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News From the Center
"JUDGES' BEST PRACTICES" PRO BONO/CLE PROJECT
JUDGES' BEST PRACTICES - MAY 19 2006, FT. EDWARD, NEW YORK
L. to R. Hon. Vito C. Caruso, Administrative Judge, 4th Judicial District; Hon. J. Timothy Breen, Family Court, Warren County; Hon. Courtney Hall, Family Court, Saratoga County; Hon. Stephen Ferradino, Supreme Court, Saratoga County.
In these changing times, the growing demand for access to justice for the poor increases the importance of encouraging attorney pro bono activity in New York State. Additionally, the issue of increased need for pro bono involvement in the rural areas of the state, has become more apparent. Since rural practitioners often practice alone, or in small firms, they often do not have the resources available in urban areas. Therefore, they routinely face difficulties of time and distance when trying to meet their mandatory Continuing Legal Education (CLE) requirements. Recognizing both the rural need for pro bono activity and the rural attorney's need for accessible CLE courses, the Rural Law Center of New York, Inc. (RLCNY) initiated its innovative "Judges' Best Practices" Pro Bono/CLE Project six years ago.
As an accredited CLE provider in New York State, the Rural Law Center travels to rural counties statewide to deliver on-site, locally specific and credit bearing CLE presentations. Each presentation is essentially a partnership between the Rural Law Center, and the local judiciary, the local bar association, and the local legal services program. Generally scheduled as half-day sessions, with the curriculum designed and taught by local judges, these seminars focus on the practice areas of Supreme Court, Family Court, County Court and Surrogate's Court. This model serves the needs of all partners in the project. The judges are able to demonstrate their court's specific expectations and thereby elevate the level of practice. Practicing attorneys receive useful information and guidance from the local courts. And most importantly, attending attorneys (in lieu of registration fees) agree to provide pro bono services that are administered by the local legal services program or the local bar association.
When we began this project, the Rural Law Center was funded primarily by the IOLA Fund of the State of New York. In order to provide the "Judges' Best Practices" to rural regions of the State, the Center received additional funding from the American Bar Association and the New York Bar Foundation. Additionally, variations of these trainings were added and "Best Practices" have been presented in specific areas, such as Domestic Violence Law and Immigration Law. To date, in the overall project, over 1720 attorneys from 29 rural counties have attended these trainings and made commitments of approximately 25,800 hours to pro bono service in their communities at a value of $3,870,000.
The creative design of this project has captured some attention outside of New York State as well. The American Bar Association's Center for Pro Bono enthusiastically promoted the "Judges' Best Practices" model nationally, and invited its creator, Susan Patnode, as a presenter on the Rural Pro Bono Panel at several ABA Equal Justice Conferences. As a result, the model is now being replicated in areas of Alaska, Texas, Florida and Maryland.
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