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61 A.B.A. J. 1388 (1975)
The Public Interest Activities of Private Practice Lawyers

handle is hein.journals/abaj61 and id is 1390 raw text is: The Public Interest Activities of Private Practice Lawyers The private practicing bar's contribution to public interest practice comes mainly from sole practitioners, not from big-firm lawyers, and it includes little litigation challenging thestatus quo. If the public interest commitment the bar professes is to be met, it will have to come from public interest firms and groups supported byfoundations orthe bar itself. byJoel F. Handler, Ellen Jane Hollingsworth, Howard E. Erlanger, and Jack Ladinsky D URING THE 1960s there was a rapid growth of organizations practicing a variety of public interest (pro bono publico) work. Most of the organizations were supported by the government or by charities. Although mo st of the publicity was focused on these organizations, the private bar was also affected by the reform spirit of the decade. Several major law firms began to offer public interest opportunities to their members and associates, although in part this was an attempt to meet competition for bright, young lawyers. Various committees both within and outside bar associations were organized to facilitate public interest efforts. In 1971 the Section of Individual Rights and Responsibilities of the American Bar Association formed a project to assist interested law firms in pro bono publico programs, by gathering infor- mation and offering technical assistance. In 1973 the project was replaced by the Special Committee on Public Interest Practice, indicating a further commitment by the Association. State bar associations also have expressed interest in these activities. During 1974 the leadership of the Association in- creased its concern about the public interest respon- sibilities of the bar. Chesterfield Smith, the president for 1973-74, repeatedly urged lawyers to participate in pub- lic interest activities. The special committee submitted a report in 1974 affirming the obligation of every lawyer to provide public interest legal services and, not unex- pectedly, found that the quantity of public interest prac- tice supplied was far less than the need. To encourage greater efforts, the special committee proposed to define public interest practice to include (1) legal services for the poor, (2) representation without fee or at a substan- tially reduced fee in cases seeking the vindication of an individual's fundamental civil rights and rights be- longing to the public at large, and (3) representation of charitable organizations. The committee urged the or- ganized bar to clarify, in quantitative terms, what each lawyer's obligation should be. 1388 American Bar Association Journal

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