Bar Assn. Members Asked to Aid Poor
The Los Angeles County Bar Assn. announced Thursday that it is requesting its 26,000 members to provide a minimum of 35 hours of pro bono (free) service yearly to low-income individuals.
“Not enough is being done and the poverty population in this county and nationwide has grown substantially in recent years,” said county Bar President Margaret M. Morrow, at a press conference in the office of Mayor Tom Bradley.
Morrow estimated that the new policy, which is not mandatory, would generate 100,000 hours of free legal service by Los Angeles lawyers yearly. At present, fewer than one-third of the local Bar’s members perform pro bono service, she said.
At the press conference, Bradley, who sent a letter to city law firms last year challenging them to increase their pro bono work, said “there’s always a need for more” legal aid for the indigent.
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