Commentary

In a recent commentary about Clark County Legal Services' Pro Bono Project, Jeff Burbank said there was a list of pro bono cases that attorneys could selectively pick from to choose cases that would yield attorney's fees from the defendants. In this commentary, Barbara Buckley, Executive Director of Clark County Legal Services, and Marshall Willick, Attorney, deliver rebuttals.
     Note: After review, KNPR acknowledges that attorneys have very limited information prior to accepting a case on which to base their decisions about accepting a pro bono lawsuit. Jeff Burbank further stated that attorneys use their pro bono clients to charge the other side high legal fees, when in fact attorneys may only ask the presiding judge to award costs and fees when there is a legal basis to do so. These awards occur in only about 1% of the cases and they cover only a small fraction of the out of pocket costs of the attorney, according to Clark County Legal Services.