June 2001

Access to Justice

A Call to Arms: The Videophone Client Counseling Project

Many lawyers retain their idealism about what the law can do for individuals. We all should care about fulfilling our professional responsibilities to promote access to justice for everyone, regardless of income. Yet, fulfilling these responsibilities and putting good intentions into practice can be challenging, and ideals can be deprioritized or lost in the shuffle of a busy practice.

The problem can be particularly acute for attorneys practicing "in-house" at private corporations. While lawyers in private law firms tend to receive bar awards for pro bono services, with a few notable exceptions, it tends to be more difficult for in-house counsel to provide pro bono services. Many low-income people with legal needs are not getting help because of the shortage of attorney volunteers.

Many reasons are given for the disparity between the pro bono activities of attorneys in private firms and those in corporate law departments. Unlike their law-firm counterparts, in-house lawyers commonly aren't covered by malpractice insurance, so they may shy away from representing indigents out of self-protection. They may lack the resources to screen pro bono clients for financial eligibility, to ensure that their services aren't being given away to those who can afford to pay a private attorney. Sometimes they don't have the expertise to assist pro bono clients in areas where needs are most pronounced.

Like all lawyers, in-house counsel already have significant time demands on their professional lives, and are concerned about being drawn into an open-ended time commitment. Moreover, many in-house lawyers are business lawyers, not litigators, and assume that pro bono representation will require an appearance in court, where they may lack experience. Also, some companies might hesitate to donate in-house legal resources to help low-income clients, since, unlike law firms, they view their legal departments as cost centers instead of revenue generators.

Seeking to address these concerns and to reach a potentially huge source of in-house attorney volunteers, the Northwest Justice Project (NJP) and the WSBA Pro Bono and Legal Aid Committee have joined forces to create a task force called the Corporate Counsel Partnership for Justice.

The partnership's objective is to increase participation by identifying, creating and implementing pro bono activities that are particularly suited to in-house counsel, thus providing opportunities to perform meaningful pro bono work.

The partnership's steering committee is composed of several in-house lawyers from local companies, including Amazon.com, Bsquare Corporation, Oceantrawl Inc. and Washington Mutual, as well as NJP and WSBA staff representatives.

The partnership expects to implement its initial program, the Videophone Client Counseling Project, on a two-county pilot basis. The program will involve the use of videophone technology to connect in-house counsel in urban areas with clients in rural areas. Clients will obtain the benefit of a legal consultation without having to overcome the time, expense and logistical hurdles of traveling to an urban area to meet with an attorney in person. In addition, at least one local judge has indicated a willingness to allow attorneys to make videophone appearances at motions and show-cause hearings in appropriate cases.

Intake and Eligibility: NJP will provide the initial intake and screening of clients for financial eligibility, and refer clients with identified legal problems to specific corporate law departments or in-house counsel.

Malpractice Insurance: Because NJP is making client referrals, the agency is able to arrange for related volunteer services for this project to be covered under NJP's malpractice insurance policy, which has limits of $2,000,000 per occurrence, with no deductible.

Avoiding "Down" Time: Through the use of videophone technology, in-house lawyers can confer with clients on a face-to-face basis without ever leaving their offices. There will be no travel time needed to get to a legal clinic site, and no time wasted waiting for late clients or no-shows. The partnership will arrange sites in rural communities for consultations, and provide a videophone to each location. In-house counsel will also receive a videophone, which can be plugged into a telephone jack and electrical outlet, without the need for a computer, modem or any specialized training.

Dealing with Expertise Concerns: The partnership intends to limit the pilot program to landlord-tenant and debtor-creditor law, plus any specific areas of law that in-house lawyers indicate they are interested in handling. Only clients having legal problems relating to these designated areas of law will be referred. This should minimize concerns about needing a wide range of expertise in a variety of areas. NJP and its access to justice network partners are committed to providing free training in landlord-tenant and debtor-creditor issues, and to sharing their extensive materials and publications with volunteer attorneys.

Addressing Time Constraints: The in-house lawyer will provide up to one hour of videophone consultation per client. If the consultation reveals that the client needs additional legal services, the lawyer will devote up to three hours of follow-up time — the maximum commitment and expectation. However, nothing should prevent a volunteer from spending more time on a particular matter if he is willing to do so. If the initial videophone conference reveals that the client's legal problem will require services beyond the three-hour follow-up commitment, and the volunteer attorney is unable to provide the additional services, the client may be referred back to NJP. Although we hope such referrals will be rare, this is a built-in safeguard for the in-house counsel participating in the program.

The Perry Mason Issue: In-house attorneys can provide a host of services to pro bono clients that don't involve a courtroom. Obvious examples are negotiations with landlords or creditors, helping clients complete forms or write letters, and basic client counseling regarding their rights. Client needs should be identifiable early in the process, and efforts will be made to refer nonlitigation matters to those lawyers who tell the partnership that they find courtroom advocacy to be daunting.

Weighing Costs and Benefits to the Company: Most businesses view themselves as good corporate citizens, and many encourage their employees to participate in community or charitable activities. However, such activities seldom offer corporate lawyers the chance to contribute services using their legal skills. The Videophone Client Counseling Project is custom-made for this purpose. Participation by a group of in-house lawyers in the same company should enhance employee team spirit and morale within corporate law departments, and create additional opportunities for promoting corporate visibility for participating companies.

In addition, NJP's training programs will qualify for free CLE credits, including an hour of free ethics training provided by the WSBA if desired by any participating law department. This training will enable volunteer in-house attorneys to earn mandatory CLE credits without out-of-pocket tuition charges to corporate employers. Participation in the program will allow attorneys to obtain free CLE credits under the recently enacted Regulation 103(g) of Admission to Practice Rule.

Community agencies in Skamania and Stevens counties have agreed to provide sites for videophones and to act as project facilitators. NJP, through its CLEAR (Coordinated Legal Education, Advice and Referral) line, is ready to start making referrals as eligible clients in those communities call for legal advice with landlord-tenant or creditor-debtor problems. A flier has been prepared for distribution in the rural communities to be served by the pilot program, and a press release is being drafted to announce the first corporate law department(s) participating in the project. Only one element is missing: in-house volunteer lawyers.

Whether you are general counsel of your company, and thus in a position to foster the participation of the attorneys in your law department, or an individual in-house attorney willing to volunteer, you can help make a positive difference in the lives of pro bono clients in rural communities.

Here is your chance to join the partnership's pilot program, which we hope will someday be implemented statewide. If you or your law department are interested in learning more about this program or would like to volunteer, please contact Andrew Guy at 206-441-7637 or aguy@oceantrawl.com.

Before joining Oceantrawl Inc., Mr. Guy was a member of Bogle & Gates PLLC. He currently co-chairs the King County Bar Association Community Legal Services Committee and is a member of the WSBA Pro Bono and Legal Aid Committee. He chairs its Corporate Counsel Subcommittee, which acts as the steering committee for the Corporate Counsel Partnership for Justice.

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