It is my privilege to serve as president of the Michigan State Bar Foundation Board. Although I have been a lawyer in this state for more than 42 years, I did not fully understand the mission of the MSBF until I joined the board. In this column, I’ll share what I’ve learned and urge you to make a year-end contribution to the Access to Justice Campaign.
The Michigan State Bar Foundation was established by lawyers and judges in 1947, about a decade after the creation of the State Bar of Michigan. The MSBF was developed to be the lawyers’ charity and through it, attorneys could make contributions to promote improvements in the administration of justice.
In the 1970s, two important events took place. First, in 1974, President Richard M. Nixon signed bipartisan legislation creating the Legal Services Corporation1 to receive both congressional appropriations and charitable contributions to support legal aid across the country. Second, John Cummiskey, one of the founders of my firm, was an MSBF trustee; he urged the foundation to follow the LSC model, which it did, making civil legal aid for low-income individuals one of its priorities.
A critical source of funds that the MSBF uses to support legal aid organizations is the Access to Justice Campaign, a centralized effort to solicit charitable contributions from the Michigan legal community to support 15 regional and statewide legal aid programs. The campaign is administered by the MSBF in partnership with the State Bar of Michigan. Importantly, donations are not used to cover administrative expenses — every dollar contributed to the ATJ Campaign supports legal aid organizations across Michigan.
The need for legal services among our low-income Michigan neighbors is great. According to the 2022 Legal Services Corporation Justice Gap Report,2 55% of low-income individuals who personally experienced legal problems reported that those issues substantially impacted their lives with consequences affecting their finances, mental health, physical health, safety, and relationships. They need legal help.
Michigan legal aid organizations do amazing work to meet this need. In 2022, the state’s legal aid organizations — funded by the ATJ Campaign — closed more than 57,000 cases and helped upwards of 111,000 households, including nearly 46,000 children. And the return on the investment in these organizations is significant. The Social Economic Impact and Social Return on Funding Investment Report commissioned by the Michigan Justice for All Commission estimated that in 2019-20, for every $1 invested in Michigan’s civil legal aid services, the people received $6.69 in immediate and long-term consequential financial benefits.3
Contributions to the ATJ Campaign support legal aid organizations that not only improve peoples’ lives, but also enhance the accessibility, effectiveness, and efficiency of the justice system. On behalf of the thousands of people who’ve benefitted from these resources, I thank the Michigan lawyers and law firms who have recognized this need and have consistently and generously supported the campaign in the past.
In this column, I urge the Michigan legal community to do even more. Michigan Rule of Professional Conduct 6.1 reminds us that lawyers “should render public interest legal service” and that one of the ways to meet that standard is “by financial support for organizations that provide legal services to persons of limited means.” As a guideline for that financial support, the State Bar of Michigan Representative Assembly adopted a voluntary pro bono standard recommending contributions of “a minimum of $300” for legal aid organizations and “$500 per year for those lawyers whose income allows a higher contribution.”4
In that context, it should be noted that in 2022, contributions to the ATJ Campaign amounted to an average of $30 per Michigan attorney. To be clear, some attorneys handle pro bono cases directly and others contribute directly to legal aid organizations rather than through the ATJ Campaign. As a result, it is not fair to conclude that Michigan lawyers are not meeting their professional obligations. However, it is fair to think we can increase our financial support for legal aid.
To that end, the MSBF set a goal to increase the average contribution to the ATJ Campaign to $75 per Michigan lawyer. To meet that goal, we need the support of every lawyer in the state. If you haven’t contributed to the ATJ Campaign in the past, please start this year. If you have contributed to the ATJ Campaign, please do your best to increase your gift. Finally, if your firm contributes on your behalf, please consider making a personal gift on top of it. Your contribution makes a difference.
Thank you for reading this column and thank you for your support of the Access to Justice Campaign.