New Rule Authorizes Cle Credit for Pro Bono Representation

• Publication year: 2005
• Pages: 25
• Citation: Vol. 34 No. 2 Pg. 25

34 Colo.Law. 25 Colorado Bar Journal 2005.

2005, February, Pg. 25. New Rule Authorizes CLE Credit For Pro Bono Representation

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Vol. 34, No. 2, Pg. 25

The Colorado Lawyer
February 2005
Vol. 34, No. 2 [Page 25]

Departments
Access to Justice
New Rule Authorizes CLE Credit For Pro Bono Representation
by JoAnn Vogt

JoAnn Vogt, Denver, is a judge on the Colorado Court of Appeals and chair of the Access to Justice Commission

The Colorado Access to Justice Commission was created in 2003 and charged with addressing barriers facing persons seeking access to our state's civil justice system.1 Since its inception, the Commission has focused primarily on what it views as the greatest of these barriers, namely, the economic barrier

Nearly fifty years ago, in Griffin v. Illinois, the U.S Supreme Court observed: "There can be no equal justice where the kind of trial a man gets depends on the amount of money he has."2 On a slightly less lofty level, the perceived relationship between money and justice is reflected in the famous New Yorker cartoon in which a well-heeled lawyer peers over his desk and inquires of a somewhat shabby client, "You have a pretty good case, Mr. Pitkin. How much justice can you afford?"

Although we might take exception to the cartoon's cynical view, it is hard to deny that civil justice costs money. Many Americans, including many in our own state, are effectively priced out of the system. For the poorest and most vulnerable members of our society, who often need the law the most, the law is least available.

Recent articles in The Colorado Lawyer have described the effect of cuts in funding for the legal services programs that have traditionally provided civil legal assistance to low-income individuals in Colorado.3 For example, Colorado Legal Services has suffered a 17 percent loss of funding since 2002, resulting in staff cuts, an office closure, and an 11 percent reduction in clients served.4

As funding for legal services programs declines responsibility for meeting the need for legal representation for the poor falls, increasingly, on volunteers. Many lawyers are extraordinarily generous in contributing their time and resources to help address this need. That commitment, however, is by no means uniform. Moreover, although good statistics for Colorado are not available, there is general agreement that the overall contribution...