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28 B. Rep. 1 (1999-2000)

handle is hein.barjournals/breport0030 and id is 1 raw text is: 1rom te east Hooi Of toe write uouse, rresiaent unron cnauengea tne nation s lawyers to ake a commitment to iacialjustice in society aiid to diversity within the legalprofession. Ihe president's call to action marked the 36th anniversary of a similar challenge made by President Kennedy in response to Alabama Governor George Wal- lace's pledge to defy afederal court order mandating integration at the University of Alabama. Joining the President at the event wer William McBride, managing partner of Holland and Knight, left., who spoke on behalf of the nation's largest 100 law firms, Attorney General Janet Reno, right, and Deputy Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr, fir right, who organized Lawyers for One America. n the summer of 1963, President Kennedy responded to Alabama Gover- nor George C. Wallace's announcement that he would defy a federal court order to integrate the University of Alabama by fnviting a group of the nation's top lawyers o the White House. At that meeting, he asked for their endorsement of a statemeint condemning the governor's action and agreeing to mobilize the legal profession to combat racism. To mark the 36th anniversary of that his- toric meeting, President Clinton convened a similar gathering earlier this summer to enew President Kennedy's challenge by isking lawyers to increase their pro bono efforts and to make a commitment to work ior social justice. In the East Room the president told a nrominent group of bar leaders, I asked you here today because I need your help as much as ever in our most enduring chal- lenge as a nation, the challenge of creating one America. I'm asking you to recommit yourselves to fight discrimination and revi- talize our poorest communities, and to give people an opportunity to serve in law firms who would not otherwise have it. The president continued, The second thing you can do is set the best possible example. We may have torn down the walls of segregation, but there are still a lot of walls in our hearts and our habits. Invite more lawyers of all background to join your firm. How are we going to build one America if the legal profession which is fighting for it doesn't reflect it? Among those in the room on both occa- sions was D.C. Bar member William L. Taylor, an attorney in private practice who commended Clinton for reissuing the chal- lenge. It's important that the president is going to try to identify contemporary needs for legal services and establish obligations, Taylor said. In pursuit of that objective, President Clinton had previously directed Eric H. Holder Jr., deputy attorney general of the United States, to organize a group of lawyers to develop recommendations for the pursuit of racial justice. The group- Lawyers for One America-includes presi- dents of the American Bar Association, the National Asian Pacific American Bar Asso- ciation, the Hispanic National Bar Associa- tion, and the cochairs of the Lawyers Com- mittee on Human Rights. I was startled by the energy, wisdom and dedication of this group at every turn, said Holder, also a D.C. Bar member. The result of their efforts is the group Lawyers for One America, which has published recommendations for the pursuit of civil justice through pro bono work and for law firm recruitment and retention of minorities. Holder added that the committee's progress will continue to be monitored by the White House in the coming year. In issuing his challenge, President Clin- ton cited the ABA recommendation that lawyers dedicate at least three percent of their billable hours to pro bono. Imagine, he said, if every lawyer in America dedi- cated 50 hours a year to pro bono-that would be 40 million hours of legal help. I don't want to wait another 36 years, Clin- ton said. I want this to be steady work. In late June the court ordered changes to Rule 1.15(d) of the D.C. Rules of Profes- sional Conduct to clarify that all prepaid fees or expenses made by clients to lawyers remain the property of those clients until actually earned by lawyers or expended on the clients' behalves by lawyers. Under the current rule, prepaid fees and expenses are considered property of the lawyer, although lawyers are obliged to return unearned fees and undisbursed expenses to clients when matters are com- pleted or when representations end. The court also ordered language to per- mit fully aiformed clients to waive the new rule in order to continue treating prepaid fees or expenses as lawyers' property as provided under the current rule. The revision was recommended to the court last year by the D.C. Bar's Board of Governors following a report by the Bar's D.C. Rules of Professional Conduct Review Commriittee. In studying the rule, the com- mittee noted a need to balance what it iden- titfied as competing interests between lawyers and clients in handling fee advances. Lawyers, the committee rea- soned, might seek advance payments either as security in taking on new clients or as a discount pricing arrangement, while clients might reasonably expect their prepayments would only be expended on their behalf and unspent funds would be fully recoverable in the event the lawyer became insolvent. The committee also noted that the cur- rent D.C. rule was inconsistent with com- parable rules in Maryland and Virginia, creating significant fee-handling difficul- ties for lawyers with multistate practices. Also in June, the court adopted a change in Comment 5 to Rule 6.1 to increase the recommended minimum standard for pro bono service by D.C. Bar members to one court appointment, 50 hours of pro bono service, or contribution of the lesser of $400 or one percent of earned income to a legal assistance organization that serves the community's economically disadvantageJ. That revision, effective immediately brings the D.C. rules into conformity with pro bono standards recommended by the Judi- cial Conferences of the District of Colum- bia and the D.C. Circuit.

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