In recent months, a growing chorus of groups has turned to the Massachusetts Legislature for much-needed funding solutions.
Among these groups are emergency family shelter operators, child care providers, and now, private attorneys representing indigent clients, often referred to as ‘public defender bar advocates.’
These bar advocates are planning a rally at the State House at 1 p.m. on Tuesday to mark the beginning of their refusal to accept new court-appointed work until they receive compensation that aligns with what other states offer.
Mara Dolan, a bar advocate and elected member of the Governor’s Council, emphasized their message, advocating for fair pay that acknowledges the high cost of living in Massachusetts.
‘We are not asking to be paid the same as lawyers on Wall Street in huge law firms.
We are simply asking to be paid fairly.
Paid a rate that is on par with other northeastern states like Maine, New Hampshire, New York, and Rhode Island,’ said Jen O’Brien, a bar advocate in Middlesex County.
O’Brien pointed out that, historically, if bar advocates had received even modest cost-of-living pay increases over the past two decades, the current crisis could have been avoided.
Presently, Massachusetts compensates bar advocates at a rate of $65 per hour for District Court cases and $85 per hour for Superior Court cases.
In stark contrast, Maine provides $158 per hour, New Hampshire pays between $125-150, New York offers $158, and Rhode Island pays between $112-142.
Anthony Benedetti, Chief Counsel of the Committee for Public Counsel Services (CPCS), conveyed the severity of the situation in a letter addressed to Trial Court Chief Justice Heidi Brieger.
He warned that a work stoppage by bar advocates could significantly impact CPCS’s ability to provide counsel during arraignments and potentially throughout the legal process altogether.
Under state law, CPCS is charged with coordinating legal services for indigent clients by overseeing a mix of salaried public counsel, bar advocates, and private attorneys assigned on a per-case basis.
Benedetti expressed firm support for the private attorneys, stating, ‘We support our private attorneys and believe they should be paid more for the essential work they do in providing legal services to indigent clients across the Commonwealth.’
He further mentioned that, should a work stoppage occur, CPCS would act within its statutory obligations to ensure legal counsel remains accessible, prioritizing individuals in urgent need to protect their constitutional rights.
In response to the concerns of bar advocates, the Senate recently adopted a budget amendment proposed by Sen. Lydia Edwards.
This amendment includes an increase in hourly pay rates for bar advocates, marking what Edwards described as the first raise in the last 15 years.
Edwards pointed out that the increase applied to some of the toughest cases typically hard to assign to bar advocates, such as mental health issues and murder cases, with the rates rising by $10 an hour.
She noted that this adjustment is significant when considering that each attorney is allotted about 2,000 hours of work.
‘We want it to be incremental and permanent rather than a drastic increase that could lead to instability in the future,’ Edwards added.
As the Legislature continues its deliberations, the focus has been on addressing underfunded accounts within the state budget approved during summer 2024, with various sectors awaiting crucial funding fixes.
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