Legal Services for the Poor: an Unmet Need
| Jurisdiction | Colorado,United States |
| Citation | Vol. 17 No. 9 Pg. 1737 |
| Pages | 1737 |
| Publication year | 1988 |
1988, September, Pg. 1737. Legal Services for the Poor: An Unmet Need
--- "I need a lawyer to help me with a custody dispute. I'm in Massachusetts but the case is in Colorado. I don't have an attorney, but my husband has an attorney and his parents also have an attorney. The pro bono program I contacted in Colorado said I could be put on a waiting list with about a six month wait. My temporary orders hearing is in three weeks."
--- "I'm being evicted from my house. The pro bonocoordinator promised me an attorney. The hearing is next week and now she's saying she can't find one to take my case."
--- "My ex-husband is not paying child support. I can't make it without the help. I can't afford an attorney. The pro bono program says they don't take child support cases."
Several calls a week come in to the Colorado Bar Association office from poor people seeking free legal representation. Those few are just a drop in the bucket of all the poor people seeking legal help in the state. The Colorado Bar Association hears from a few who cannot afford legal help, but there are hundreds of others who do not even make that call.
In many respects, access to the legal system is more critical for the poor than for middle class and wealthy individuals. The poor usually need assistance with legal problems that affect their actual survival---food, clothing and shelter. Their problems affect their families, jobs, income and their homes.(fn1)
What is the status of pro bono in Colorado? In 1981, President Reagan called for the abolishment of the Legal Services Corporation. Although that never happened, significant funding cuts did. Since then, the government has paid for fewer legal services for the poor, expecting the private bar to pick up the slack. Between 1981 and 1985, Colorado has attempted to do just that. The CBA organized the Pro Bono Project to assist the twenty-five existing local bar associations to set up or increase pro bono programs. A 1984 ABA report on Colorado's effort stated, "The most notable feature of the legal assistance effort in Colorado is its complexity and size."(fn2) At that time there were sixteen pro bono programs in operation and three in the formation stages.
The ABA noted in 1984 that Colorado had a high level of attorney enrollment: 37 percent statewide, with a 34 percent participation rate in Denver.(fn3) Jane Gill, former director of the CBA's Pro Bono Project, reported "a record commitment" of attorneys...
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