“A False and Unfair Economy”

In a January 2nd editorial, the New York Times calls for Governor David A. Paterson and the New York State Legislature to restore crucial funding for civil legal services:

Dollars will be restored here and cut there in the negotiations to
come. When they are, there is one interest group, quieter and far less
powerful than most, that always needs a voice. That is the poor, among
whose setbacks in this budget is the zeroing-out of noncriminal legal
services — a chronically underfunded need for which, in this budget,
there is no funding at all.

The full New York Times editorial follows:

A False and Unfair Economy

January 1, 2009

Gov. David Paterson’s $121 billion doomsday budget has the virtue, at least, of matching scarce dollars against harsh reality. We have commended him for trying to spread the pain, and urged him to stand firm against the interest groups that would put their needs above the stability and solvency of New York State.

Dollars will be restored here and cut there in the negotiations to come. When they are, there is one interest group, quieter and far less powerful than most, that always needs a voice. That is the poor, among whose setbacks in this budget is the zeroing-out of noncriminal legal services — a chronically underfunded need for which, in this budget, there is no funding at all.

In the real world — unlike courtroom TV — people usually get the justice they can pay for, and those who cannot afford lawyers end up bearing an unfair burden. People need decent representation when doing battle with bad landlords and employers, callous health maintenance organizations and government agencies, disgruntled business partners and grasping relatives. And in an era of predatory home loans, the legal needs of distressed homeowners are urgent and steadily rising.

Advocates for the poor argue, persuasively, that outlays for civil legal services are budgetary pennies that save many dollars. A foreclosure prevented is an eviction avoided, a family kept from homelessness — and a considerable burden lifted from the government’s social-service safety net. With legal help, poor people can avoid litigation, easing the load on judges and courtrooms. They can get food stamps, leveraging federal dollars in an underused program. If they avoid the poorhouse they will have, by definition, more money to spend, increasing sales tax revenues and benefiting local businesses.

Gov. Eliot Spitzer once thought he had a painless way to increase the financing stream for civil legal services. It was to raise the interest rate on the funds that law firms hold for clients in escrow accounts. The Interest on Lawyer Account Fund is a mainstay for financing civil legal services, and when it rose, it helped state spending reach a high of nearly $16 million last year.

But the fund has plunged in the economic downturn, and subsequent budget cuts have taken big bites out of civil legal services. The funding cuts have come at the worst possible time. The Legislature and Mr. Paterson must take care to save money by spending a little more in the right places, like civil legal services.

Legal Services NYC—the largest organization exclusively devoted to
providing free civil legal services in the United States, with
neighborhood offices in every borough of New York City—is made up of
passionate attorneys and staff who provide their clients—single moms,
workers with disabilities, seniors, and others—with a comprehensive
approach to solving their legal problems and getting them back on their
feet. Legal Services NYC provides free high quality legal help in civil matters to low-income people throughout New York City by:

• Representing our clients in courts and administrative tribunals;

• Providing advice or referral information when we can’t provide representation;

• Assisting clients with community-based economic development;

• Providing legal education through community workshops, helplines and written materials; and

• Providing professional training in poverty law for attorneys, advocates and others.

Our core practice areas are Family, Housing, Benefits, Consumer, and Education law. We respond to legal needs that may be particular to a group of people, a neighborhood or a period of time. In addition, several of our offices have special projects that address the needs of seniors, victims of domestic violence, victims of predatory lending practices, immigrants, and people with HIV.

You can find out more about the work we do and the people and communities we help by clicking here.