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Motivating More Lawyers To Help The Poor

By: Frankie Sophronia

Last year, the poor people of Hampshire were able to benefit $1 million in free legal services from state's lawyers where in fact, the average attorney fee is supposed to be $100 per hour. The New Hampshire Bar Association's deputy director and head of pro bono lawyer referral service said that there is no other professional who showed much passion in donating its services to the needy. But according to the lawyers, this isn't enough.

Pro bono is a Latin term which is the shortcut for pro bono publico, meaning for the public good. The role of promoting the pro bono system by the New Hampshire Legal Assistance is still not enough for there is still a remaining 80 percent of the poor's legal needs that needs to be answered. As for the other 20 percent, those are the cases that attorneys take since which make a difference for people.

To defend a person who committed a crime, it is the state's responsibility to look for a lawyer for that person. The county public defender programs are where this kind of issue is process. If for instance, a poor person is faced with eviction or has been denied from state benefits, then that's the time that he or she can be qualified for the New Hampshire Legal Assistance.

The Legal Assistance as well as the pro bono program is the ones that offer quality help to the poor. Federal guidelines indicate that in order for a person to be qualified of the free legal services, he or she needs to have less than 125 percent of the poverty level income. For a family of four, this is around $17,438 and for a single person, it is around $8,513.

Usually, it's the working poor who get the minimal benefits in most institutional programs. An individual needs to be really poor in a way that he or she cannot even afford availing of the reduced fee program, a program where lawyers offer their services at reduced rates. In instances where one isn't able to avail of legal aid, it may be more difficult especially in cases of child support because prices can go up. The state lacks staff to be able to get support for the less fortunate ones.

It is not that difficult to hire a good lawyer if one has the means to do it. Support money is a huge difference from being able to eat everyday and availing of public assistance. It is a fact that a lot of low income people can't get divorced because they lack money to afford lawyers. What parents do is that they live apart letting their children to suffer because there is no support order from the court.

The provision of legal services to the poor isn't being compensated by New Hampshire unlike most states. The poor benefit from the money given by the federal Legal Services Corp. and from the Income on Lawyers Trust Accounts program to Legal Assistance. The state bar association handles a program wherein client's money are held in escrow in a lawyer's own trust account to validate a separate bank account under the client's name.

To be able to motivate lawyers and law firms to contribute, honor roll pro bono services are given out by the bar association monthly. But in some cases, some lawyers and law firms do not appear most of the time. Also, the association gives an annual award to the lawyer who contributed so much for the poor.

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