Attorneys emeritus filling the gaps

Gary Van Graafeiland is living the best of two worlds.

Graafeiland is enjoying his retirement and participating in the pro bono work he never had the chance to do as a corporate lawyer at Eastman Kodak.

Although Graafeiland, who retired from the company five years ago as chief counsel, did arrange pro bono work for Kodak lawyers and paralegals, he said he never had the time to try it out himself, and often felt a little distant from the local legal scene.

“My schedule was too much beyond my control,” said Graafeiland, who has been active at Volunteer Legal Services Project of Monroe County since his retirement.

Now he’s ready to commit to the newly initiated attorney emeritus program announced by New York State Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman in January. A rules change added the new category of lawyer, the status of which is neither active nor retired.

Attorneys emeritus are free from requiring malpractice insurance, do not have to pay the $350 biennial registration fee and are exempt from CLE requirements.

Speaking before the Monroe County Bar Association on June 10, Chief Judge Lippman addressed the issue of the poor’s lack of access to civil legal representation.

Part of his plan was to initiate the emeritus program and fill it with an untapped resource: “That is, baby boomers who are coming into retirement age and want to do something meaningful with all the years of expertise they have in the legal profession,” Chief Judge Lippman said earlier this month, noting that 40 percent of lawyers statewide are close to retirement.

Joining the program, he said, was akin to a lawyer having a gold star pinned on his or her chest, an sign of the work done in support of indigent clients, with skills learned over a lifetime. He said 50 attorneys already had signed on, and would be assigned to legal services providers, where they’ll receive an office if needed and training.

Chief Judge Lippman also noted that the economic downturn has led to an increased number of people showing up in state courts — estimated at more than 2 million annually — who cannot afford representation. The sinking economy has manufactured an underfunded and broken legal services system filled with evictions, foreclosure, debt collection and other civil cases, he said.

Graafeiland has not yet signed on the dotted line, but this week he said the program’s 60 hours of required service spread out over two years is less pro bono work than he’s doing now. To qualify for attorney emeritus status, a lawyer must: be 55 years old, be an attorney in good standing, have practiced for at least 10 years and no longer accept paying clients.

Graafeiland said he was ready and willing. Although he’s done his share of helping the indigent with pro bono work that “runs right across the spectrum,” such as estate planning and living wills for AIDS and cancer patients — he said he likes the idea of a structured system, and that the program has the chief judge’s endorsement.

Graafeiland said he believes there is a “pronounced need” for the program and that, once the word is out, its ranks of volunteers will swell.

“What’s nice about the emeritus program is that it does have a certain cachet,” Graafeiland said. “As it gains momentum, I think people will flock to the banner.”

A female pioneer

Bar associations and advocacy groups state- and nationwide have worked for many years to promote pro bono efforts, and at least six states have attorney emeritus programs similar to the one New York is adopting.

Many large corporate law firms regularly volunteer their services and resources. On the other hand, many lawyers resist helping the needy. A 2002 statewide study revealed only about a quarter of all lawyers worked more than 20 pro bono hours annually, according to The New York Times.

Marcia Wishengard is not one of them. A 1960 graduate of Cornell Law School — honored as a 50-year member of the Monroe County Bar Association earlier this month — Wishengrad has been doing pro bono work for many years and is thinking of joining the attorney emeritus program. She has a long history of volunteer work and experience as a lawyer in family court, she said.

Like Graafeiland, she is semiretired and, before becoming a solo practitioner, she worked for the Monroe County Department of Social Services, the Legal Aid Society of Rochester and as an attorney for Urban Renewal. She also volunteered her services at The Arc and VSLP. She said she likes some of the benefits the emeritus program will provide, and thinks that corporate firms could become involved by offering space and resources within their offices.

“As a solo practitioner for VSLP, I use my own resources,” she said, “and you’re carrying the overhead.”

Judge Richard Rosenbaum, 80, still goes to work every day at Nixon Peabody and said he thinks he may never retire completely. But he also does pro bono work and said he is pleased with Chief Judge Lippman’s program and recently attended a VLSP-sponsored seminar.

Linda Kostin, pro bono coordinator for the Seventh Judicial District’s Pro Bono Action Now Program, in an e-mail said several two-hour opportunities, including clinics and a consumer law hotline, are upcoming.

One problem Judge Rosenbaum sees is that many lawyers like to hang on to their registration and remain on the active roster, but he said he thinks the program will succeed.

“The courts are getting overburdened,” he said. “And pro bono work is fun to do and it keeps the juices flowing, if you find a case that touches you. Then you step in.”