Accepting Help in the Trenches - Wearily

Paying Big Firm Lawyers to Ride Out the Recession at Nonprofit Agencies May Be a Mixed Blessing

It sounds like a good deal for everyone involved: A law firm, fallen on lean times, offers its incoming associates, or laid-off lawyers, the chance to work one-year stints at public interest agencies for a stipend. In exchange they get experience, and the often cash-strapped non-profits get needed legal services.

In reality, however, structuring these arrangements can be a challenge for all involved.

"We really haven't gone through this before, and law firms are trying to figure it out, and the legal aid providers are trying to figure it out," said Briana Wagner, executive director of the San Diego County Bar Foundation, and president of the National Conference of Bar Foundations. "There also is a crisis of legal aid, and the need has increased. It's a wonderful opportunity, if we can figure out how to rally it."

There is much to consider, from who pays the malpractice insurance, to how much training has to be invested, to what happens after the one-year stints expire.

"The increased need for legal aid isn't going to end 12 months from now, when everyone is leaving their furloughs and going back to their firms," Wagner said.

Gregory E. Knoll, executive director and chief counsel for the Legal Aid Society of San Diego Inc., wonders about that, too.

"If they don't stay, I'm stuck with the work generated," he said. "I don't need anybody working up a big case load and then going out the door."

That concern aside, Knoll said he is open to taking on associates under the right conditions. But even with the stipends being paid by the law firms, sometimes to the tune of $60,000 to $85,000, Knoll doesn't consider the lawyers freebies.

"I'd be willing to talk to any associates, but these are not free lawyers," he said. "They cost. They have to be trained. They may know about taxes and corporations, but they don't have a clue about poverty law. They need to be schooled on how to practice. This is a heavy cost, particularly if they only come for one year."

Another concern: Most public-interest work is litigation and associates do not have that training. But Gary S. Davis, a principal in San Francisco-based Patterson Davis Consulting, said he doesn't see this as a particular problem.

"They won't throw them into trial situations," he said. "They will be doing first-year work, stuff they can handle."

Tiela Chalmers, executive director of the Volunteer Legal Services Program of the Bar Association of San Francisco, said she is happy to have newbies take on litigation - everything from eviction cases to hearings and settlement conferences in federal court.

"Some of these positions are going to have a lasting effect on the training of these graduating law students," she said. "They are getting a chance to do the sort of practice that doesn't always go to a young attorney."

These temporary stints also are proving to be a boon for nonprofits that have been forced to make cut backs. Last week, both the BASF and the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights for the San Francisco Bay Area announced layoffs and furloughs in an effort to reduce costs.

BASF, which also has frozen three positions, took on three deferred associates recently, and is accepting applications from both new and seasoned associates for other openings.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California, which had layoffs earlier this year, will be taking on four new law school grads offered by four Los Angeles law firms that the agency declined to name. A fifth lawyer, who had her job offer rescinded by another L.A. firm, is volunteering her services.

"I think they are quite wonderful," said Ramona Ripston, the ACLU's executive director. "I'm sorry for the young lawyers, but for the nonprofit, it is certainly welcome. We have more work than we can handle."

Some law firms, such as Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe, Latham & Watkins, Goodwin Procter, and Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman, are testing the waters.

Deborah Thoren-Peden, a partner in Pillsbury's Los Angeles office, has been helping to coordinate the effort, including fielding queries from public interest law firms, such as city attorney's offices and district attorney's offices, looking for good, cheap help.

"I'm seeing more outreach from government agencies and nonprofits," she said. "It enables them to get extremely capable attorneys, and, for the associates, it enables them to keep their legal education going, so when the market turns, it will put them in a better position."

Are there really that many public interest opportunities out there? Thoren-Peden believes there are, especially with the dismal economy ramping up the need for social services. But Peter Zeughauser, a legal consultant with the Newport Beach-based Zeughauser Group, has his doubts.

"There will be more layoffs at firms, and the supply of public interest jobs is not that expandable, especially if they're only getting them for a year," he said. "It's not going to be a solution to the bigger problem - that firms have way too many associates than they need."

Zeughauser also wonders about the possibility of a "pile-up" in the coming years.

"Unless the economy roars back next year, firms will have to deal with the lay-off issue later this year or next year," he said.

One public-interest group that is eager to take on one or two associates is the San Diego-based Casa Cornelia Law Center, which is focused on civil rights, primarily within the indigent immigrant community.

"It's an opportunity to really strengthen public-interest law," said Carmen M. Chavez, the firm's executive director. "But it has to be well thought out. Here, at Casa Cornelia, all the stars are aligned. We have the space, the training and mentoring all set up. The new associate can get fabulous litigation experience, feel good about the practice of law, and have the opportunity to become very savvy in the public-interest world. It's baptism by fire. There is no intermediary. You are it."

There is more than one way to model these public-interest arrangements, said Luz E. Herrera, an assistant professor at Thomas Jefferson School of Law, who also is the founder and president of Community Lawyers Inc., a Compton-based pilot program.

Its mission is to bridge the gap between underfunded and understaffed legal aid organizations and a law firm's pro bono efforts, by creating a self-help center. Here, attorneys can assist clients on issues ranging from tenant-landlord rights to small claims and family law, with the option of collecting fees for legal advice on a limited scope.

"It would be great to get some young associates so we can further develop the model," Herrera said.

For all the pros and cons, momentum seems to be building.

Earlier this year, Knoll participated in a nationwide conference call, hosted by Equal Justice Works, which offers public interest law fellowships nationwide. The idea was to exchange information on who is doing what with these types of arrangements.

"It became very clear that there are thousands upon thousands of associates being let go, or are under utilized, and are being encouraged to do pro bono," Knoll said, "while the October 2009 associates at every major law firm are being told, 'Go away for a year with pay.' It's all over the map."

That's precisely why Equal Justice Works wanted to connect with public-interest groups around the nation, said Paul Igasaki, its deputy chief executive officer.

"There is so much happening so fast, we wanted to know what people were experiencing," he said. "We are encouraging law firms and public-interest groups to discuss this before they get started."

If structured correctly, he said, the experience can be a boon for all involved.

"Law schools don't provide enough practical experiences," Igasaki said. "Something like this is like an internship. Many associates don't get this experience in the first year or two of practice."

Not all law firms are grappling with the issue of too many associates.

"We don't have a flock of incoming associates or outrageous salaries," said Thomas W. Turner Jr., managing partner of Procopio, Cory, Hargreaves & Savitch in San Diego.

Since the firm ended its summer associates program a decade ago, Turner said that it has focused on hiring more seasoned lawyers, rather than "fresh out of law school grads."

"They are able to deliver more value to the client when they start with us, rather than our investing hundreds of thousands of dollars and years of time before they provide meaningful value," Turner said.

But, he added, the public-interest law option can be a creative solution.

"It lets them do something good for a good cause, and minimizes the impact for these kids," Turner said.