A Lawless And Unwise Pro Bono Mandate

The New York Law Journal recently reported that New York Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman has instituted a first-in-the-nation mandate that law students must complete 50 hours of pro bono legal services before applying for bar admission. Qualifying pro bono work is loosely defined to include legal services for people of ‘limited means,” non-profits, individuals or groups seeking to promote access to justice, and public service in the judiciary and state and local governments. New Jersey and Connecticut are considering similar requirements.

What on earth gives a chief judge of a state judicial system the power to mandate involuntary servitude by citizens not even admitted to the bar of the court? Imagine if the state board of licensing for plumbers, electricians or any other profession or trade issued a new fiat that all such aspiring professionals or tradesmen must donate 50 hours of uncompensated services to people of “limited” means, state bureaus or non-profits before they can be considered for licensing. A public outcry would ensue that such board officials are staffing social programs, government service and select organizations with the uncompensated labor of aspiring workmen without a law entitling them to do so.