Court looking at options to help support legal aid services

DES MOINES - A proposal to add a $100 annual licensing fee for lawyers saw major pushback from attorneys across the state, so the Iowa Supreme Court rejected it.

Iowa Legal Aid had asked the court to adopt the fee to support civil legal assistance to help low-income Iowans.

Legal aid officials contend they can't keep up with the demand, and the number of lawyers has been cut since 2010.

Federal funding also continues to decrease and, even with support of lawyers doing pro bono or volunteer work, low-income families are still underserved.

More than 200 respondents, mostly lawyers, provided comments to the court regarding the proposed fee. Many who opposed it said it was unfair to apply the expense to only lawyers - like a 'mandatory tax,” young lawyers couldn't afford it, and a few didn't believe legal aid needed more money.

But there also were those in favor of the fee, saying legal aid was a valuable organization and needed support. Many said they didn't think the fee was appropriate but supported legal aid and others said they provide pro bono work and were willing to do more.

The Iowa State Bar Association formed an Access to Justice Committee to find solutions but, in the end, didn't recommend the license fee.

Iowa Supreme Court Justice Mark Cady said in his order rejecting the fee this past Tuesday that he considered the public comments and both reports from the bar and legal aid, but the court was going to further study the 'broader issue of access to justice” and consider other options.

Cady said the court would continue to support state appropriations for civil legal services and encourage more attorneys to do pro bono work.

Tim Semelroth, a Cedar Rapids lawyer and board member of Iowa Legal Aid, said he and others are encouraged that the court and opponents of the mandatory fee proposal seemed to recognize there is a severe disparity for low-income people in need of legal work. 'Hopefully, this recognition will motivate the court and other Iowa policy makers to offer other solutions to this very real problem as soon as possible,” Semelroth said Wednesday.

Elaine Gray, a Fort Madison lawyer and past president of Iowa Association for Justice, said the board was encouraged that the court was looking at new ways to generate funding for this vital service.

Guy Cook, a Des Moines lawyer and past president of Iowa State Bar Association, said he didn't think there was 'one single cure to remedy the problem,” but he knows legislative action will be required.

'We have an important ethical duty to see that people have access to the courts,” Cook said. 'But the mandatory fee would be like a tax. Doctors aren't asked to pay for Medicare. If you're taxing participants in a system, then tax judges, police but where does it stop.”

Joe Feller, president of bar association and a Sibley lawyer, said more than 700 members responded to the bar survey. About 60 percent of those said they would either donate less or not at all to legal aid if the fee was imposed.

Feller told the court he didn't think it was the time to 'make the practice of law more expensive.”

Feller also told the court the members thought if a mandatory fee was imposed, the legislature would be less willing to increase public funding.

Brett Toresdahl, director of Iowa bar's Public Service Project, said the state has strong support from lawyers who volunteer their time. There are about 3,000 lawyers across the state signed up for three volunteer lawyer's projects that support Iowa Legal Aid. There are hundreds more who take on pro bono cases throughout the year, not connected to legal aid.

According to ethical rules, every attorney should aspire to have 50 hours of pro bono service a year.

Cook said legal aid took a major hit when federal funding from the Legal Services Corporation plummeted and because interest rates continue to decrease, which affected the Iowa Supreme Court's Interest on Lawyer Trust Account Commission. The interest in those accounts was used for legal aid assistance.

According to the bar's committee report, federal funding was reduced over $390,000 in 2012, which was on top of a reduction of over $100,000 in 2011. An additional $30,000 was reduced in 2013. Iowa Legal Aid's funding from the court's IOLTA Commission has been reduced for the last five years.

Dennis Groenenboom, director of Iowa Legal Aid, said the proposal started a discussion and most, who commented to the court, recognized the 'justice gap” in the state that prevents low-income people from getting legal help.

'At least one in six Iowans live at 125 percent of the poverty level or below, the basic eligibility level for our services,” Groenenboom said. 'We have about 60 lawyers statewide to provide services, about one lawyer for every 8,300 Iowans.”

Iowa Rep. Chip Baltimore, R-Boone, chairman of judiciary committee, said they are looking at proposals now from departments and organizations. He hasn't seen anything from legal aid.

'I'm sure they will ask for an increase, but I don't know anything at this point,” he said.