Why are there so many attorneys and attorney schools out there but no attorneys to help the poor,?

Fonz

They did not become attorneys because they CARE. It's all for MONEY..
The same as the politicians..As soon as they get out of office, they go to work as lobbyists for foreign governments.. That way they can "legally" get paid for their past votes..

CatLaw

Many people go into law school with the intention of doing pro bono work. However, law school charges. The law school I attended now costs around $100,000 for the education, plus books and fees. It is tough to find a job that pays enough to pay back student loans PLUS provides the new attorney with enough off time to do pro bono cases.

With all your information you are missing a few pieces of info: First, about law school graduates actually being able to find a job, let alone one that pays well. In Chicago the average first year salary is around $27,000, if you can find a job. More than 35% of my graduating class could not find a job as an attorney and had to find other employement just to pay back student loans and to live. For the new attorney who actually is employed at $27,000 he/she works 15-18 hours a day, 7 days a week. Not much time to sleep let alone do pro bono work.

There are very few places that will pay an attorney to do pro bono work. Now, before you get upset that the attorney wants to be paid, let me remind you that a law license does not come with free housing, free utilities, free child care, free food, etc. The best pro bono organizations were run by the Federal government who paid the attorneys enough to put food on their tables and care for their kids. However, Congress has repeatidly cut and cut and cut funding to these organizations.

Many of the bar associations have taken up the slack and have instituted pro bono clinics. Instead of making snide remarks about an attorney who makes a financial donation to support this clinic, you should appauld the effort to keep that clinic open. Again, attorney does not mean free anything. The clinic is billed for rent, utilities, phones, etc. just like every business.

TIIME: Most attorneys work 60 hour weeks for their employer at a minimum. There is sleeping, eating, commuting, and being present for our own families. Those attorneys who cannot give time, but will give money to a pro bono clinic are doing all they can. Trials take hours and hours and hours of prep work -- who pays for my kids to eat while I am doing a pro bono trial?

I get at least 10 calls a week from someone who has the "greatest case that will make millions of dollars". I have never found one, not one, of these greatest cases to be worth anything. More often than not the person has called hundreds of other attorneys who have told him/her they do not have a case -- and they do not -- but these people are "morally outraged" and want to sue.

GRATITUDE: Everyone wants something for nothing. You don't believe me sit in my office. I have had a belly full of those who do not pay bills because I am an attorney and as one client said "you make enough GD money anyway" --- not that it is anyones business my last year income was less than $10,000. And I should do more????? I have had clients who cried big tears because they could not get unemployment payments and when I put in over 100 hours of work to get them the payments refused to pay a bill of $300 -- but they gladly took the money I had gotten for them.

Lots of attorneys help. You either have not done enough research to find help or the first words out of your mouth are pro bono, or you made some bone-headed remark like the posts here about hating the attorney, or you do not have a case.

michr

there are roughly 761,000 attorneys legally practicing law in the US for a population of roughly 330,000,000 or 1 attorney for every 434 people. of those 761,000 attorneys more then 375,000 of them work in federal, state or municipal government or corporate management/counsel.

litigation is a long process and the demand for good attorneys is high so there simply aren't enough to go around who are willing to take on cases with little monetary reward or on a strictly contingency basis. litigation, not trial law is by far the largest part of contingency lawyers work.

finding a criminal attorney/trial lawyer to work for free or at a reduced rate is extremely difficult due to the high demand.

pro-bono work is just not worth it to many attorneys they have all the paid work they can handle and sadly many just don't see a reason to assist those who have a need.

there are those who do a lot of pro-bono work but there just aren't enough hours in the day to help all those who need it. many well meaning attorneys can't make up for the numbers of those who don't care
(the same is true about all professions, there are always those who give back and those who just take)

EDIT:
in the next ten years 90,000 more attorneys are expected to graduate and pass the bar the population is expected to increase 30,000,000 in that same ten years. the answer is not attorneys the answer is do get rid of the need for attorneys for simple procedures.

paralegals should be certified similar to physicianâ€™s assistants
and be allowed to actually practice law under the guidance of an attorney. simple probate determinations should not need attorneys, much the same as small claims court.

there are ways to get help for the needy but not all of the blame can be put on the attorneys
(although a lot of it can go there)
the system needs to be changed to allow todayâ€™s technology do more of the work and help meet the demand.

limit what attorneys can make off of simple litigation(as has been done with social security, workers comp) and that frees up time for pro-bono work, since it may be of more value, for continuing education and tax purposes.

perfectvelvet

CatLaw is pretty much right on the money; I know exactly where she is coming from.

I've worked as a litigation paralegal for several years, and we have some cases right now that have been pending for four years. Thousands and thousands of hours have been invested in these cases. Thousands of hours of volunteer work does not put food on the table, does not pay your student loans, does not finance your house ... it may make you feel good about yourself, but that's about it. You don't get credit, you don't get recognition, and your client is probably going to be dissatisfied with the work you did anyway.

Attorneys do not take an oath; they are, however, required to follow the rules of the state in which they practice. You are welcome to read them over in your state, but they likely do not mention anything about a requirement to do pro bono work.

There are plenty of pro bono attorneys available for those who cannot afford legal services; I'd recommend contacting your local state bar assocation and finding one. Money is a good motivator for anyone, and the belief that lawyers are incredibly rich is a false one. Let me ask: would you do YOUR job for free?

kapn

You must have a return on your investment.........or its not worth it..............every one has just one quick question..........

redgator40

a lot of attorneys do some pro bono work. and yes they take an oath.

JUSTME

Ummm, an attorney taking an oath? Now, that doesn't sound logical!!!

The China Doll Express..Yeah,ok!

attorneys are scum...they can be bought with money and that is it..they don't care about people...only the dollar. i mean, cmon, they will defend someone they know is guilty if the price is right..

I HATE LAWYERS! YOU ALL ARE SCUMBAG LEACHES!! GO STRAIGHT TO HELL!

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