Are we outraged yet?

• Author: Coxe, III, Henry M.
• Position: Pro bono service - Florida - President's page

It was nothing less than refreshing to watch the outrage boil. Charles "Cully" Stimson, then deputy assistant secretary of defense for detainee affairs, said on the Federal News Radio that he was dismayed that lawyers at many of the nation's top firms were representing prisoners at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and that the firms' corporate clients should consider ending their business ties.

"I think, quite honestly, when corporate CEOs see that those firms are representing the very terrorists who hit their bottom line back in 2001, those CEOs are going to make those law firms choose between representing terrorists or representing reputable firms," said Stimson, a lawyer.

Within two hours of that story breaking, I received at least 50 e-mails from bar leaders around the country. I made the decision that The Florida Bar could not sit idly by, especially when some of our own lawyers were representing detainees pro bono.

With the unanimous support of the Board of Governors Executive Committee, I fired off a letter to President George W. Bush, asking for his immediate repudiation of Stimson's statements, which I described as "abhorrent to the highest ideals of this nation's legal profession and an affront to the lawyers who provide legal services to the needy and oppressed throughout Florida and America."

The Florida Bar's voice joined the chorus of condemnation by the American Bar Association, numerous other state bars, and deans from more than 130 law schools. Three weeks later, on February 2, Stimson turned in his resignation over his controversial remarks.

Now that we've looked at Stimson with a judgmental eye, let's take a long look at ourselves.

While the number of lawyers steadily increases in Florida, the number of hours and dollars dedicated to pro bono service is decreasing.

Here are the numbers for attorneys participating in pro bono through The Florida Bar Foundation's Legal Assistance for the Poor Grant Programs: The high in 1998 was 26,031 lawyers giving 163,210 hours. The low in 2005 dropped to 16,618 lawyers providing 81,910 hours.

Monetary contributions have also declined, dropping from nearly $3.8 million in 2003-04 to $3.4 million the following year. And those monetary contributions come from only about 8,000 lawyers, one-tenth of the current Bar membership.

Presently, 13,636 Florida Bar members state they do not provide any pro bono service or...