Supreme court tentatively rejects mandatory pro bono reporting

On Jan. 25, the Supreme Court voted tentatively to reject the Ethics 2000 Commission's proposal on SCR 20:6.1, the controversial provision that would have required mandatory reporting of pro bono publico work performed by State Bar members. The court's unanimous motion was to adopt the ABA Model Rule, which does not contain the reporting requirement included in the Ethics 2000 document.

The State Bar had advocated for adoption of the Model Rule language and was represented at the hearing by Dean Dietrich, chair of the Bar's Professional Ethics Committee. "I am very pleased that the Justices recognized the difficulties with the mandatory reporting requirement and stayed with the Model Rule language" said Dietrich of the Ruder Ware Law Firm.

The court favored the ABA Model Rule for its approach to the definition of pro bono legal services. Members of the court also echoed the Bar's concerns that any information received from the mandatory reporting of pro bono activities would be duplicative considering the anticipated results of the Bar's extensive legal needs survey. Justice Crooks pointed out that the court may revisit the pro bono issue after the results of the survey are completed, and that the justices are looking forward to reviewing the Bar's report at the end of the year.

This decision was reached during one of a series of open administrative conferences, where the court is discussing the proposed ethics rules that have garnered the most controversy. During their deliberations, the justices are making tentative votes on specific rules after reviewing comments from individual lawyers and other interested groups and engaging in lengthy debates. The court expects to make a final vote on the new proposed ethics rules once the drafting is complete, most likely within the next few months.

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