Practicing public interest law under Rule 1.8(e) with and without a humanitarian exception
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Public defenders, Legal Aid lawyers and pro bono attorneys have long faced the reality of trying to help clients with a legal problem while the client also struggles to secure housing, food, clothing, transportation, medical care and other necessities. Advocates are acutely aware that these life challenges often create barriers to effective legal representation. Nonetheless, Rule of Professional Conduct 1.8(e) in most jurisdictions prohibits attorneys from providing financial assistance to clients in connection with pending or contemplated litigation. In 2020, the ABA adopted a new model rule 1.8(e), also known as "the humanitarian exception," allowing public interest lawyers to provide such assistance in certain circumstances and a few states have followed suit. This session will discuss Rule 1.8(e), its application in the context of legal aid and public defender work, and the benefits and challenges related to implementing the humanitarian exception.
Lora Livingston
Connor Barusch
Trainer Director
Committee for Public Counsel Services
Connor M. Barusch, Esq., (he/they) is Training Director for Criminal Defense Training and trial attorney with the Committee for Public Counsel Services (the Massachusetts public defender agency), where he has worked for over a decade. In addition to work at CPCS, Barusch serves as a faculty member at the National Criminal Defense College. In his spare time, Barusch consults with and trains public defenders across the country on working with transgender clients. He has run courses with the National Association for Public Defense on both working with trans clients and also train-the-trainers for other public defenders looking to train on working with trans clients. Prior to becoming a public defender, Barusch clerked at the Massachusetts Appeals Court, worked at a small LGBT-focused family law firm and helped found a civil legal services clinic that worked with low income transgender clients.