BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                  AB 2684
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          Date of Hearing:  May 1, 2012

                           ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY
                                  Mike Feuer, Chair
                 AB 2684 (Judiciary) - As Introduced: March 12, 2012
                                           
                               As Proposed to be Amended
                                           
          SUBJECT  :  PRO BONO LEGAL SERVICES

           KEY ISSUE  :  SHOULD PRO BONO SERVICES AND SUPPORT OF NONPROFIT 
          LEGAL AID GROUPS REPRESENTING INDIGENT PARTIES BE PROMOTED BY 
          ALLOWING RECOVERY OF COURT INTERPRETER COSTS AND RECOGNIZING THE 
          FINANCIAL DONATIONS OF LAWYERS TOWARD THEIR PRO BONO GOALS?

           FISCAL EFFECT  :  As currently in print this bill is keyed 
          non-fiscal.

                                      SYNOPSIS
          
          This bill seeks to promote pro bono legal services and support 
          of nonprofit legal aid for indigent persons needing assistance 
          with civil matters.  It would facilitate direct provision of pro 
          bono services by allowing recovery of court interpreter costs 
          for pro bono attorneys when they provide assistance to indigent 
          parties in cases referred by a nonprofit legal aid organization, 
          just as these costs are currently recoverable when the matter is 
          handled by the legal aid organization itself as the result of 
          the Committee's related measure last year.  The bill would also 
          encourage financial support of nonprofit legal aid organizations 
          by recognizing that these contributions may be an element 
          helping to satisfy the pro bono obligations of state 
          contractors.  The bill has no known opposition.  
           
           SUMMARY  :  Promotes pro bono legal services and support of 
          nonprofit legal aid for indigent persons needing assistance with 
          civil matters.  Specifically,  this bill  :  

          1)Allows recovery of court interpreter costs for pro bono 
            attorneys when they provide assistance to indigent parties in 
            cases referred by a nonprofit legal aid organization, just as 
            these costs are currently recoverable when the matter is 
            handled by the legal aid organization itself.

          2)Recognizes that financial support of nonprofit legal aid 








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            organizations may be an element helping to satisfy the pro 
            bono obligations of state contractors.

           EXISTING LAW  :

          1)Provides that specified items are allowable as costs to a 
            prevailing party in a civil matter, including court 
            interpreter fees for a qualified court interpreter authorized 
            by the court for an indigent person represented by a qualified 
            legal services project.  (Code of Civil Procedure section 
            1033.5.)

          2)Provides that a contract with the state for legal services 
            that exceeds $50,000 shall include a certification by the 
            contracting law firm that the firm agrees to make a good faith 
            effort to provide, during the duration of the contract, a 
            minimum number of hours of pro bono legal services, during 
            each year of the contract.  (Bus. & Prof. Code section 6072.)  


          3)Provides that a lawyer may fulfill his or her pro bono goals 
            in part by providing financial support to organizations 
            providing free legal services to persons of limited means 
            equal to, at minimum, the approximate value of the hours of 
            pro bono legal service that he or she would otherwise have 
            provided.  (Bus. & Prof. Code section 6073.)

           COMMENTS  :  This bill follows up on last year's AB 1403, the 
          Committee's bill to facilitate the provision of court 
          interpreters when they are determined to be necessary for 
          indigent parties in civil matters.  AB 1403 allowed indigent 
          parties to recover the cost of court interpreters when they are 
          the prevailing party and are represented without charge by a 
          qualified nonprofit legal services organization.  This bill 
          would simply allow for the same cost recovery when the matter is 
          handled by a pro bono attorney affiliated with a qualified legal 
          services organization.  Only cases that are not considered to be 
          fee generating would be covered.  Doing so would also help to 
          expand access to interpreter services at a time when court 
          budget cuts are a significant obstacle to court-provided 
          interpreters.   Despite budget limitations, our courts must 
          increasingly serve a growing number of parties who need 
          assistance with English, a time-consuming process that 
          frequently causes significant delays in court proceedings for 
          all court users.  Making professional interpreters more widely 








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          available will assist the court in handling matters 
          expeditiously while limiting the need to rely on court 
          interpreters and other court personnel.

          As proposed to be amended the bill would further promote pro 
          bono support by counting the financial contributions to 
          nonprofit legal aid groups made by lawyers and law firms who are 
          state contractors.  Under existing law, contracts for legal 
          services of more than $50,000 must include a certification that 
          the contracting firm will make a good faith effort to provide 
          direct pro bono services during the period of the contract.  
          (Bus. & Prof. Code section 6072.)  A separate provision of 
          existing law recognizes that lawyers can help to meet their pro 
          bono goals by making financial contributions to legal aid 
          organizations in addition to or in lieu of providing direct pro 
          bono services.  (Bus. & Prof. Code section 6073.)  This bill 
          more explicitly links these provisions by recognizing that 
          financial contributions to legal aid organizations can help to 
          meet a state contractor's pro bono goals.

          As this Committee has frequently observed with alarum, legal aid 
          organizations have been significantly crippled by the decimation 
          of funding in recent years, compounded by sharp increases in 
          need as the result of the economic recession.  While the state 
          has long suffered from a wide "justice gap" between the legal 
          needs of poor people and the resources available to address 
          those needs, conditions have deteriorated markedly since 2008.  
          This bill endeavors to mitigate the problem by encouraging state 
          legal services contractors to make financial contributions to 
          nonprofit legal aid organizations because doing so would be 
          recognized as a factor in meeting their existing pro bono goals.
           
          Author's Amendments to Further Promote Pro Bono Support.   To 
          further promote the provision of legal services to indigent 
          parties, the author proposes the following beneficial 
          amendments:
           
           6072.  (a) A contract with the state for legal services that 
          exceeds fifty thousand dollars ($50,000) shall include a 
          certification by the contracting law firm that the firm agrees 
          to make a good faith effort to provide, during the duration of 
          the contract, a minimum number of hours of pro bono legal 
          services,  or an equivalent amount of financial contributions to 
          qualified legal services projects and support centers, as 
          defined in section 6213,  during each year of the contract equal 








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          to the lesser of either (1) 30 multiplied by the number of 
          full-time attorneys in the firm's offices in the state, with the 
          number of hours prorated on an actual day basis for any contract 
          period of less than a full year or (2) 10 percent of its 
          contract with the state. "Ten percent of the contract" shall 
          mean the number of hours equal to 10 percent of the contract 
          amount divided by the average billing rate of the firm.
             (b) Failure to make a good faith effort may be cause for 
          nonrenewal of a state contract for legal services, and may be 
          taken into account when determining the award of future 
          contracts with the state for legal services. If a firm fails to 
          provide the hours of pro bono legal services set forth in its 
          certification, the following factors shall be considered in 
          determining whether the firm made a good faith effort:
             (1) The actual number of hours of pro bono legal services  or 
          financial contributions provided by the firm during the term of 
          the contract.
             (2) The firm's efforts to obtain pro bono legal work from 
          legal services programs, pro bono programs, and other relevant 
          communities or groups.
             (3) The firm's history of providing pro bono legal services 
           or financial contributions  , or other activities of the firm that 
          evidence a good faith effort to provide pro bono legal services 
           or financial contributions  , such as the adoption of a pro bono 
          policy or the creation of a pro bono committee.
             (4) The types of pro bono legal services provided, including 
          the quantity and complexity of cases as well as the nature of 
          the relief sought.
             (5) The extent to which the failure to provide the hours of 
          pro bono legal services  or financial contributions  set forth in 
          the certification is the result of extenuating circumstances 
          unforeseen at the time of the certification.

           REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION  :   

           Support 
           
          Legal Aid Association of California
          OneJustice

           Opposition 
           
          None on file
           









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          Analysis Prepared by  :  Kevin G. Baker / JUD. / (916) 319-2334