Attorneys for the New York State Bar Association filed a lawsuit in state court on Wednesday in hopes of securing the first pay raises in 18 years for assigned counsel, commonly referred to as 18-B lawyers, in 57 counties outside of New York City.

The lawsuit, which names New York the sole defendant, comes after the New York County Lawyers Association and nine other bar associations won a judgment in a Manhattan trial court in July that yielded raises to $158 an hour for assigned counsel in New York City, more than doubling their compensation from $60 per hour for misdemeanor cases and $75 for felony cases, dating to 2004.