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Chief Judge in New York Begins Campaign For Lawyers for Poor

By Michael Rothfeld

The economic crisis has reverberated against poor people in many ways, only one among them that more and more poor people are going to court in civil cases without lawyers. It has been a national problem, as reported in the WSJ here. On Tuesday, as New York's chief judge launched his campaign to increase funding for the issue in the state, he was intent on stressing that this isn't just about public poverty programs, however. In Manhattan, Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman (pictured) took testimony about the ramifications of the trend from Michael Helfer, the chief counsel for Citigroup, from Joseph Strasburg, head of the Rent Stabilization Association, a landlord's group, and from Kenneth Raske, chief of the Greater New York Hospital Association. "All of this is not only about doing the right thing and the ethical need to help those that are most vulnerable," Judge Lippman said in an interview. "This is something that also helps the bottom line." The business leaders told him, essentially, that no, they don't relish beating up up on defendants....

Full post as published by Law Blog - WSJ.com on September 28, 2010 (boomark / email).