Is Mississippi Out of Its Mind?

(Requiring Minimum Pro Bono Work)

The Mississippi Supreme Court proposes mandatory pro bono services by attorneys practicing in the state. According to the National Law Journal, the court is considering a requirement to make lawyers perform 20 hours of pro bono services each year or face a $500.00 fee.

The American Bar Association (ABA) states that Mississippi would be the only state to require pro bono services if the proposal is adopted. There are only seven states that currently require the reporting of pro bono hours.

Most law firms provide a limited number of pro bono hours and some take it quite seriously. The number one U.S. firm, as ranked by American Lawyer magazine based on total pro bono hours in 2010, was Jenner & Block of Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, and Washington, D.C. They were named top firm for two years in a row. The average time devoted to pro bono was 169.5 hours per lawyer, the highest of any law firm. Nearly 91 percent of the firm’s lawyers contributed at least 20 hours to pro bono matters.

In Mississippi, it’s the Mississippi Volunteer Lawyers Project (MVLP) that coordinates and pro bono issues. MVLP is a nonprofit program of The Mississippi Bar Association and Mississippi Legal Services Programs. More than 1,900 Mississippi attorneys are signed up to volunteer their time and expertise to participate in the Project, and as a result, more than 8,000 low income citizens are assisted by the Project each year.

So, why the need to impose requirements for all attorneys to offer a minimum number of pro bono hours annually? Is it a money-making project for the Mississippi Bar Association or just an attempt to make all attorneys in the state give away their time to help low income citizens? Should physicians also be required to provide pro bono services to their patients? Those answers are best left to the attorneys in Mississippi who should have the same freedom as those in all of the other 49 states.

Nelson Tucker is CEO of Process Service Network LLC, based in the Los Angeles area. His firm facilitates process service and legal support services in 127 nations and have served the legal profession since 1978. Information can be found at www.processnet1.com or via processnet@sbcglobal.net.