BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 2684
Page 1
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
AB 2684
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Analysis Prepared by : Kevin G. Baker / JUD. / (916) 319-2334