Recently, the Atlanta Council of Young Lawyers (ACYL) section of the Atlanta Bar Association kicked off its annual Associates Campaign for Legal Services. The campaign, which began in 2000 and has raised more than $420,000 for Atlanta-area nonprofit legal organizations over the years, generated more than $40,000 last year.
In this year's challenging economic environment, the charitable outlook appears potentially less promising. Conversations with colleagues across the metro area reveal a reticence toward giving. These reservations are understandable. I hope, however, they will not form the entirety of associates' thinking about whether to give to this campaign (or other worthwhile charitable causes).
What those of us in private law firms (and particularly midsize to large firms) occasionally forget is that when we feel economic pain, nonprofit organizations often are in crisis. Given the depth of this recession, this dynamic is as true now as it ever has been. In addition to declines in endowments and other stock-related indices tied to philanthropic giving, several other key funding sources for nonprofit legal organizations significantly have diminished. Nearly all of the recipient organizations participating in the ACYL campaign, for example, receive substantial funding from the Georgia Bar Foundation, which uses revenue from Interest on Lawyer Accounts to support legal nonprofits. IOLTA funding, however, has dropped by two-thirds—from $9,000,000 to $3,000,000 this year. And it is expected to drop to $1,000,000 next year.
Additionally, many pro bono legal services organizations receive state and local government funding. But cuts to these budgets already have resulted in, and inevitably will lead to more, reductions in legal service organization funding. Similarly, grants from the Lawyers Foundation of Georgia—another significant source of funding for nonprofit legal organizations1dropped by about 40 person last year.
At the same time that funding is dwindling, demand for pro bono legal services is rising dramatically. One large pro bono service provider estimates that requests for assistance are up 20 percent over last year and these new clients often take more time than previous clients, as many are formerly middle-class individuals whose problems are more complicated.
Bearing in mind these facts—along with the aspirations of our profession (e.g., “a lawyer should voluntarily contribute financial support to organizations that provide legal services to persons of limited means” Georgia Rules of Professional Conduct 6.1)—consider particularly in these times giving generously.
The ACYL especially would like to thank those law firms that have agreed to match their associates' contributions to recipient organizations, including: Bondurant, Mixson & Elmore; Butler, Wooten & Fryhofer; Duane Morris; Elarbee, Thompson, Sapp & Wilson; Kutak Rock; and Smith, Gambrell & Russell.
Charles Hooker is the chairman of this year's Atlanta Council of Young Lawyers Associates Campaign and an associate at Kilpatrick Stockton.
