LSC 2007 Action Plan 

for 

Private Attorney Involvement 

Help Close the Justice Gap, Unleash the Power of Pro Bono

I. INTRODUCTION 

This document details the Proposed LSC Private Attorney Involvement Action Plan for 2007 (“Plan”). The 

Plan is the next step in implementing the work of the Provisions Committee in 2006. 

In keeping with the LSC mission of promoting equal access to justice, the LSC Provisions Committee 

focused its 2006 committee meetings on examining private attorney involvement with LSC-funded 

programs. The Committee sought to highlight the potential, opportunities and challenges of private 

attorney involvement and to determine ways in which this critical resource can be used more effectively 

by LSC-funded programs as a means to help close the justice gap. 

During the 2006 Provisions Committee presentations, the overarching values of private attorney 

involvement to LSC–funded programs were noted: increasing access, increasing human and capital 

resources and increasing pro bono commitment. The activities in the Plan are grounded in these 

overarching values. 

In addition to these values, the Plan builds on the following observations that were made during those 

presentations: 

• All attorneys are servants of the community and have a fundamental duty to help provide 

legal services to those who cannot afford them; 

 

• LSC Board can and should take a leadership role and use LSC’s national voice to encourage

a culture of private attorney involvement as an effective tool for providing legal services to 

more persons in need – the very core of what legal service programs are in communities to 

do; 

• Pro bono delivery is the source of some of the most creative and beneficial work that is 

happening. However, a significant number of pro bono programs are still doing what they did 

in 1981 when the private attorney involvement requirement began and it is time for a renewed

focus on creative delivery; 

• It is of vital importance to acknowledge and celebrate the involvement of private attorneys in 

the delivery of legal services; and 

 

• The increased reliance on and access to information technology continues to change how 

individual lawyers, LSC-funded programs and clients obtain access to and receive and 

deliver legal services. 

In a preliminary report in October 2006, it was noted that LSC’s developing Plan had roles for the LSC 

Board and LSC staff. Also included are ideas and strategies for engaging the courts and the law schools 

in working with LSC and its programs on private attorney involvement. 
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The Plan also is guided by the LSC Board-adopted Strategic Directions 2006-2010 and is a component 

part of a larger overall LSC work plan designed to achieve the goals delineated in the Strategic Directions 

in support of the LSC mission. 

Strategic Directions 

There are several areas of Strategic Directions 2006-2010 that provide guidance to the development and 

implementation of the PAI Action Plan for 2007. 

Goal 1: Increase public awareness of and support for civil legal services to low-income 

persons in order to respond appropriately to more of their legal needs. 

Objective 1: Increase access to and expand ways of providing assistance. 

Strategies: 

 Encourage expanded pro bono activities and contributions. 

Private attorneys provide most of the pro bono services that are offered to lowincome people, and LSC will work with grantees and bar associations to expand 

the provision of pro bono services. 

Objective 2: As the principal leader in the legal services/access to justice 

community, strengthen collaborations and strategic 

partnerships. 

Strategies: 

 With judicial organizations 

At the state and federal levels, judicial organizations can be effective advocates 

for ensuring equal access to justice. Through organizations such as the Center 

for State Courts, the Conference of Chief Justices of State Supreme Courts, the 

Judicial Conference of the United States, LSC can help raise awareness of the 

need for programs and funding to assist the poor in obtaining access to justice. 

Over the next five years, LSC will increase its engagement with judicial 

organizations. 

 With law schools and clinics 

Law schools and clinics are significant sources of legal assistance in some 

areas. More can be done to encourage law professors and students to support 

the delivery of legal aid to the poor. 

 With private attorneys, bar associations, and corporate legal counsels 

Organizations representing attorneys are very effective advocates on equal 

justice issues. LSC will continue to work with such organizations to build support 

for more resources dedicated to legal assistance to low-income people. 

 With state equal justice communities 

In many states, statewide organizations have been formed to promote equal 

access to justice. LSC will work over the next five years to assist in establishing 

equal access to justice commissions or other similar entities where they do not 

exist and to support the ongoing efforts of existing commissions. 
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Additionally, the Plan complements the provisions of the LSC Performance Criteria, revised in 2006, 

specifically: 

Performance Area Three: “Effectiveness of legal representation and other program activities 

intended to benefit the low-income population in its service area.” 

Criterion 2, Performance Area Three: “The program effectively integrates private attorneys in 

its work in order to supplement the amount and effectiveness of its representation and other 

services and achieve its goals and objectives.” 

II. ACTION PLAN 

Applying the LSC Strategic Directions and revised LSC Performance Criteria as sources of guidance, the 

following strategies in the Plan will be continued and/or implemented in 2007: 

LSC Board of Directors 

• Will continue its practice, begun in 2006, when holding Board meetings outside of 

Washington, DC to recognize and celebrate local attorneys who have made significant 

contributions to the host LSC-funded program’s private attorney involvement project. 

• Will adopt at its April 29, 2007 Board meeting, resolutions in support of private attorney 

involvement that can be sent by the Board to LSC grantee Board Chairs as examples to be 

replicated with their local and state bar associations. 

• Will attend their local and state bar associations meetings, share the importance of private 

attorney involvement with LSC grantees, and make presentations of these private attorney 

involvement resolutions. 

• Will form a Joint Committee with the ABA Pro Bono Committee to explore the creation of a 

National Pro Bono Day as a means of highlighting private attorney contributions to civil legal 

aid and honoring outstanding private attorney participants. 

• Will explore the development of a “pilot project” to enlist law school faculty professors on 

sabbatical leave who would provide their legal skills, substantive expertise, and research 

abilities to LSC management on a variety of civil legal aid delivery issues. 

LSC Staff 

• Will issue by June 30, 2007 a private attorney involvement Program Letter. This Program 

Letter will provide guidance to LSC’s grantees on suggested approaches to more fully utilize 

the critical resources offered by expanded opportunities for private attorney involvement in 

the delivery of legal services. Similar to the LSC program letter issued in 2004 on Limited 

English Proficiency, this program letter might offer guidance and examples on topics such as: 

o Creation of innovative pro bono delivery models using private attorneys to address the 

full range of legal needs in the grantee service area to include pro bono panels, legal 

clinics, advice and referral consultations, hotlines, rotation programs to assign law firm 

staff to legal service programs and signature projects. 

o Effective identification and recruitment methods for all private attorney resources in 

grantee service areas to include bar associations, corporate law departments, 

government attorneys and law schools. 
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o Innovative collaborations with law schools and law students which might include 

access to sources for legal research, website content development, alumni projects 

and a range of support for private attorneys engaged in the delivery of civil legal aid. 

o Written private attorney involvement plan development that includes effective training 

and provision of administrative support for private attorneys such as form pleadings, 

practice manuals, cost coverage, malpractice insurance and research. 

o Effective and efficient use of technology for referral, research and support. 

o A range of successful, innovative and visible ways to recognize volunteer attorneys. 

• In grantee program visits, will continue to apply the indicators of effective private attorney 

involvement as detailed in the revised LSC Performance Criteria and will explore with the 

ABA Center for Pro Bono the sharing and development of staff training tools on private 

attorney involvement evaluation and resource development. 

• Will continue to provide technical assistance with the enhancement and redesign of the LSC 

Resource Library (LRI) to include a specific site on private attorney involvement that offers: 

o examples of the critical elements of written private attorney involvement plans 

o methods to address challenges to effective private attorney involvement 

o examples of successful private attorney involvement projects and activities 

• Will collaborate with the following organizations to expand and promote private attorney 

involvement opportunities for grantee programs: 

o ABA Center for Pro Bono staff to expand the role of law schools and law students 

in the delivery of legal services. 

o ABA Pro Bono Committee staff to explore opportunities for national funding of an 

honorarium for the ABA to recognize a LSC grantee for its private attorney 

involvement efforts. 

o MIE Journal Editorial Committee to publish a Special Feature on the private 

attorney involvement Program Letter. 

• Will partner with other organizations and entities to attend conferences and make 

presentations on private attorney involvement. 

o ABA/NLADA Equal Justice Conference, panel presentations March 21-24, 2007, 

Denver, CO. 

o ABA/ NLADA Access to Justice Conference, presentation, March 24, 2007, 

Denver, CO. 

o National Association for Law Placement Conference, (NALP) 

Presentation, April 2007, Keystone, CO. 

o NLADA Annual Conference, presentation, November 14-17, 2007, Tuscon, AZ. 

o Other organizations as identified such as, the Conference of Chief Justices of 

State Supreme Courts. 
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• Will publicize private attorney involvement using its own communication tools (LSC website, 

Equal Justice Magazine, LSC Updates.) 

• Will explore web-based training capabilities to reach grantee programs on enhanced PAI 

opportunities. 

Help Close the Justice Gap, Unleash the Power of Pro Bono

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