Access to Justice in Nevada
By Hon. James W. Hardesty

In its first year, the Nevada Supreme Court Commission on Access to Justice started a thoughtful, comprehensive program to meet the ever-increasing legal needs of all Nevadans, particularly those of modest means. The Commission has successfully combined various state and county bar pro bono sections and foundations to bring a new statewide focus and energy to access to justice issues. The coordinated efforts of the legal community and legal services organizations have already enabled studies and programs that were only dreams in the past. By May 2007, the Commission secured commitments for over $90,000 from the Supreme Court, the State Bar Association, various county bar associations and foundations, the Nevada Law Foundation, legal services organizations, and other groups to conduct the first statewide civil legal needs assessment. This assessment, the results of which are due by mid-2008, will help define the extent and nature of Nevadan’s legal needs, describe services currently available, and provide recommendations for future action. The assessment will enable the Commission to develop a business plan to guide its future decisions and will generally draw the community’s attention to the legal needs existent in our state.

The Commission has also created standing committees to develop new funding sources, plan distribution formulas for funding legal services organizations, create standards for the delivery of legal services, improve services for pro se litigants, and recruit attorneys to provide pro bono legal services. The work of these committees has already been productive.

The Commission is supporting the proposal to expand Nevada’s IOLTA program to add revenue from interest on lawyer’s trust accounts. The Commission is also studying other sources of revenue that could enhance the delivery of legal services and help young lawyers who choose to work in the legal service area repay law school loans. Creative ideas, such as the emeritus program, in which retired lawyers can provide pro bono legal services without paying bar dues, are aiding in the development of new resources to meet our state’s demand for free or low-cost civil representation. Public education on access to justice issues has expanded, including a lecture series at Boyd Law School that exposes law students to the opportunities and rewards found in a career in legal services. And legal services organizations are, for the first time, meeting on a regular basis to coordinate strategies and standards for the delivery of legal services.

The Commission is also reviewing how pro bono publico services are provided under Rule 6.1 of the Nevada Rules of Professional Conduct. The most recent filings with the State Bar of Nevada show that members of the Bar submitted 8,134 annual pro bono report forms, which represents a 99.75% return rate. 3,447 lawyers or 42%, identified pro bono services they had rendered. 227 lawyers, or 2.7% of those responding, paid the suggested $500 under Rule 6.1(3)(ii) in lieu of providing services. These contributions generated $113,500 for legal services organizations. While the contributions of time and money are impressive and appreciated, many believe we can improve in both categories. The question is: how? Rule changes? Bar dues changes? Reward programs? The Commission is examining all of these questions and seeks input from the Bar. Commission representatives have conducted meetings with over 40 of Nevada’s larger law firms, in both the north and the south, to help the Commission better understand the concerns of lawyers in providing pro bono services. More meetings are planned with members of the Bar throughout the State to secure your suggestions for improvements or alternatives. As the Commission furthers its work in the new year, we hope that the legal community will participate in the access to justice mission. We need your input and ideas. Many lawyers in this State have dedicated their time and talents to this important subject and we thank them for their continued contributions. The Commission wants to add fresh faces to this growing program. We hope you will get involved by joining a standing committee, or sending your suggestions. But most of all get involved. The Commission welcomes the entire legal community to the mission to help disadvantaged Nevadans gain access to justice.

If you would like more information on any access to justice issue or mandatory pro bono reporting, please contact Gale Skala at (702) 317-1431 or (800) 254-2797 or This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

Hon. James W. Hardesty was elected in November 2004 as a Supreme Court Justice for the Supreme Court of Nevada. Justice Hardesty served as President of the Nevada District Judges Association in 2003. As a Washoe County District Court judge and as a Nevada Supreme Court justice, he has served on, or has been appointed to, various committees including: Nevada Supreme Court Task Force to create a Business Court in Nevada; Nevada Supreme Court Task Force studying the Multi-Jurisdictional Practice of Law; Nevada Supreme Court Commission on Judicial Funding; and the Nevada Supreme Court Committee to Implement Recommendations of the Jury Improvement Commission; Nevada Supreme Court Bench-Bar Committee; Nevada Supreme Court Access to Justice Commission; and the Nevada Legislature’s Advisory Commission on the Administration of Justice. He also served on the Nevada State Board of Education.

How Does Rule 6.1 Affect You?
By Lynn Etkins

You have heard about it, may have even read about it, but aren’t quite sure what it is or how it developed, right? Well, this article will try to clear up some of the misconceptions and questions related to this rule.

Rule 6.1 addresses public service for Nevada attorneys and is a part of Nevada’s Rules of Professional Conduct. In their present form, these rules date from 2006 when the Supreme Court transferred the rules relating to professional conduct from the Supreme Court Rules to a separate code of professional conduct. Rule 6.1 had its origin in Supreme Court Rule 191 which was originally adopted in 1996. Rule 191 was modified in 2003 to add a mandatory pro bono reporting obligation. When the rule was transferred to the Rules of Professional Conduct in 2006, the court added a more comprehensive pro bono service definition and added a fine for failure to comply with the reporting requirement.

Rule 6.1(a) Professional Responsibility.
Every Lawyer has a professional responsibility to provide legal services to those unable to pay.

The first question most commonly asked by attorneys is, “Do I have to do pro bono work?” The answer is that the rule is framed as an “aspirational goal.” It does not impose a penalty for failure to meet the goal. But it does make unmistakably clear the court’s expectation that Nevada attorneys will meet the standards it sets out. Specifically, the rule sets a standard entailing at least 20 hours per year of direct pro bono service or a contribution of $500 to those organizations which provide legal services to low income persons. The court has created a rule stating it is your professional responsibility to do pro bono work, amended that rule to require that you report what type of pro bono work you have done, and then, most recently, added an enforcement component providing for fines for failure to meet the reporting requirement. A further illustration of the Supreme Court’s interest in and commitment to pro bono legal work is its creation of the Access to Justice Commission.

“What kind of legal work counts towards meeting the rules standards?” The answer is, the rule sets out a detailed description of the kinds of services it encompasses. However, most important is the court’s expectation that a “substantial majority” of the 20 hours of legal services be directly provided to persons of limited means. What is meant by limited means? The simplest test is that anyone who qualifies for the services of your local legal aid office is a person of limited means. Here in Clark County, that would be both Clark County Legal Services and Nevada Legal Services. The second option the court allows is providing legal services to a group or organization in matters that are “designed primarily to address the needs of persons of limited means.” The key to the second portion of this is that your services to the charitable group be legal in nature. The idea is that you use your law license to help those less fortunate. In other words, both of these options entail that you do something only a lawyer can do.

An alternative way to comply with the aspirational goals is by providing 60 hours of reduced fee work to those unable pay full rates. Yes, this is subjective, and it may be difficult to determine precisely who qualifies. But it allows attorneys to meet the standard by serving those who are not poor enough to qualify for free legal services but not rich enough to hire attorneys at a full rate. The easiest way to participate in this fashion is by joining the Lawyer Referral and Information Services at the State Bar and signing up for the reduced fee panel. Currently, there are reduced fee panels in Bankruptcy, Family Law, Tenant Law and Consumer Law.

The rule also provides a financially-based alternative. Attorneys may donate a suggested $500 to qualified legal services organizations. Such a donation constitutes full compliance with the rule. The State Bar makes it easy to participate this way by adding this option on your bar dues statement. Last year, lawyers donated about $90,000 by checking this box on the bar dues statement. You may also send the money directly to the legal services provider of your choice. There are other ways of complying with the aspirational goals. The rule encourages members of the bar to participate on bar committees, sections and local bar associations. Activities designed towards “improving the law, the legal system, or the legal profession” are also recognized pro bono activities pursuant to the rule. Additionally, working on law-related education projects with the State Bar of Nevada, the Nevada Bar Foundation or county bars also falls under this section. The most recent amendment to the rule makes clear that certain kinds of activities do not qualify as pro bono under the rule. These are “legal services written off as bad debts, legal services performed for family members and activities that do not involve the provision of legal services, such as serving on the board of a charitable organization.” The court wants lawyers to use their law licenses to help those less fortunate gain access to our legal system. It really is as simple as that. The question they want you to ask yourself is, “How can I use my law license to better the society I live in and the community I practice in?”

Rule 6.1 (b) (1) Reporting; discharge of professional responsibility.
All members shall complete an Annual Pro Bono Reporting Form, indicating the services performed under this Rule, to be submitted to the State Bar annually on a form to be provided by the state bar with the members’ fee statements.

Yes, there is one mandatory part of the pro bono rule. What is required is completion of an annual report by each member of the bar. These reports form the basis upon which the Access to Justice Commission and others formulate plans and serve as an important step in securing the assistance of community partners. Other organizations routinely ask, “What are the lawyers doing?” The mandatory reporting requirement helps the State Bar answer that question.

The final amendment to the pro bono rule in 2006 was the creation of a fine. Lawyers who don’t complete the form and send it to the State Bar are subject to a mandatory $100 fine. The enforcement of this fine is being implemented for the 2006 report and will again be implemented for the 2007 report.

Rule 6.1 is a means to an end. Ultimately what matters is not the number of forms completed but the number of Nevadans helped. Compliance with the rule is one sure way to make that happen. If you would like more information on any access to justice issue or mandatory pro bono reporting, please contact the State Bar of Nevada at (702) 382-2200.

Lynn Etkins, Esq. is the Development Director for Clark County Legal Services. Most recently Lynn was the Access to Justice Coordinator for the State Bar of Nevada and in that capacity served as the Executive Director of the Access to Justice Commission. Lynn is licensed to practice law in California and Florida.

Rule 6.1. Pro Bono Publico Service. (a) Professional responsibility. Every lawyer has a professional responsibility to provide legal services to those unable to pay.A lawyer should aspire to render at least 20 hours of pro bono publico legal services per year. In fulfilling this responsibility, the lawyer should:
(1) Provide a substantial majority of the 20 hours of legal services without compensation or expectation of compensation to:
(i) Persons of limited means; or
(ii) A public service, charitable group, or organization in matters that are designed primarily to address the needs of persons of limited means; and
(2) Provide any additional services through:
(i) Delivery of legal services at no fee or substantially reduced fee to individuals, groups or organizations seeking to secure or protect civil rights, civil liberties or public rights, or charitable, civic, community, governmental and educational organizations in matters in furtherance of their organizational purposes, where the payment of standard legal fees would significantly deplete the organization’s economic resources or would be otherwise inappropriate; (ii) Participation in activities for improving the law, the legal system, or the legal profession; or (iii) Delivery of services in connection with law-related education sponsored by the State Bar of Nevada, the Nevada Bar Foundation, a county bar association, or a court located in Nevada. As an alternative in rendering at least 20 hours of pro bono publico services per year as provided in subparagraphs 1 and 2, a lawyer may discharge the professional responsibility to provide legal services to those unable to pay by:
Providing at least 60 hours of professional services per year at a substantially reduced fee to persons of limited means; or
Contributing at least $500 per year to an organization or group that provides pro bono legal services to persons of limited means.
When pro bono legal service is performed for an individual without compensation or at a substantially reduced fee, the fee shall be agreed to in writing at the inception of the representation and refer to this Rule.

The following do not qualify as pro bono legal service under this Rule:
Legal services written off as bad debts;
Legal services performed for family members; and
Activities that do not involve the provision of legal services, such as serving on the board of a charitable organization.
Reporting; discharge of professional responsibility.
All members shall complete an Annual Pro Bono Reporting Form, indicating services performed under this Rule, to be submitted to the state bar annually on a form to be provided by the state bar with the members’ fee statements. If a member fails to file the report required by this Rule, the state bar shall notify the member that a fine of $100 will be imposed unless the member files the report within a specified period of time not less than 30 days after the notice.
The professional responsibility to provide pro bono services as established under this Rule is aspirational rather than mandatory in nature. Accordingly, the failure to render pro bono services will not subject a member to discipline.