Boston Bar Association Creates Task Force on Civil Right to Counsel
Mary K. Ryan Named Chair

BOSTON – Underscoring the Boston Bar Association’s commitment to ensuring access to justice, regardless of a person’s ability to pay for a lawyer, BBA President Anthony M. Doniger today announced the creation of the BBA Task Force on Civil Right to Counsel.  The Task Force will be chaired by Mary K. Ryan, a partner at Nutter, McClennen & Fish, and a past President of the BBA.

“Most people know that if a person is charged with a crime and cannot afford a lawyer, a court-appointed lawyer will be appointed at public expense as a matter of right,” said Doniger.  “By contrast, low-income people facing adversarial proceedings involving fundamental human needs such as shelter, sustenance, safety, or healthcare typically do not receive publicly funded legal services because of inadequately funded civil legal aid programs.”

Doniger added:  “We are now beyond discussing the civil right to counsel as a positive concept, which we accept, and must address the harder issue, which is how to go about implementing such a right.  That will be the role of the BBA Task Force on Civil Right to Counsel.”

The concept of providing civil counsel to low-income people by right is one being considered by a number of states, and has been buttressed by a 2006 resolution of the American Bar Association, which had been previously endorsed by the Boston Bar Association.

Mary Ryan and Tony Doniger will be joined on the Task Force by a broad array of lawyers and judges with expertise in the provision of civil legal services to low-income people:  Jayne B. Tyrrell, Massachusetts IOLTA Committee, who will serve as Vice-Chair; Stephanie A. Balandis, Greater Boston Legal Services; Susan J. Cohen, Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo, P.C.; Professor Russell Engler, New England School of Law; Massachusetts Housing Court Judge Wilbur J. Edwards, Jr; Susan M. Finegan, Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo, P.C.; Professor David Hall, Northeastern University Law School; Joseph L. Kociubes, Bingham McCutchen LLP; Joyce Kauffman, Law Office of Joyce Kauffman; William J. Leahy, Committee for Public Counsel Services; Jay T. McManus, Children’s Law Center; Ilene Mitchell, Probate & Family Court; Professor Eva S. Nilsen, Boston University Law School; Lonnie A. Powers, MA Legal Assistance Corporation; Allan G. Rodgers, MA Law Reform Institute; Robert A. Sable, Greater Boston Legal Services; Richard A. Soden, Goodwin Procter LLP; Suleykan D. Walker, Meehan, Boyle, Black & Bogdanow; and Robert S. Sanoff, Foley Hoag LLP.

The Boston Bar Association has 9,000 members and is driven by its mission of promoting the highest standards of excellence for the legal profession, facilitating access to justice, and serving the community at large.