Pro Bono Representation-an Ethical Perspective

• Publication year: 2003
• Pages: 15
• Citation: Vol. 32 No. 10 Pg. 15

32 Colo.Law. 15 Colorado Lawyer 2003.

2003, October, Pg. 15. Pro Bono Representation-An Ethical Perspective

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15

Vol. 32, No. 10, Pg. 15

The Colorado Lawyer
October 2003
Vol. 32, No. 10 [Page 15]

Ethics for Colorado Lawyers Special Issue

Pro Bono Representation-An Ethical Perspective
by Daniel M. Taubman

Daniel M. Taubman, Denver, is a Judge with the Colorado Court of Appeals and a member of the CBA Ethics and Availability of Legal Services Committees. He also is a member of the Pro Bono Committee of the Access to Justice Commission and has served on the CBA Pro Bono Task Force and Legal Services/Pro Bono Committee of the Colorado Supreme Court Judicial Advisory Council

Ned Newbie sat impatiently listening to the keynote speaker drone on about how wonderful it was to be a lawyer. He had finally passed the Colorado Bar exam on his third try, and he was looking forward to practicing in an office-sharing arrangement with his friend and law school classmate, Lois A Lone

Ned just wanted the speech to be over, take the oath of admission, have dinner with his wife and parents who were attending the ceremony, and then get to work on starting his practice. Suddenly, the speaker's words caught his attention.

"As former Colorado Bar Association President Laird T. Milburn observed two years ago, 'in the past 25 years, public respect for the legal profession has continued to decline.'1 Similarly, veteran Denver lawyer Donald W. Hoagland has noted the 'widespread criticism of lawyers as a guild that has lost its sense of professional responsibility and is focused solely on its own financial interest.'"2

The speaker, Greta Greyhair, was a respected partner at Acme, Best and Crown ("ABC"). She explained that when she attended Yale Law School over thirty years ago, her professors had instilled in her that lawyering was a profession, not just a business. Public service was an integral aspect of fulfilling one's professional responsibilities.

"Now, however," Greyhair continued, "in too many parts of the state, too few lawyers are willing to provide pro bono representation. For example, in 2002, only 499 lawyers in the Denver metropolitan area, out of more than some 6,000 eligible to take cases, provided pro bono representation through Metro Volunteer Lawyers (known as "MVL").3 This lack of participation by practicing attorneys must be juxtaposed against studies showing that only an estimated 25 percent of the legal needs of poor people in Colorado are met each year.4

"As Don Hoagland has noted, fuller recognition of business lawyers in community legal services will actually improve their general lawyering abilities.5 Perhaps more relevant for each of you are the experiences of a young lawyer, Rachel Maizes, who undertook to represent a Salvadoran family in a pro bono case shortly after being sworn in as a lawyer. She concluded that her pro bono service provided a unique opportunity for her to serve as lead counsel, educated her, and, even though she was not paid for her work, she was far richer for having performed it.6

"As I wish you well in embarking on your legal careers, I urge you to consider, as Don Hoagland has, 'when we consider the question of making room for significant pro bono activity, we should ask not why, but why not?'"7

Ned had been sitting attentively, taking in all...