Rulemaking - LSC's Private Attorney Involvement (PAI) Regulation
Background • Workshop 1 (July 23, 2013 - Denver, Colorado) • Workshop 2 (Sept. 17, 2013 - Washington, DC) • Comments Submitted After the Workshops • Related Materials
Final Rule Published
LSC published in the Federal Register a final rule on October 15, 2014, which is effective on November 14, 2014. The board adopted the rule at the the October 8, 2014, meeting in Albany, New York.
Proposed Rule Published for Comment
LSC published a proposed rule as a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on April 15, 2014. The comment period for the proposed rule will close on June 16, 2014. Written comments must be submitted to Stefanie K. Davis, Assistant General Counsel, Legal Services Corporation, 3333 K Street NW., Washington, DC 20007; (202) 337-6519 (fax) or pairulemaking@lsc.gov. Electronic submissions are preferred via email with attachments in Acrobat PDF format. Written comments sent to any other address or received after the end of the comment period may not be considered by LSC.
Comments on the April 15, 2014 NPRM
- July 2, 2014 New York State Bar Association
- June 16, 2014 Legal Aid Society of Northeastern New York, Inc.
- June 16, 2014 National Legal Aid & Defender Association
- June 16, 2014 California Commission on Access to Justice
- June 16, 2014 Legal Services New York City
- June 16, 2014 Legal Services Corporation, Office of the Inspector General
- June 13, 2014 Northwest Justice Project
- June 13, 2014 California Rural Legal Assistance, Inc.
- June 6, 2014 American Bar Association
Background
The LSC Pro Bono Task Force (PBTF) released a report of its findings and recommendations on October 1, 2012. The PBTF's recommendation 2 addresses LSC’s Private Attorney Involvement (PAI) regulation, which requires grantees to expend an amount equivalent to 12.5 percent of their basic field grants to encourage the involvement of private attorneys in the delivery of legal assistance to eligible clients. The regulation prescribes certain activities that can be counted as meeting the PAI requirement. The PBTF found that the PAI regulation poses a number of challenges to grantees as they seek to expand pro bono resources and assistance. In light of the findings and recommendations of the PBTF, on January 26, 2013, the LSC Board of Directors authorized initiation of rulemaking to explore rulemaking options regarding the PAI requirement.
Recommendation 2 contains three recommendations, which are the three topics for this rulemaking.
- Topic 1: LSC Pro Bono Task Force Recommendation 2(a)—Resources spent supervising and training law students, law graduates, deferred associates, and others should be counted toward grantees’ PAI obligations, especially in “incubator” initiatives.
- Topic 2: LSC Pro Bono Task Force Recommendation 2(b)—Grantees should be allowed to spend PAI resources to enhance their screening, advice, and referral programs that often attract pro bono volunteers while serving the needs of low-income clients.
- Topic 3: LSC Pro Bono Task Force Recommendation 2(c)—LSC should reexamine the rule, as currently interpreted, that mandates adherence to LSC grantee case handling requirements, including that matters be accepted as grantee cases in order for programs to count toward PAI requirements.
More information on these three topics and and related questions are available to download on this link.
On April 15, 2013, the LSC Board approved plans to convene two rulemaking workshops. Held on July 23 and September 17, these workshops involved an open discussion among LSC, panelists, and public participants regarding the three topics identified by the PBTF for possible revisions to the PAI regulation. LSC accepted further written comments through October 17.
March and April 2014 Consideration of Publication of a Proposed Rule for Public Comment
The Operations and Regulations Committee (Committee) of the LSC Board of Directors met on March 3, 2014, to discuss proposed changes to the rule in advance of the April 6-8, 2014 meeting of the Board of Directors. LSC will present a full Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) for part 1614 to the Committee and the Board for review and possible approval at the April meeting. Upon approval of the Board, the NPRM will be published for a sixty-day public comment period.
- Draft Proposed Rule for consideration at the April 2014 LSC Board Meeting (at pages 203-275)
- Draft text of a proposed rule (presented on March 3)
- July 2013 PAI Workshop--Summary of Presentations
- September 2013 PAI Workshop--Summary of Presentations
- October 2013 PAI Written Comments--Summary
Workshop 1 - July 23, 2013
PAI Rulemaking Workshop 1was conducted in Denver, Colorado, on July 23, 2013. The following resources are specific to that workshop:
- Audio: Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3
- July 2013 PAI Workshop Transcript
- July 2013 PAI Workshop Agenda
- July 2013 PAI Workshop Summary of Panelists and Comments
- July 2013 PAI Workshop Guidelines
- July 2013 PAI Workshop Topics and Items for Discussion
Panelists
- Silvia Argueta, National Legal Aid and Defender Association (NLADA)
- Steve Gottlieb, Atlanta Legal Aid Society
- Judge Mary Katherine Huffman, Greater Dayton Volunteer Lawyers Project
- Joan Kleinberg, Northwest Justice Project (Wash.)
- Kenneth Penokie, Legal Services of Northern Michigan
- Lisa Wood, American Bar Association, through the Standing Committee on Legal Aid and Indigent Defendants (with input from the Standing Committee on Pro Bono and Public Service)
- Download all panelist materials as a single file
Written Comments:
- Janice Chiaretto, Statewide Legal Services of Connecticut
- Lynda Krupp, Legal Aid and Defender Association (Mich.)
- Linda Warren Seely, Memphis Area Legal Services
- William Tanner, Legal Aid Society of Orange County (Calif.)
- David Udell, National Center for Access to Justice
- Download the full set of Other Comments from Workshop 1 as a single file
Workshop 2 - September 17, 2013
PAI Rulemaking Workshop 2 was coducted in Washington, DC, on September 17, 2013. The following resources are specific to that workshop:
- Audio: Part 1; Part 2; Part 3
- September 2013 PAI Workshop Transcript
- September 2013 PAI Workshop Supplemental Questions
- September 2013 PAI Workshop Agenda
- September 2013 PAI Workshop Summary of Panelists and Comments
- September 2013 PAI Workshop Guidelines
- September 2013 PAI Workshop Topics, Items for Discussion, and Additional Questions
Panelists:
- Mark O’Brien, Pro Bono Net
- Patricia Zeeh Risser, Legal Action of Wisconsin Volunteer Lawyers Project
- Melissa Skilliter, Ohio State Legal Services Association
- David Udell, National Center for Access to Justice
- Jennifer van Dulmen, National Association of Pro Bono Professionals
- John Whitfield of Blue Ridge Legal Services, on behalf of the National Legal Aid & Defender Association
Written Comments:
- The State Bar of Michigan
- Legal Services of New York City
- David Ackerly (former Director of Private Attorney Involvement for an LSC grantee)
Comments Submitted After the Workshops
- Lisa Wood, American Bar Association, through the Standing Committee on Legal Aid and Indigent Defendants (with input from the Standing Committee on Pro Bono and Public Service)
- Mara Block, Legal Aid Foundation of Chicago
- Kristie Cinelli, Legal Aid Society of Northeastern New York
- Ann Routt and Michael Chilens, Legal Services Association of Michigan
- Laurie Tarantowicz and Matthew Glover, LSC Office of Inspector General
- Chuck Greenfield, National Legal Aid and Defender Association
- Lewis G. Creekmore and Edwinia Frances Martin, New York State Bar Association Committee on Legal Aid
- Deborah Perluss, Northwest Justice Project
- Melissa Skilliter, Ohio State Legal Services Association and Southeastern Ohio Legal Services
- Jim Bamberger and Caitlin Davis Carlson, Washington State Office of Civil Legal Aid and Legal Aid Foundation of Washington
Related Materials
Federal Register Notices: Published Notice of Rulemaking Workshops and Revised Notice with Additional Questions and Extension of Deadline
LSC’s Private Attorney Involvement (PAI) regulation - 45 C.F.R. Part 1614
Checklist for Panelists' Expressions of Interest
Report of the Pro Bono Task Force
Documents initiating rulemaking:
- Memo Requesting LSC Board to Consider and Act on the Proposed Notice of Rulemaking Workshops re Changes to the PAI Regulation (March 2013)
- Memo to LSC Board Requesting Approval to Engage in Rulemaking on PAI Based on the Pro Bono Task Force Recommendations (January 2013)
Opinions Referenced in the Pro Bono Task Force Report:
- External Opinion # EX-2008-1001 Requirement for Persons Assisted by PAI Attorneys to be Eligible Program Clients, March 19, 2008
- Advisory Opinion # AO - 2009-1004 Subgrants to Staff-Model Legal Services Provider: Qualifications as PAI under 45 CFR Part 1614, June 19, 2009
- Advisory Opinion # AO – 2009-1007 “Incubator Program” Attorneys Status as Staff Attorneys, November 25, 2009
- Advisory Opinion # AO - 2011-001 PAI Allocability of Costs Related to Intake and Referral of Applicants to Certain Pro Bono Volunteer Lawyer Programs, May 2, 2011