I 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1762 

To promote pro bono legal services as a critical way in which to empower 

survivors of domestic violence. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 28, 2017 

Mr. KENNEDY (for himself, Ms. GABBARD, Mr. YOUNG of Alaska, Mrs. 

MCMORRIS RODGERS, Mrs. BROOKS of Indiana, Ms. KUSTER of New 

Hampshire, Mr. MEEHAN, Ms. CLARK of Massachusetts, Mr. COHEN, Mr. 

SWALWELL of California, Ms. TSONGAS, Mr. JOYCE of Ohio, and Ms. 

SPEIER) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To promote pro bono legal services as a critical way in 

which to empower survivors of domestic violence. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Pro bono Work to Em5 power and Represent Act of 2017’’ or ‘‘POWER Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 


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1 (1) Extremely high rates of domestic violence, 

2 dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking exist at 

3 the local, State, and national levels and such vio4 lence or behavior harms the most vulnerable mem5 bers of our society. 

6 (2) According to a study commissioned by the 

7 Department of Justice, nearly 25 percent of women 

8 suffer from domestic violence during their lifetime. 

9 (3) Proactive efforts should be made available 

10 in all forums to provide pro bono legal services and 

11 eliminate the violence that destroys lives and shat12 ters families. 

13 (4) A variety of factors cause domestic violence, 

14 dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking, and a 

15 variety of solutions at the local, State, and national 

16 level are necessary to combat such violence or behav17 ior. 

18 (5) According to the National Network to End 

19 Domestic Violence, which conducted a census includ20 ing almost 1,700 assistance programs, over the 

21 course of 1 day in September 2014, more than 

22 10,000 requests for services, including legal rep23 resentation, were not met. 

24 (6) Pro bono assistance can help fill this need 

25 by providing not only legal representation, but also 


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1 access to emergency shelter, transportation, and 

2 childcare. 

3 (7) Research and studies have demonstrated 

4 that the provision of legal assistance to victims of 

5 domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, 

6 and stalking reduces the probability of such violence 

7 or behavior reoccurring in the future and can help 

8 survivors move forward. 

9 (8) Legal representation increases the possi10 bility of successfully obtaining a protective order 

11 against an attacker, preventing further mental and 

12 physical injury to a victim and his or her family, 

13 demonstrated by a study that found that 83 percent 

14 of victims represented by an attorney were able to 

15 obtain a protective order compared to 32 percent of 

16 victims without an attorney. 

17 (9) The American Bar Association Model Rules 

18 include commentary that ‘‘every lawyer, regardless 

19 of professional prominence or professional workload, 

20 has a responsibility to provide legal services to those 

21 unable to pay, and personal involvement in the prob22 lems of the disadvantaged can be one of the most re23 warding experiences in the life of a lawyer’’. 

24 (10) As representatives of the Department of 

25 Justice, the duty of United States Attorneys is to 


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1 present ‘‘equal and impartial justice to all its citi2 zens,’’ which should include, especially, survivors of 

3 domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, 

4 and stalking who might not otherwise know how to 

5 seek advice and protection. 

6 (11) As Federal leaders who have knowledge of 

7 domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, 

8 and stalking in their localities, United States Attor9 neys should encourage lawyers to provide pro bono 

10 resources in an effort to help victims of such vio11 lence or behavior to escape the cycle of abuse. 

12 (12) A dedicated army of pro bono attorneys fo13 cused on this mission will inspire others to devote ef14 forts to this cause and will raise awareness of the 

15 scourge of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual 

16 assault, and stalking throughout the country. 

17 (13) Communities, by providing awareness of 

18 pro bono legal services and assistance to survivors of 

19 domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, 

20 and stalking, will empower those survivors to move 

21 forward with their lives. 

22 SEC. 3. U.S. ATTORNEYS TO PROMOTE EMPOWERMENT 

23 EVENTS. 

24 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after the 

25 date of enactment of this Act, and not less often than once 


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1 each year thereafter, each United States Attorney, or his 

2 or her designee, for each judicial district shall lead not 

3 less than 1 public event, in partnership with a State, local, 

4 tribal, or territorial domestic violence service provider or 

5 coalition and a State or local volunteer lawyer project, pro6 moting pro bono legal services as a critical way in which 

7 to empower survivors of domestic violence, dating violence, 

8 sexual assault, and stalking and engage citizens in assist9 ing those survivors. 

10 (b) DISTRICTS CONTAINING INDIAN TRIBES AND

11 TRIBAL ORGANIZATIONS.—During each 3-year period, a 

12 United States Attorney, or his or her designee, for a judi13 cial district that contains an Indian tribe or tribal organi14 zation (as those terms are defined in section 4 of the In15 dian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act 

16 (25 U.S.C. 450b)) shall lead not less than 1 public event 

17 promoting pro bono legal services under subsection (a) in 

18 partnership with an Indian tribe or tribal organization 

19 with the intent of increasing the provision of pro bono 

20 legal services for Indian or Alaska Native victims of do21 mestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalk22 ing. 

23 (c) REQUIREMENTS.—Each United States Attorney 

24 shall— 


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1 (1) have discretion on the design, organization, 

2 and implementation of the public events required 

3 under subsection (a); and 

4 (2) in conducting a public event under sub5 section (a), seek to maximize the local impact of the 

6 event and the provision of access to high-quality pro 

7 bono legal services by survivors of domestic violence, 

8 dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking. 

9 SEC. 4. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS. 

10 (a) REPORT TO THE ATTORNEY GENERAL.—Not 

11 later than October 30 of each year, each United States 

12 Attorney shall submit to the Attorney General a report 

13 detailing each public event conducted under section 3 dur14 ing the previous fiscal year. 

15 (b) REPORT TO CONGRESS.— 

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than January 1 of 

17 each year, the Attorney General shall submit to Con18 gress a compilation and summary of each report re19 ceived under subsection (a) for the previous fiscal 

20 year. 

21 (2) REQUIREMENT.—Each comprehensive re22 port submitted under paragraph (1) shall include an 

23 analysis of how each public event meets the goals set 

24 forth in this Act, as well as suggestions on how to 

25 improve future public events. 


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1 SEC. 5. FUNDING. 

2 The Department of Justice shall use existing funds 

3 to carry out the requirements of this Act. 

Æ 


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