WSJ Law Blog, Above the Law Weigh in on Proposed Mandatory Pro Bono Rule for Mississippi Attorneys
In the last two days both the WSJ blog and the Above the Law Blog weighed in on the Mississippi Supreme Court's proposed rule to require Mississippi lawyers to perform 20 hours of pro bono work per year.
Above the Law equates the proposal to slavery, which is a bit over the top. Will Bardwell to ATL to task here.
The WSJ blog quoted a Virginia law professor as being all for the proposal:
George Cohen, a legal ethics expert at Virginia Law School, applauds the proposed Mississippi rule. “trying to get people to be more cognizant of the needs of poor people for legal services is important,” he said. “Making lawyers more aware of their social responsibilities as a quid pro quo for the benefits of practicing law is also a good thing.”
Great. Someone who is not subject to the rule preaching about its virtues. That's something about the rule that irks me: it is coming from Supreme Court Justices who are not subject to its requirements.
I would rather hear from supporters like Bardwell, who at least would be subject to the rule.
Meanwhile, I have decided that I am all for any proposals to require all Virginia Law School professors to spend their summers in Mississippi providing pro bono representation for Mississippi's poor.
Here are prior posts on the proposal.
It's really not that Cohen guy's fault. If the WSJ calls, all he can do is tell them what he thinks. The reporter should have called somebody with a little more insight, even if he was bound and determined to get a professor's take...e.g., Ben Cooper at Ole Miss.
I am just curious. How much pro bono work does the average lawyer typically do? I personally disagree with the principle of mandating volunteerism, but I would imagine that most lawyers allready do more than 20 hours a year anyway?
I do not know how many pro bono hours is average. Many lawyers perform a lot more than 20 hours per year. Some perform hundreds of hours. But some do none.
My guess is that for lawyers that consistently maintain a pro bono case load, the average is around 40-50 hours a year. But I could be way off.