Professionalism Page

• Citation: Vol. 29 No. 4 Pg. 0056
• Publication year: 2024
• Pages: 0056

Professionalism Page Vol. 29 No. 4 Pg. 56 Georgia Bar Journal February 2024

Grants to Promote Legal Professionalism

For more than two decades, the Chief Justice's Commission on Professionalism has awarded grants to promote legal professionalism in Georgia.

BY KARLISE Y. GRIER

Since 1993, the Chief Justice's Commission on Professionalism (Commission) has awarded grants to promote legal professionalism in Georgia. During the 2019-20 year, the Commission reviewed its grant-making criteria and procedures and created a more formal process by which organizations can apply for grants. Although this article provides information regarding the Commission's grants program, readers should note that the Commission can suspend grant-making at any time for any reason and that the Commission is creating no vested rights in its grants program.

The Commission provides information about its grants program on its website.^[1] If deciding to accept grants during a fiscal year, the Commission would generally begin accepting grant applications in early June until July 15. Only certain groups may apply for a Commission grant, and those groups are limited to 1) charities/nonprofits organized under § 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code; 2) law schools and law-related educational programs; 3) courts; or 4) local or voluntary bar associations. Therefore, for-profit entities, governmental entities that are not part of the judicial branch and State Bar Sections are not eligible applicants for the grants. Grant-making organizations are also ineligible. The Commission has also decided that it will not make gifts to endowment funds. In addition to having an eligible applicant, the Commission's grants programs or projects must serve the people of Georgia and 1) relate to the regulation of the legal profession; and/or 2) promote, enhance, improve or develop: a) professionalism among Georgia's lawyers and judges (i.e., the competence, civility and character of lawyers or judges as counselors and officers of the court); b) professionalism legal education for lawyers or judges as set forth in the Revised Professionalism CLE Guidelines; c) access to justice (i.e., access to the legal system); and/or d) the administration of justice (i.e., processes, operation of the legal system).^[2] Each of the criteria for the Commission's grants is separate and distinct with differing requirements to meet. Therefore, as an example, even if a continuing legal education program qualifies under the access to justice criteria, it does not necessarily mean that the program will qualify for professionalism CLE credit unless the program also meets the Commission's Revised Professionalism CLE Guide-lines.^[3] The Commission gives priority to programs or projects that, among other criteria, are new rather than existing or ongoing. Moreover, the Commission has decided that it will not accept repeat applications from the same applicant for the same project absent an invitation from the Commission to apply. Since the Commission has the ability to cease awarding grants at any time and for any reason, the Commission does not want organizations to rely on the Commission as an ongoing source of...