Funding legal aid.

The delivery of civil legal aid services to low-income people and others who face financial or other barriers to access to justice is a good and noble goal. While imposing a mandatory fee on all attorneys through their dues is not a good way to meet that goal, there are many ways we can all help.

The state and local governments have a duty to provide the resources to provide the quantity of services necessary to meet the legal needs of low-income people and others who face financial or other barriers to access to justice.

Individual clients can make small copays toward legal services.

Funding currently is through interest on IOLTA accounts, court fee surcharges and fines (This can create a problem if interest rates are so low that there is no little or no interest money in the IOLTA accounts, and if in traffic/criminal actions surcharges or fines are too much. Then the poor and their families have to break into their piggy banks and thus find it hard to get back on their feet financially.), gifts from law schools and lawyer-sponsored fundraising drives with funding through private donations, nonprofit corporate donations, and planned giving by individuals.

The Florida Supreme Court encourages individual lawyers to either donate money or contribute in-kind services. Many attorneys provide funding to legal aid and donate hours of pro bono work and have paid our fair share towards legal aid. We are in difficult economic times with increasing numbers of low-income and indigent people and therefore more options need to be explored.

The Tampa Bay Times' recent article, "Governor's race hitting costly pace," revealed the following campaign chests...