Clarion-Ledger Reports on Mandatory Pro Bono Proposal for Mississippi Attorneys
Over the weekend the Clarion-Ledger reported on the proposed rule to require Mississippi attorneys to perform 20 hours of pro bono service per year. Here is the article.
The article notes that most of the 64 letters received by the Supreme Court oppose the rule:
Dupont's and Lacy's letters are two of the roughly 64 letters the Supreme Court has received. The vast majority of the letters oppose the mandatory provision.
But the rule has its supporters, including Jackson attorney and blogger Will Bardwell:
There are supporters, however, and Will Bardwell, a Jackson lawyer in private practice for a little more than a year, is among them.
"I understand the argument, doubtlessly voiced by many of my colleagues, that no one should be required to provide what is, in essence, community service," Bardwell said. "Fundamentally, I agree. But the fact is that attorneys are different. That distinction exists as both an honor, and sometimes, a burden.
"But under either instance, it is a badge that each member of the Bar should wear proudly."
Chief Justice Waller sounded non-committal on the rule:
Chief Justice Bill Waller Jr. said the proposals are only a starting point for discussion.
No decision has been made with regard to the amount or the issue of mandatory versus voluntary participation," Waller said.
Most Mississippi lawyers may be apathetic on the issue, given the fact that the Supreme Court has received only 64 letters from the thousands of lawyers in the State.
I am against the proposal for reasons explained in this post.
The proposal is also being discussed today at abovethelaw.com, which wrongly compared it to the Confederate [sic] draft policy to allow the hiring of substitutes.
Silence is going to be construed as assent, folks.
It's rather clever of the Court not to allow e-mailed comments.
Compassionate members of our profession are compelled to oppose this mandate because it aggravates the worst in human nature and suppresses the best in human nature.
A. Suppresses the Noblest Impulses in Human Nature
â–ª It robs me of the dignity of deciding to do the right thing even though it costs me. Under the proposed mandate, the Supreme Court will have made the decision for me.
â–ª It robs me of the satisfaction of having given a gift out of compassion and generosity.
â–ª It robs the needy person of the opportunity to accept my help gratefully.
â–ª It robs me of the nobility of taking up a cause, and takes me out of the champion role. It makes the Supreme Court the champion for imposing the mandate.
We highly honor those who enlist to fight in the military. There is less honor in being drafted into the military.
â–ª Coerced charity turns my willing gift into conscripted labor or confiscation of my earnings.
â–ª I predict it will demote lawyers to the role of taking assignments from a Pro Bono screening committee and serving the state when it calls us into service.
B. Aggravates the Worst in Human Nature
▪ When mandatory service or confiscation is imposed upon humans, it provokes human nature to find ways around the rule. It triggers the defense mechanism in human nature to make a game out of getting around the requirement – to comply in name only without sustaining any substantial loss. Lawyers will invent ways to defeat the officious, heavy-handed, interfering attempt to press them into servitude. When you impose the draft,
you get draft-dodgers.
â–ª Under mandatory pro bono, a person asking for a lawyer's help will know I am fulfilling a requirement -- that I have a quota of hours to meet. He will receive my help more in the nature of an entitlement.
C.
The proposed mandate would deprive me of
â–ª freedom to labor at what task I choose,
â–ª freedom to sell my labor at what price I choose (including at no charge) and
â–ª freedom to sell or give my labor to whom I choose.
Therefore, Mandatory pro bono rules violate the prohibitions (enshrined in the Thirteenth Amendment to the U. S. Constitution and Article 3, §15 of the Mississippi Constitution) against involuntary servitude.
D. The Bigger Picture
I do pro bono work NOT as a public service, but as a service to a private individual who is poor or oppressed, and as a private service to God.