Miss. Supreme Court Adopts Limited Scope Representation Rule Proposed by Access to Justice Commission
Legal Services E-lert
Bibliographic Info:
Source: Associated Press, “Miss. court adopts legal aid rules for poor”
Date: February 2, 2011
The Associated Press reports: “The Mississippi Supreme Court has adopted new, revised rules to improve poor people's access to legal services. Chief Justice Bill Waller Jr. said the limited scope representation rule is to encourage lawyers to provide some services to clients who are limited in what they can afford. He said the revised rules also encourage lawyers to provide volunteer services to legal hotlines and clinics without fear of creating conflicts of interest. Waller said the new rules are effective immediately. The rules were proposed by the Access to Justice Commission. ‘Often, a lawyer will want to help someone who faces a legal problem, but the potential client is unable to pay and the lawyer just cannot commit the time and resources to handle the entire matter. This rule change will allow the lawyer to provide some help, rather than none at all,’ said Justice Jess Dickinson, a member of the Access to Justice Commission. Under the limited scope representation rule, the court said lawyers could, for example, provide counsel and advice and draft letters or pleadings. Lawyers could assist clients in preparation for litigation with or without appearing as counsel of record. The Supreme Court said that lawyers historically have treated limited scope representation with caution, fearing the possibility that undertaking part of the work without providing complete representation would be a violation of their professional obligations. . . .The Supreme Court said an agreement between the lawyer and the client regarding the scope of the representation may limit the matters for which the lawyer is responsible. The court said any agreed limitation ‘must be reasonable under the circumstances,’ and ‘does not exempt a lawyer from the duty to provide competent representation.’ LaVerne Edney, general counsel for the Mississippi Volunteer Lawyers Project, said the revised rules are expected to make it easier to recruit volunteer lawyers to represent low-income clients.”