has developed in Maryland, and today close to thirty pro bono programs operate throughout the state. These programs range from independent pro bono referral agencies to bar foundation programs to pro bono divisions of legal services organizations to informal referral systems through rural bar associations.
While the substantive areas they address and the client populations they serve may differ, each program shares the important mission of placing indigent clients with pro bono attorneys willing to represent them for no fee or a reduced fee. As a result of the work of Maryland's pro bono programs, the participation of Maryland lawyers in pro bono work has increased dramatically in the past three decades. Since 2002, lawyers in Maryland have increased their contribution of pro bono legal services annually, and each year since 2004, Maryland lawyers have donated over one million hours of free legal services to the state's needy.
Despite this progress, the gap between the need for pro bono legal services and the availability of those services continues to expand. The national recession, the epidemic of mortgage foreclosures and the decline in economic growth in Maryland in the past several years have dramatically increased the need for pro bono legal services in this State. The growing number of attorneys willing to provide pro bono services despite the economic downturn affirms the commitment of Maryland's lawyers to social justice and their strong sense of responsibility for fulfilling their obligation of “pro bono publico,” even in a time of financial hardship. Nevertheless, it is imperative that the number of Maryland attorneys performing pro bono legal services keep rising in order to address the increasing need.
To assist pro bono programs in their work, the Pro Bono Resource Center of Maryland has prepared this Best Practices Manual for Pro Bono Service Providers. The Best Practices Manual is organized in two parts. Part I, A Maryland Pro Bono Handbook, provides the history and background of organized pro bono in Maryland, tracing important events in the development of pro bono from the formation of the Maryland Legal Services Corporation in the 1980s to the current work of the Court of Appeals Standing Committee on Pro Bono Legal Service and the Maryland Access to Justice Commission. Part I also examines the response to the present economic downturn and crisis in legal services funding and includes a “Maryland Pro Bono Basics” section in Q & A format that outlines the xiii fundamentals of the rules and systems in place for the performance of pro bono service in Maryland.
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Part II, Best Practices for Pro Bono Service Providers, is compendiums of successful methods pro bono programs have implemented to recruit, train, and recognize pro bono attorneys. It sets forth techniques for pro bono programs to use to provide support and resources to volunteer attorneys, together with procedures for working with clients to promote positive case outcomes. Part II addresses key policies and protocols for placing, tracking and closing cases, as well as operational and fiscal policies for pro bono programs. It also discusses the importance of community outreach and collaboration with the judiciary and other legal services organizations, and includes sections on the special needs of rural counties and key issues related to pro bono program governance and management.
The Appendix to this Best Practices Manual contains sample forms, letters, policies, protocols, and brochures used by pro bono programs from across the state of Maryland, as well as by programs from around the country. The appendices are included to assist pro bono programs in implementing the ideas and suggestions outlined in the eighty Best Practices set forth in this Manual. Throughout this Best Practices Manual, the terms “pro bono attorney” and “volunteer attorney” are used to refer to lawyers who represent indigent clients “without fee or expectation of fee” or for a “substantially reduced fee” as defined in Rule 6.1 of the Maryland Rules of Professional Conduct. This includes attorneys who represent clients for a reduced fee in contested family law cases through the Judicare program funded by the Maryland Legal Services Corporation, as well as other reduced fee arrangements that qualify as pro bono under Rule 6.1.
This Best Practices Manual is intended as a resource for tools and techniques that will enhance the ability of pro bono programs to better serve their clients and meet the needs of their volunteer attorneys. The goal of this Best Practices Manual is to help pro bono providers harness the positive energy of service among Maryland lawyers and work with them to ensure equal access to justice for all citizens of Maryland.
This Best Practices Manual for Pro Bono Service Providers would not have been possible without the support of Maryland's pro bono programs, whose responses to the Best Practices Questionnaire distributed by the Pro Bono Resource Center in November of 2009 became an integral part of what follows. Many of Maryland's pro bono service providers also contributed sample forms, letters, policies and brochures which are included in the Appendix, providing useful models for other programs seeking to implement these Best Practices. Thanks are due as well to the pro bono programs from other states who contributed their forms and policies to this effort.
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Many thanks to:
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Allegany Law Foundation, Inc. Asian Pacific American Legal Resource Center Baltimore Neighborhoods, Inc. Bar Association of Baltimore City ― Legal Services to the Elderly Program CASA of Maryland, Inc. Catholic Charities Immigration Legal Services Center for Economic Progress Midwest Tax Clinic Civil Justice, Inc. Community Law Center Community Legal Services and Volunteer Lawyers Program of Arizona Community Legal Services of Prince George's County, Inc. Domestic Violence Center of Howard County, Inc. Eastern Shore Regional Library of Maryland Harford County Bar Association Lawyer Referral Service Heartly House, Inc. Homeless Persons Representation Project, Inc. |
House of Ruth Maryland Jewish Community Services Legal Aid Bureau, Inc. Maryland Coalition for Inclusive Education, Inc. Maryland Disability Law Center Maryland Immigrant Rights Coalition Maryland Nonprofits Maryland Volunteer Lawyers Service Mid-Shore Council on Family Violence, Inc. Mid-Shore Pro Bono, Inc. Montgomery County Bar Foundation Pro Bono Program Public Justice Center, Inc. Southern Maryland Center for Family Advocacy St. Ambrose Aid Center, Inc. State Bar of Georgia Pro Bono Project Volunteer Lawyers Network of Minnesota Women's Law Center of Maryland , Inc. YWCA of Annapolis and Anne Arundel County, Maryland, Inc. |
The Pro Bono Resource Center of Maryland is very grateful to the Administrative Office of the Courts and the Maryland Legal Services Corporation for providing the funding necessary to complete this project and for their enduring support of the pro bono effort in Maryland. A special thanks to our legal intern Emily Fisher and our volunteer attorney Renée Hood, Esq., who devoted endless hours to assist with the research, proofreading and formatting of the Best Practices Manual and the compilation of its appendices.
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