A recent article in the Wall Street Journal, incidated that "the Mississippi Supreme Court is considering a proposed rule to require lawyers in the state to provide at least 20 hours of pro bono work. The rule has been proposed to try to help the thousands of low-income residents in the state who can not afford a lawyer in civil matters, according to this article in The Clarion-Ledger. There’s certainly a growing number of people nationwide who can not afford counsel, as the WSJ recently reported. But Mississippi lawyers are still none too happy that altruism may be forced upon them, the Clarion-Ledger reports. (Click here to see Above the Law’s take on the proposed rule.) “Other than perhaps the priesthood, I am unaware of any profession which requires its members, as a condition of their right to practice their craft, to contribute a portion of their income to charity,” attorney Don Lacy wrote in a letter to the supreme court.
If Mississippi does adopt mandatory pro bono, could it be legally challenged?
If Mississippi does adopt mandatory pro bono, could it be legally challenged?
For more information about this interesting twist on pro bono work, click here to access the full article.
