HOUSE MEMORIAL 82

53rd legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - second session, 2018

INTRODUCED BY

Sheryl Williams Stapleton and Deborah A. Armstrong

A MEMORIAL

REQUESTING THE STATE BAR OF NEW MEXICO, THE NEW MEXICO LEGAL AID VOLUNTEER ATTORNEY PROGRAM AND THE SOUTHWEST WOMEN'S LAW CENTER TO FORM A WORKING GROUP TO STUDY HOW TO ENCOURAGE MORE LICENSED ATTORNEYS IN NEW MEXICO TO INCREASE PRO BONO SERVICES FOR LOW-INCOME FAMILIES.

     WHEREAS, each year, legal service providers are unable to provide legal assistance for many low-income individuals because of a lack of funding and a lack of personnel to provide the services; and

     WHEREAS, the New Mexico supreme court's commission on access to justice has reported that less than twenty percent of the legal needs of low-income New Mexicans are being met; and

     WHEREAS, the consequences of not resolving civil legal problems such as access to housing; education; health care; food assistance; fair pay; support for victims of domestic violence; and child support can be devastating for families; and

     WHEREAS, consumer scams and unfair labor practices that prey on needy, vulnerable populations also take a toll on low-income families; and

     WHEREAS, a low-income family that does not have access to legal assistance when such assistance is needed can suffer devastating effects, including draining the family's budget, driving the family deeper into poverty and even causing the family to become homeless; and

     WHEREAS, there are more than five thousand five hundred licensed attorneys in New Mexico who could provide some pro bono services for low-income families;

     NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that a pro bono working group composed of attorneys in private practice, governmental practice and nonprofit practice be requested to form; and

      BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the pro bono working group be requested to establish a plan, collect data and analyze information for making recommendations on how to encourage more licensed attorneys in New Mexico to increase pro bono services for low-income families; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the executive director of the southwest women's law center be requested to serve as the chair of the pro bono working group and to convene the working group; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the pro bono working group be requested to work with the state bar of New Mexico to publish and disseminate its findings and recommendations to the licensed members of the New Mexico state bar; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the pro bono working group be requested to present its findings and recommendations to the appropriate interim legislative committee before December 31, 2018; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be transmitted to the governor; the chief justice of the supreme court; the executive director of the New Mexico bar association; and representatives of the New Mexico legal aid volunteer attorney program, the New Mexico Black lawyers association, the New Mexico Hispanic bar association, the New Mexico lesbian and gay lawyers association, the New Mexico women's bar association, the Indian law section of the state bar of New Mexico and the bar associations in each of the thirty-three counties in New Mexico.

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