Access to Justice Fee
On June 28 the Supreme Judicial Court adopted an amendment to Rule 4:03(1) of the Rules of the Supreme Judicial Court providing for a $51 voluntary annual fee whose proceeds shall be remitted to the IOLTA Committee for distribution to MLAC and the Massachusetts and Boston Bar Foundations “for use in the administration of justice and the provision of civil legal services to those who cannot afford them.” Any attorney who does not wish to pay the voluntary fee can opt out of the fee by saying so. The decision to opt out will be kept confidential by the BBO. The rule change takes effect September 1, 2010.
The Access to Justice Commission considered a similar amendment during 2008‐2009 and proposed it to the Court last year. This spring the Court issued a draft of the amendment for comment. The amendment provides for the Board of Bar Overseers to remit the fees collected at least quarterly to the IOLTA Committee, which should mean that funds will reach MLAC and the Bar Foundations by January.
House Subcommittee Approves $20 Million Increase for LSC, and Lifts Class Action Bar
On June 29 the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies approved a $440 million FY ’11 budget for the Legal Services Corporation. If approved by the full Appropriations Committee, the House and the Senate, and then signed by the President, this would be a 5% increase over the current year’s $420 million and would translate into an increase of about $300,000 for the state’s four LSC grantees starting January 1, 2011.
Last year’s appropriation removed the 1996 restriction on LSC grantees claiming or collecting attorneys fees. The House Subcommittee bill now would remove the 1996 bar on grantees instituting or participating in class action litigation. Other 1996 restrictions would remain in place, however, such as those on prisoner litigation, representation of some classes of aliens and many forms of lobbying. Also left in place is the “entity” restriction which applies the other restrictions to all activities of an LSC grantee, not just to the grantee’s use of LSC funds. Many of the remaining restrictions would be eliminated under Senator Harkin’s proposed reauthorization of the Legal Services Corporation Act of 1974 (which was last reauthorized in 1977).
The LSC press release can be found at http://www.lsc.gov/press/pressrelease_detail_2010_T261_R17.php AMA Supports Medical‐Legal Partnerships
At its Annual Meeting in June the American Medical Association embraced the legal profession . . . in a limited way. A policy was adopted urging physicians to form “medical‐legal partnerships” with lawyers through which the lawyers address the legal situations that contribute to poor health. These partnerships have been spreading across the country in the last several years, usually involving a legal services program as one of the partners. The movement is based in Boston at the Boston Medical Center. For more information, see the websites of the National Center for Medical‐Legal Partnerships, http://www.medical‐legalpartnership.org/, and of the original program, the Medical‐Legal Partnership | Boston, http://www.mlpboston.org/.
Massachusetts Budget: Courts Cut, MLAC Level Funded
On June 30, Governor Patrick signed the budget for FY ’11, including several appropriations that affect access to justice. In addition to the $17.5 million cut in the Trial Court budget proposed by the legislature, the Governor vetoed another $11.4 million for a total cut of almost $29 million. Many observers, including bar associations and the Access to Justice Commission, had urged that the deeper cuts be avoided.
The Massachusetts Legal Assistance Corporation, strongly supported by bar associations and the Equal Justice Coalition’s “Walk to the Hill” managed to avoid a cut.