Politics & Government
Should Lawyers Be Required To Volunteer Services?
Lawyers new to the state bar will be required to do pro bono work for government agencies, non-profits, or the poor, according to a report.
Lawyers who want to join the New York State Bar will be required to do some pro bono work, according to The New York Times.
Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman told the paper that the approximately 10,000 lawyers who join the State bar will each be required to do 50 hours of work for free.
The move, he said, would bring half a million hours of legal representation and services only to those with noncriminal legal problems, such as domestic violence and foreclosure.
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The requirement would be fulfilled by representing clients in civil court, or volunteering for a nonprofit.
Working for a government agency would also fulfill the requirement.
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Whether lawyers who move to New York in the middle of their career will need to fulfill the requirement is still unclear, according to the paper.
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