New York State Bar Association President Glenn Lau-Kee, front left, and president-elect David Miranda met Tuesday with Chief Administrative Judge A. Gail Prudenti, back right, and Helaine Barnett, chairwoman of the courts Task Force to Expand Access to Civil Legal Services, in Prudenti’s office to discuss the state bar’s opposition to Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman’s requirement that lawyers report their pro bono activities to the state. Lau-Kee and Prudenti both said the session was productive, and they looked forward to further discussions.
On Saturday, the State Bar’s House of Delegates is slated to receive an informational report by a working group comprised of representatives of several different committees. The group concluded that mandatory reporting of pro bono would likely increase pro bono work and donations by lawyers to civil legal services programs, but it suggests that only aggregate, not individual, information be collected and made publicly available. The report also recommends a joint working group with representatives of the state bar and the Office of Court Administration.
