Lawyers discuss lack of legal help for the needy
Posted on Wednesday, March 22, 2006
URL: http://www.nwanews.com/nwat/News/38743/
Marshall Prettyman, director of litigation for Legal Aid of Arkansas in Fayetteville, said salaries for attorneys who work for the service have stabilized during the last several years, while those for other lawyers in the public arena have risen. "My wife often refers to me as her pro bono commitment," he quipped, adding, on a more serious note, that a 10 percent cut in area legal services since the last census has resulted in him doing the work of three attorneys.
Prettyman was just one of the speakers at the town hall meeting hosted by U.S. Rep. John Boozman and members of the Arkansas Access to Justice Commission on Tuesday night at the Jones Center for Families in Springdale.
Boozman said the panel was a "who’s who of legal See JUSTICE, page A5 minds" and said many people in attendance at the town meeting were people his office has worked with on different areas. "I know your hearts and I know you work hard for people who need help," he said.
People in the legal profession and representatives from other areas that deal with those who have legal issues were given an opportunity to offer insights and ideas about legal challenges facing those in need.
Jennifer Langley, administrative assistant to the executive director of Legal Aid of Arkansas, said one of her duties is grant writing, but it is difficult to procure funding because of federal regulations against lobbying and limited funding sources.
Kathy Spigarelli, director of Adult and Community Education for the Fayetteville Public Schools, said the organization works with legal aid to provide two monthly programs on legal issues, but there is a waiting list of people who need help.
Despite challenges faced by those in legal services, Prettyman said he is glad to finally see a commitment to try to meet the needs out there.
The Arkansas Access to Justice Commission was established by the Arkansas Supreme Court in order to examine and propose methods of addressing civil legal needs of low-income Arkansans.
Charles Goldner, chairman of the commission and dean of the William Bowen School of Law at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, said a key issue is the lack of legal services to the poor, near poor, working poor and those who do not qualify for legal aid but who are not in a position to pay for legal services.
A December 2005 study published by the Legal Services Corporation in the U.S. Justice Department found that fully 80 percent of the civil legal needs of Americans could not be met by current resources.
Members of the commission who sat on a panel to hear about challenges in the 3 rd District were Judge Jim Spears of the 12 th Judicial Circuit, A. Glenn Vasser, president of the Arkansas Bar Association, and Bill Brown, executive director, Office of Human Concern in Benton, Carroll and Madison counties.
Immigration, mental health, domestic violence, veterans affairs and poverty were among those issues discussed in relation to the need for legal services at the town meeting.
One of those who spoke at the meeting was Judith Selle, CEO of the Peace at Home Family Shelter in Fayetteville, which helps victims of family violence. She said they face multiple legal issues, including orders of protection, divorce, retrieval of possessions, child custody and housing.
She cited a statewide statistic of one full-time legal services attorney for 13,000 eligible clients. After the meeting, Prettyman said that number is three per 44,000 eligible clients for the area his office services, which is Benton, Washington and Madison counties and half of Carroll County.
Also discussed during the meeting was the issue of pro bono administrators to provide private attorneys for legal services, as well as kiosks at courthouses to include forms people need if they represent themselves.
Fourth Circuit Judge Mike Mashburn thanked the commission for legal aid because attorneys who help people that otherwise would try to represent themselves keep the system running efficiently.
People who represent themselves often do things that are unnecessary and that take time, he said, and he, as a judge, cannot help people who choose this route of representation.
It is a critical issue, he said, because the legal issues can affect people for many years.
This is when the issue of providing forms for noncontested issues might help those who represent themselves was broached. Forms are available on the Internet, but Spears said many people who need them lack the computer skills to obtain them.
Chris Reed, a tax attorney in Springdale who also serves on the board of directors for the United Way of Washington County, said one of the recurring themes heard from agencies is the need for legal services.
Matt Goodwin, director of the Northwest Arkansas Interfaith Workers Justice Center, talked about how many Hispanic workers do construction work in the area and do not get paid. He said he gets two or three complaints a week from people who say they have not been compensated. "These people just fall through the cracks," he said.
Vasser suggested Goodwin refer people to smallclaims court. "I’ve tried to refer a few people," Goodwin said. "They haven’t followed through because it’s a lengthy process."
No matter what people think about the immigration issue, Boozman said, it is an injustice that workers are not getting paid and he suggested ways to educate them on options when they do not get compensated.
Other issues brought up include ways to use technology to provide better access between courts and clients and the increased use of law students in clinical situations to help people with legal needs without charging fees. Tim Tarvin, clinical professor at the UA School of Law, talked about how the school’s legal clinic could be expanded.
Fourth Circuit Judge Mark Lindsay talked about how pro bono legal work could be used for continuing legal education credit as an incentive. He also said he appreciates legal services and the work they do.