This page was last updated on 11/29/2017
While legal professionals understand the necessity for all people, despite their financial situations, to have access to legal assistance, the demand for free legal services often outweighs availability. Many states have reduced this gap by developing innovative programs, such as requiring attorneys to do pro bono work or to provide low bono, pre-paid and unbundled legal services, but the limited number of attorneys actually volunteering their services makes it a difficult feat to overcome.
Links to related online resources are listed below. Non-digitized publications may be borrowed from the NCSC Library; call numbers are provided.
Report to the Chief Judge of the State of New York and the Presiding Justices of the Four Appellate Division Departments concerning the proposal to require prospective attorneys to spend 50 hours performing pro bono work as a requirement for admission to the bar of the State of New York. This requirement arose primarily to respond to the crisis in access to justice.
This article discusses how private bars, especially the ABA, attempt to ensure proper representation for those who may be executed.
Administrative Office of the Courts