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Committee backs ordinance to declare San Francisco a ‘right to civil counsel’ city and launch one-year pilot
Summary
The Rules Committee forwarded an ordinance to declare San Francisco the nation’s first 'right to civil counsel' city and authorize a one-year pilot, adding a requirement for a pre-pilot work plan and independent evaluation; legal groups and legal-aid organizations urged a larger, funded commitment for eviction and family-law defense.
The San Francisco Rules Committee on Feb. 16 forwarded an ordinance declaring the city’s intent to become the first "right to civil counsel" city and to launch a one-year pilot program providing civil legal representation in select matters. The committee adopted an amendment requiring a pre-pilot work plan and an independent evaluation of the pilot’s impact and directed that the evaluation be submitted after the pilot concludes.
President David Chiu, who introduced the ordinance, said the pilot would coordinate pro bono participation by the private bar, the courts and city agencies and would begin with areas of highest unmet need—wrongful-eviction defense, family law and domestic-violence cases. Chiu said the amendment he circulated would ensure an evaluation is developed before the pilot begins and that all parties participate in the evaluation.
Speakers representing large law firms, the Bar Association of San Francisco and legal-aid organizations urged support. Jim Brosnahan of Morrison & Foerster called the proposal “historic” and urged critical evaluation. Kelly Dermody, president of the Bar Association of San Francisco, testified that recent court-budget cuts have left many litigants without access and that the private bar can be mobilized through formal public policy.
Nonprofit legal-service providers, including the Eviction Defense Collaborative, Tenderloin Housing Clinic and Bay Area Legal Aid, supported the pilot but urged that the city also fund full-time eviction-defense attorneys. Tyler McMillan of the Eviction Defense Collaborative said the group meets the current demand for tenant assistance but argued the city must make a stronger financial commitment: "We do not need a little more representation. We need 10 or 15 more legal aid attorneys doing full time eviction defense now."
Committee members discussed the pilot’s scope and timing and agreed to shorten an evaluation deadline so that findings would be available to inform the fiscal-year 2012–13 budget. After debate and amendments, the committee moved Item 2 forward with a positive recommendation to the full board.
