In the practice of law, strife and conflict often typify the day. It was thus heartening to see so many attorneys and jurists gather in generous accord at Baltimore’s Camden Club for the ninth annual awards and recognition breakfast of the Equal Justice Council of Maryland and the Legal Aid Bureau Inc.
The May 24 event honored those who have given untold hours to provide free civil legal services to low income people in Maryland. While congratulations were in order, so was sobering self-examination.
The remarks of the keynote speaker, Jonathan Lindley, provided an eye-opening perspective on our nation’s commitment to the elusive ideal of equal justice for the poor. Mr. Lindley is the Executive Director of Service Design for the Legal Services Commission, England’s counterpart to the Legal Services Corporation in the United States. He surveyed the system of providing legal services to the indigent and in so doing highlighted an unflattering disparity between our two countries.
While 50 million Americans are unable to afford legal counsel, 4 million are similarly situated in England and Wales. Yet the British government outspends our own by a multiple of three in funding for legal aid.
In 2005 the Legal Services Commission received the current equivalent of $1.6 billion in government grants for performing civil legal services on behalf of needy citizens in England and Wales, according to its annual report. For that same year, the Congress coughed up $335 million for our Legal Services Corporation, upon which legal aid bureaus around the U.S. heavily rely.
So the United Kingdom, with its population of about 60 million, spends more than $26 per person on legal aid. The U.S. spends just over $1 per person.
If there is a positive way to spin those numbers, I will leave it to others to concoct it. All I can say in good faith is that with the federal government’s legal aid funding so low, members of the bar must do what they can to fill the yawning gap.
Let us consider that gap and what it means to the lives of the poor. A report released last fall by the Legal Services Corporation estimated that 80 percent of the civil legal needs of low-income Americans are going unmet, and that half of all people who approach a Legal Services Corporation grantee are turned away for lack of resources.
These findings have been born out here in Maryland. According to its 2005 annual report, our Legal Aid Bureau is able to help only 20 percent of those needing civil legal assistance. Furthermore, the help the bureau is able to provide to that 20 percent does not satisfy the entirety of the individuals’ needs.
These estimates are more startling when you consider that the ranks of the needy are growing. According to the Census Bureau (whose statistics on poverty are widely debated), the number of Americans in poverty has steadily grown since the turn of the century, from 31.6 million in 2000 to 37 million in 2004. Consider, too, that Hurricane Katrina, in displacing thousands and creating countless legal problems, will exacerbate the need for legal aid wherever evacuees have landed.
This is a need we cannot ignore. The poor need legal assistance at times of crisis. In the wake of an eviction, a termination, domestic abuse, or an injury, reliable legal assistance can make the difference between homelessness and home, employment and poverty, despair and hope.
We can be grateful that many members of the bench and bar do the right thing every day by supporting legal aid. The charismatic leadership of Wilhelm H. Joseph, Jr. is inspiring, and under his guidance the Maryland Legal Aid Bureau is known as one of the finest legal aid organizations in the country. He joined hundreds of others at the May awards breakfast in congratulating some of the individuals and firms who are strong supporters of the institution. It is worth naming them here:
Champions of Justice Award
John B. Isbister
James F. Rosner
Bregman, Berbert, Schwartz & Gilday, LLC
Young Lawyers Division Award
Carlos A. Braxton
Pace Setters Award
Venable, LLP
Kramon & Graham, PA
Trail Blazers Award
DLA Piper Rudnick
Hon. William O. Carr
Executive Director’s Award
Hon. Deborah Sweet Eyler
Note that these individuals are busy and accomplished people yet manage to devote a great deal of time to legal aid. As lawyers and judges, why should we not take another hour or two, or donate more dollars to help achieve the rule of law and equal justice for everyone? We should all consider Md. Rule 6.1 Pro Bono Publico Service. This rule reminds us of the responsibility to render legal services to the poor.
As Chief Judge Robert M. Bell reminded those in attendance in his closing remarks, lawyers and judges are indispensable to promoting individual rights and the rule of law. This is a professional responsibility, and we should be proud of it.
To volunteer or donate, go to www.mdlab.org.