On Monday, departing Gov. Roy Barnes will spend his first day as a private citizen by starting his new job as a full-time, pro-bono (unpaid) lawyer at the Atlanta Legal Aid Society. The decision by Barnes, the most improbable casualty of Election Day 2002, to go to work for legal aid was almost as unexpected as his November defeat. As a legal services attorney, Barnes will help women escape domestic violence, Mauricio Vivero is vice president seniors fight predatory lending scams and parents obtain child support for their kids. of Legal In doing so, he will take his place on the front line of the U.S. legal community's Services Corporation, the uphill and underpublicized struggle to achieve equal access to justice for millions of Washington-Americans too poor to afford legal representation. based nonprofit corporation chartered by The inaccessibility of the U.S. civil justice system is hardly a new development, but it Congress in took Barnes' decision to put the national media spotlight on our country's ongoing 1974 to promote equal access to access-to-justice crisis. civil justice. The 2000 U.S. census reports that more than 43 million Americans qualify for free federally funded legal assistance, yet fewer than 20 percent of eligible clients (annual income: $11,075 or less) are able to obtain legal help when they need it, according to the American Bar Association. In Georgia, there is just one legal aid lawyer for every 10,500 eligible poor people. Barnes understood this problem long before he became governor. While in private practice, he handled many pro-bono cases and was a frequent volunteer in the Cobb County office of the federally funded Atlanta Legal Aid Society. Most memorably, he secured a $115 million judgment in 1993 against Fleet Finance for victimizing 18,000 homeowners -- many of them senior citizens -- with its widespread predatory lending mortgage practices. His long-standing commitment to the underserved is certainly admirable, but it should not be viewed as a rare and laudable act of civic virtue. To be admitted to practice law, every attorney must take a professional oath to promote justice -- and every state's ethical rules include language indicating lawyers' responsibility to be guardians of fair play for those living in poverty. In Georgia, many law firms, corporations and private attorneys are working pro bono to serve the neediest clients. Yet only 23 percent of the state's 23,598 active lawyers reported meeting the Georgia State Bar's goal of 50 hours of pro-bono service in 2002. The need for volunteers is most severe outside the five-county Atlanta metropolitan area, where 70 percent of the state's poor people are served by only 24 percent of the state's lawyers. National pro-bono participation is even worse. Only 23 percent of the roughly 1 million attorneys in America volunteer even one hour of pro-bono service annually, according to the ABA. 
Do you have any questions?
What problem did Barnes understand before he became governor?
På måndag avgår Gov. Roy Barnes kommer att tillbringa sin första dag som privat medborgare genom att börja sitt nya jobb som heltidsanställd, pro-bono (oavlönad) advokat vid Atlanta Legal Aid Society. Beslutet av Barnes, det mest osannolika offret under valdagen 2002, att börja arbeta för rättshjälp var nästan lika oväntat som hans nederlag i november. Som advokat ska Barnes hjälpa kvinnor att undkomma våld i hemmet, Mauricio Vivero är vice president seniorer bekämpar rovlysten utlåningsbedrägerier och föräldrar får barnbidrag för sina barn. Han kommer att inta sin plats på frontlinjen i den amerikanska juridiska gemenskapen Services Corporation, den uppförsbacke och underpublicerade kampen för att uppnå lika tillgång till rättvisa för miljontals Washington-amerikaner för fattiga för att råd med juridisk representation. Det amerikanska civilrättssystemets otillgänglighet är knappast en ny utveckling, men kongressen fattade Barnes beslut att sätta den nationella median i fokus på vårt lands pågående 1974 för att främja lika tillgång till tillgång till rättvisa krisen. Civilrätt. Den amerikanska folkräkningen 2000 rapporterar att mer än 43 miljoner amerikaner kvalificerar sig för gratis federalt finansierad rättshjälp, men mindre än 20 procent av berättigade kunder (årlig inkomst: $ 11.075 eller mindre) kan få juridisk hjälp när de behöver det, enligt American Bar Association. I Georgien finns det bara en rättshjälpsadvokat för varje 10 500 berättigade fattiga människor. Barnes förstod detta problem långt innan han blev guvernör. Medan han i privat praktik hanterade många pro-bono-mål och var en ofta förekommande volontär i Cobb County-kontoret i det federalt finansierade Atlanta Legal Aid Society. Mest minnesvärt, han säkrade en $ 115 miljoner dom 1993 mot Fleet Finance för att ha utsatt 18 000 husägare -- många av dem äldre medborgare -- med dess utbredda rovlysta utlåning inteckning praxis. Hans långvariga engagemang för de underdåniga är visserligen beundransvärt, men det bör icke betraktas som en sällsynt och lovvärd handling av medborgerlig dygd. För att bli antagen till praktiserande juridik måste varje advokat avlägga en yrkesed för att främja rättvisan -- och varje stats etiska regler omfattar språk som anger advokaternas ansvar att vara väktare av rent spel för dem som lever i fattigdom. I Georgien arbetar många advokatbyråer, företag och privata advokater pro bono för att betjäna de mest behövande klienterna. Ändå rapporterade endast 23 procent av delstatens 23 598 aktiva advokater att de uppfyllde Georgia State Bars mål om 50 timmar pro-bono-tjänst 2002. Behovet av volontärer är som svårast utanför det femtaliga Atlanta storstadsområdet, där 70 procent av delstatens fattiga betjänas av endast 24 procent av delstatens advokater. Nationellt pro-bono-deltagande är ännu värre. Endast 23 procent av de cirka 1 miljon advokaterna i Amerika ställer upp ens en timmes pro-bono-tjänst årligen, enligt ABA. Har du några frågor?
On Monday, Gov resigns. Roy Barnes will spend his first day as a private citizen by starting his new job as a full-time employee, pro-bono (unpaid) lawyer at the Atlanta Legal Aid Society. The decision by Barnes, the most unlikely victim on election day 2002, to start working for legal aid was almost as unexpected as his defeat in November. As a lawyer, Barnes will help women escape domestic violence, Mauricio Vivero is vice president seniors fighting predatory lending fraud and parents receive child support for their children. He will take his place on the front line of the U.S. Legal Community Services Corporation, the uphill and subpublished struggle to achieve equal access to justice for millions of Washington Americans for the poor to afford legal representation. The inaccessibility of the American civil justice system is hardly a new development, but Congress made Barnes' decision to put the national median in focus on our country's ongoing 1974 to promote equal access to the justice crisis. Civil law. The 2000 U.S. Census reports that more than 43 million Americans qualify for free federally funded legal aid, but less than 20 percent of eligible customers (annual income: $11,075 or less) can receive legal assistance when they need it, according to the American Bar Association. In Georgia, there is only one legal aid lawyer for every 10 500 eligible poor people. Barnes understood this problem long before he became governor. While in private practice, he handled many pro-bono cases and was a frequent volunteer in the Cobb County office of the federally funded Atlanta Legal Aid Society. Most memorablely, he secured a $115 million sentence in 1993 against Fleet Finance for exposing 18,000 homeowners -- many of them older citizens -- with its widespread predatory lending mortgage practice. His long-standing commitment to the subordinates is admirably, but it should not be regarded as a rare and laudable act of civic virtue. In order to be admitted to practice law, every lawyer must take a professional oath to promote justice -- and the ethical rules of each state include languages that state the responsibility of lawyers to be guardians of fair play for those living in poverty. In Georgia, many law firms, companies and private lawyers work pro bono to serve the most needy clients. Yet, only 23 percent of the state's 23,598 active lawyers reported that they met Georgia State Bar's case of 50 hours of pro-bono service in 2002. The need for volunteers is at its most difficult outside the five-talented Atlanta metropolitan area, where 70 percent of the state's poor are served by only 24 percent of the state's lawyers. National pro-bono participation is even worse. Only 23 percent of the approximately 1 million lawyers in America are running even an hour of pro-bono service annually, according to the ABA. Do you have any questions?
Vilket problem förstod Barnes innan han blev guvernör?
What problem did Barnes understand before he became governor?