Judicial Promotion of Pro Bono
Advisory Opinions
The examples of advisory opinions listed below focus on what are permissible judicial pro bono "activities" under the particular state's Model Code of Judicial Conduct.
Judicial Clerks and Pro Bono
Missouri Commission on Retirement, Removal and Discipline of Judges: Opinion 157 (1991)
According to Opinion 157 of the Missouri Commission on Retirement, Removal and Discipline of Judges, the juvenile division of a judicial circuit may publicly express its appreciation to the local bar for pro bono services provided in the representation of juveniles, in the form of a plaque mounted on the wall of the juvenile justice center and an annual award given to individual attorneys providing outstanding service to the court.
According to Nebraska Judicial Ethics Opinion 08-2, the Nebraska Code of Judicial Conduct does not prohibit judicial staff attorneys from taking a case from the Nebraska Volunteer Lawyer Project or providing legal representation for individual clients outside their regular employment by a court.
For more information, the full text of Nebraska Judicial Ethics Opinion 08-2 can be found here: http://www.supremecourt.ne.gov/professional-ethics/judges/ethics-committee/pdf/08-2.pdf
According to Texas Ethics Opinion 283, an attorney employed at a state intermediate appellate court may not perform pro bono work on a federal appeal, even when the issue appealed involves only a federal issue and no state, Texas or otherwise, has concurrent jurisdiction. The Texas Ethics Commission wrote that “Canon 3B (6), (8), (10) and 3C (2) require that appellant staff court attorneys are subject to the same ethical standards as the judge for whom they work.” Therefore, because Canon 4G prohibits a judge from practicing law, staff attorneys should also be prohibited.
For more information, the full text of Texas Ethics Opinion 283 can be found here: http://www.courts.state.tx.us/judethics/281-290.htm
Judicial Fundraising
According to Alaska Advisory Opinion 2004-01 (adopted February 2,2004), "[a judge may make monetary contributions to further pro bono activities." These contributions should be "reasonably equivalent to the value of the hours of service that would have otherwise been provided," however, "a judge may not personally participate in any solicitation of funds or be a guest or speaker at a fund raising event." 'The sole exception to this limitation is that a judge may solicit funds from other judges, if the judge holds no supervisory or appellate authority over the judge solicited."
For the full text of Alaska Advisory Opinion 2004-01, please click here: http://www.ajc.state.ak.us/CONDUCT.htm
See Florida Advisory Opinion 00-6 listed under Judicial Solicitation of Pro Bono Legal Services.
According to Nebraska Ethics Advisory Opinion 02-3, a judge may not sign a “recruiting letter” for the state bar association asking attorneys to perform pro bono legal services for low income clients or to donate money in lieu of service. Furthermore, a judge may not provide a statement of support for a non-profit legal services organization for use in a fundraising pamphlet.
Fort the full text of Nebraska Ethics Advisory Opinion 02-3, please click here: http://supremecourt.ne.gov/professional-ethics/judges/ethics-committee/pdf/02-3.pdf
According to Amended Opinion JE99-001 of the Nevada Standing Commission on Judicial Ethics and Election Practices, a judge, while serving as an officer of a judicial district pro bono foundation, may not sign a letter addressed to attorneys soliciting contributions to the foundation as a means of fulfilling their voluntary goal of providing pro bono legal services.
For the full text of Nevada Standing Commission on Judicial Ethics Amended Opinion JE99-001, please click here: http://judicial.state.nv.us/je990013new.htm
According to Nevada Standing Commission on Judicial Ethics and Election Practices Opinion JE00-004, judges may, to a limited extent, become involved in fundraising events to raise funds for legal service organizations providing pro bono services. However, “no attorney should feel any direct pressure exerted by a judicial officer while the decision whether to support pro bono is being made.”
For the full text of Nevada Standing Commission on Judicial Ethics Amended Opinion JE00-004, please click here: http://judicial.state.nv.us/je000043new.htm
Under New York Advisory Committee on Judicial Ethics Opinion 97-14, a judge may be a member of a county bar association committee that makes recommendations to the association about grants to be made from a fund established by a private foundation to enhance pro bono legal services in the county.
For the full text of New York Advisory Committee on Judicial Ethics Opinion 97-14, please click here: http://www.nycourts.gov/ip/judicialethics/opinions/97-14_.htm
Judicial Participation in Pro Bono Legal Services
According to Florida Advisory Opinion 00-25, a judge may not serve on the board of directors of a legal aid society that directly engages in litigation, or one that represents impoverished people through the use of staff counsel. A judge may, however, serve on the board of a legal aid society that acts only as an administrative body to assign cases to lawyers on a pro bono basis and does not make "policy decisions of political significance."
For the full text of Florida Advisory Opinion 00-25, please click here: http://www.jud6.org/LegaICommunity/LegaIPractice/opinions/jeacopinions/2000/2000-25.html
According to Michigan Advisory Opinion J-7 (2008), "a sitting Judge may engage in activities designed to promote and encourage attorneys to provide pro bono legal services." To this end, however, "[a] sitting judge should not directly solicit individual attorneys to provide pro bono services to specific persons."
For the full text of Michigan Advisory Opinion J-7, please click here: http://www.michbar.org/opinions/ethics/numbered_opinions/j-007.htm
Judicial Solicitation of Pro Bono Legal Services
According to Alabama Advisory Opinion 04-847, a judge may write a letter to members of a local bar association encouraging them to participate in the state bar’s volunteer lawyers program.
For the full text of Alabama Advisory Opinion 04-847, please click here: http://www.alalinc.net/jic/opinions/ao04-847.htm
According to Arizona Advisory Opinion 00-6, a judge may not solicit attorneys to donate time for pro bono legal services by participating in a telephone bank organized by a non-profit organization.
For the full text of Arizona Advisory Opinion 00-6, please click here: http://www.supreme.state.az.us/ethics/ethics_opinions/2000/00-06.pdf
According to Florida Advisory Opinion 00-6, a "chief judge may not author a letter to lawyers within the circuit soliciting them to join legal aid organizations, perform pro bono work, or contribute $359 in lieu of services to the organizations."
For the full text of Florida Advisory Opinion 00-6, please click here: http://www.jud6.org/LegaICommunity/LegaIPractice/opinions/jeacopinions/2000/2000-06.html
Per Kentucky Judicial Ethics Opinion JE-1 07, a judge may write a letter urging members of the bar to donate time to pro bono work provided that the letter does not reference a particular pro bono organization.
For the full text of Kentucky Advisory Opinion JE-107, please click here: http://courts.ky.gov/NR/rdonlyres/151 01 A23-D868-4788-89A3-469C73952A98/0/JE107.pdf
According to Maryland Advisory Opinion 124, the judges of a circuit court may, as a group, ask individual attorneys to agree to handle one pro bono case per year. In this regard, a judge may also personally ask an attorney to volunteer for such pro bono activity. Furthermore, the judges of a circuit court may place an ad in the local bar newspaper or appear at a group meeting of the bar to solicit volunteers for this service.
For the full text of Maryland Advisory Opinion 124, please click here: http://www.courts.state.md.us/ethics/opinions/1990s/1996-20.pdf
According to Nebraska Ethics Advisory Opinion 02-3, a judge may not sign a “recruiting letter” for the state bar association asking attorneys to perform pro bono legal services for low income clients or to donate money in lieu of service. Furthermore, a judge may not provide a statement of support for a non-profit legal services organization for use in a fundraising pamphlet.
For the full text of Nebraska Ethics Advisory Opinion 02-3, please click here: http://supremecourt.ne.gov/professional-ethics/judges/ethics-committee/pdf/02-3.pdf
According to New York Advisory Committee on Judicial Ethics Opinion 90-73, “[n]othing in the rules prohibits judges from soliciting pro bono representation.” The opinion makes clear, however, that the judge “should avoid the appearance of coercion.” Accordingly, if a judge uses a form which asks attorneys to volunteer to represent poor persons on a pro bono basis, “the attorneys should not have to indicate whether they would accept or decline pro bono appointment; rather the forms should be filled out only by those attorneys who agree to accept pro bono assignments.” Furthermore, should the attorney accept, the form should be returned to the clerk rather than the judge.
For the full text of New York Advisory Committee on Judicial Ethics Opinion 90-73, please click here: http://www.nycourts.gov/ip/judicialethics/opinions/90-73_.pdf
According to New York Advisory Committee on Judicial Ethics Opinion 93-60, a city court judge may not ask members of the local criminal bar if they would accept as a private client someone who could not pay the attorney’s regular fee.
For the full text of New York Advisory Committee on Judicial Ethics Opinion 93-60, please click here: http://www.nycourts.gov/ip/judicialethics/opinions/93-60.htm
According to West Virginia Judicial Investigation Commission opinion dated December 28, 1999, a judge may not write a letter on behalf of the pro bono domestic violence project to local attorneys asking them to participate in the program.
For further information, please see the West Virginia Judicial Investigation Commission: http://www.state.wv.us/wvsca/JIC/advop.htm
