Lawyers are expensive. They can start at $100 an hour and rise dramatically from there. And often, those costs are just too high for people in desperate need of legal help.
Some lawyers do offer service for free. That includes nonprofits and private lawyers who take on cases pro bono —a latin term that means “for the public good.” In Nevada, pro bono services are estimated to have helped more than 40,000 families in 2021.
But the need is so much greater.
Justice Jim Hardesty and Paola Armeni, president of the Nevada State Bar, are part of Access to Justice, an effort to recruit lawyers to do pro bono work in Nevada.
They joined State of Nevada host Joe Schoenmann for more.
“The purpose of the Access to Justice Commission is to try to help people with civil legal needs as opposed to criminal legal needs, and get them lawyers who can either counsel them, represent them, or provide guidance through other educational means about how to navigate the court system,” Hardesty said.
Armeni said they have several legal aid providers in Nevada, including Legal Aid of Southern Nevada, Nevada Legal Services and others. Anyone in need of legal help can fill out registration or an initial application, then providers have the first determination as to whether someone qualifies.
Many lawyers do take on pro bono cases already, Hardesty said, and lawyers are asked to provide 20 hours of free legal service per year.
Armeni is one of those lawyers and said there are several benefits to pro bono work.
“We have a professional responsibility. We are in a unique position based on our education and our talents to help people,” she said. “For younger lawyers or new lawyers to our profession, it's their opportunity to have their own client.”
She said it also helps lawyers gain experience in their area of practice, or develop in another area. There are also court incentives, including in appellate court, where lawyers automatically argue before the Nevada Supreme Court, or with certain other cases, theirs are heard first by the court.
“If every lawyer took one case, what we could do for the community would be amazing,” she said.
And there are other programs lawyers can participate in at a lower scale, including Ask a Lawyer in Southern Nevada and in Northern Nevada.
“From a statistical standpoint, in family court in Washoe and in Clark County, easily 65 to 70% of the parties in family court are each representing themselves, they don't have a lawyer,” Hardesty said. “So the consequence of that is pretty challenging. People who are in their worst emotional state, and in a difficult transition in their lives, are attempting to navigate a somewhat complex and challenging legal process to either get a divorce or to avoid their children being removed from their home, or having their parents or rights terminated.”
With a lawyer, they can get guidance about the proper forms and where to file those forms. Often, Hardesty said that process can come about through a lawyer who provides counsel or self help centers at the court.
“You treat a pro bono claim as you would treat your private clients,” Armeni said. “I think what [potential clients] need to know is that having a lawyer is better than having no lawyer.”
Justice Jim Hardesty, co-chair, Access to Justice; Paola Armeni, president, State Bar of Nevada
