Cleveland Law Library Weblog

Ohio Legal Assistance Foundation Changes Its Name

A recent article from Court News Ohio recently stated that "The Ohio Legal Assistance Foundation, the largest funder of civil legal aid in Ohio is changing its name to the Ohio Access to Justice Foundation. Its mission is to "The Ohio Access to Justice Foundation is committed to improving access to justice and ensuring that legal aid societies and other resources, programs and services address the unmet civil legal needs of low-income and underserved Ohioans.The name change reflects the Foundation’s broader commitment to access to justice initiatives." With this change, OLAF is changing to OAJF, and it also has a new website.

OSBA Access to Justice Final Report Suggests Role for Law Libraries

The OSBA held an Access to Justice Summit in April 2015 to discuss 4 major topics:

• Access to Justice with or without a Lawyer
• Innovations in Pro Bono Legal Services
• The Crisis in Legal Aid Funding
• Effective Tools for Assisting Pro Se Parties: Forms and Beyond

The Final Report has been issued, and it contains many recommendations for reform. In particular, several comments describe the role which law libraries can play:

"Participants also raised that law libraries and public libraries could also play a significant role in providing access to legal services. Libraries could hold “legal hours” where legal aid/pro bono attorneys are available to assist with filling out forms or even just talking through problems so people know that the legal system might have help for them.,,,Open up law libraries for public access on specific days and times during the week....Self-help centers are good and SHOULD utilize LAW LIBRARIES...Law libraries are a great resource and the Ohio Association of Law Libraries is an eager and willing partner • They can expand their functions to help provide information; access; and support...Better information at law libraries."

Ohio Supreme Court is Unbundling Ohio Lawyer Ethics CLE Requirements

Many changes are coming to CLE requirements for Ohio attorneys, including 
easier ways to obtain credit for self-study courses and pro bono service. In 
addition, the Ohio Supreme Court is  “unbundling” our “professional conduct” 
requirement. Instead of obtaining 1 hour of ethics, 1 hour of professionalism, 
and a half hour of substance abuse, attorneys will be allowed to choose 2.5 
hours from the following categories:
•	Legal ethics
•	Professionalism
•	Alcoholism, substance abuse, or mental health issues
•	Access to justice and fairness in the courts 
•	Interacting with self-represented litigants
•	Encouraging pro bono representation
•	Accommodating language interpretation
•	Assuring fairness in matters of race, ethnicity, foreign origin, religion, 
        gender, sexual orientation, disability, socio-economic status
The new topics will create new opportunities for programs, and the 
flexibility in subjects will help attorneys fulfill their biennial CLE requirements.

 

New York Imposes New Requirement of 50 Hours of Pro Bono Service on New Lawyers

The Wall Street Journal has reported that New York is now the first state in the U.S. to impose a requirement that new lawyers complete 50 hours of pro bono service in order to be able to practice law. This requirement joins successful passage of the NY Bar exam and providing evidence of "Good Moral Character." According to the new rule, service can be performed anywhere in the U.S., the District of Columbia, or any foreign country, but political activities are excluded. An earlier WSJ article indicated that about 10,000 candidates pass the NY Bar exam every year so the prediction is for NY residents to receive as many as 500,000 hours of pro bono service every year. However, the new rule does not go into effect until the year 2015. The New York State Bar Association presently encourages 20 hours of pro bono service per year as well as financial contributions to organizations that provide legal services to indigent persons. Click here to read the requirements of the new NY state rule.

Pro Bono Needs Not Being Met Nationwide; Pro Bono Apps Help Lawyers Find Volunteer Opportunities

According to an AP article citing the latest issue of the American Lawyer magazine, pro bono service by lawyers at big law firms is down 12% since 2009. In addition, the article also mentions Legal Services Corporation data that "Less than 20 percent of the legal needs of low-income people are addressed with the help of a private or legal aid lawyer." The article notes ABA President Laura Bellows' opposing comments on lawyer trends and indicates that some states have free telephone apps to help lawyers find pro bono opportunities.