In 2009, at the instigation of then-Chancellor Sayde Ladov, the Philadelphia Bar Association created a Civil Gideon Task Force to study problems of access to justice. A cross-section of the bench and bar familiar with the difficulty faced by the indigent getting representation set out to discuss how to move forward the concept of a "right to counsel" in civil cases. This effort was in accordance with an American Bar Association initiative and resolution supporting a right to counsel in civil cases involving the most serious problems, and a growing national movement to do education, research, litigation, legislation and pilot projects to move the idea forward.
One of the subcommittees of the task force, chaired by Karen Buck of the SeniorLAW Center and Anita Santos-Singh of Philadelphia Legal Assistance, focused specifically on problems with representation in housing issues. While Community Legal Services (CLS) has represented tenants in Philadelphia Municipal Court’s housing hearings for many years, the SeniorLAW Center has represented senior tenants, and a more recent pro bono landlord-tenant project led by Ethan Fogel of Dechert has stepped in to handle cases CLS cannot take, the lack of representation in those hearings remains tremendous. Approximately 95 percent of the tenant litigants are unrepresented (while the vast majority of landlords have counsel), and these are cases that involve a most basic issue: the ability to stay in one’s home. The task force subcommittee proposed the creation of a help center located on the premises of Municipal Court, where unrepresented tenants could come for assistance. After a lengthy planning process that required getting the consent and support of the court, a model took shape that would allow for limited representation of some tenants, pro bono referral for others, and in-depth support of pro se litigants, providing information about their legal rights and the court’s procedures and processes. It would be the first time assistance to tenants would be available right inside the courthouse. A lawyer with the proper experience to run the project was identified, and it all seemed ready to move. However, the idea had to be placed on hold because there were no resources available to fund a new initiative.
