BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 2684
Page 1
ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB 2684 (Judiciary Committee)
As Amended May 8, 2012
Majority vote
JUDICIARY 8-2
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|Ayes:|Feuer, Wagner, Atkins, | | |
| |Dickinson, Huber, | | |
| |Monning, Wieckowski, | | |
| |Chesbro | | |
| | | | |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
|Nays:|Gorell, Jones | | |
| | | | |
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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
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.
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
AB 2684
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each year of the contract.
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.
FISCAL EFFECT : None
COMMENTS : This bill follows up on last year's AB 1403 (Chapter
409, Statutes of 2011), the Judiciary 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 allows 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 available will assist the court in
handling matters expeditiously while limiting the need to rely
on court interpreters and other court personnel.
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. 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.
This bill more explicitly links these provisions by recognizing
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that financial contributions to legal aid organizations can help
to meet a state contractor's pro bono goals.
As the Assembly Judiciary 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.
Analysis Prepared by : Kevin G. Baker / JUD. / (916) 319-2334
FN: 0003531