The recent push in New York for increased pro bono services—recommending 50 hours annually—is laudable and should be encouraged. That said, the article, “Pro Bono Rules Don’t Always Match Reality for Small Firms” (Oct. 1) keenly and perceptively showcased how challenges remain for solo and small firm practitioners to effectively join this effort, and to comply with a possible reporting requirement for the number of hours devoted to pro bono matters.
I am a solo practitioner and one of my practice areas is representing tenants in Housing Court. Every day there are low-income tenants without representation who literally line the hallways. Legal services reportedly has to turn away many more clients than it accepts. However, based on my experience, there is no resource available to link these unrepresented low-income tenants with solo and small firm attorneys who might be willing to offer pro bono services. Personally, I have contacted legal services agencies to express an interest in obtaining case referrals, but usually I either do not receive a response or am told that service is not provided. Or sometimes when a random referral is available, the tenants are in hopeless situations where I could spend a day in court and not prevent the ultimate outcome of an eviction.
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