New rules announced today by the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania clear the way for money left over from class-action lawsuits to help provide legal services for low-income Pennsylvanians.

The new civil procedure rules take effect July 1, directing how money left over from lawsuits after the plaintiffs, attorney fees and expenses have been paid is to be distributed. The residual funds include money for plaintiffs who cannot be located or who don’t file claims.

This article in the National Law Journal discusses the grim financial forecast that struggling legal aid programs face as the new year opens and demand for legal services continues to increase. It highlights ongoing decreases in IOLTA funding, which generated $380 million nationally for legal aid groups in 2008, but fell to $124 million in 2010 with little indication that the declining trend will change in 2011.

Congress has passed a bill requiring the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation to provide full insurance coverage to Interest on Lawyers’ Trust Accounts (IOLTA), a major source of funding for legal aid programs nationwide.

The bill (H.R. 6398) extends the existing FDIC protection—set to expire Dec. 31—for an additional two years.

The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania has increased fees for out-of-state lawyers who practice in the Commonwealth in order to finance a student loan forgiveness program for attorneys employed by agencies that help people who cannot afford legal representation.

The adjustment in fees from $100 to $200 applies only to attorneys eligible to practice in Pennsylvania as counsel pro hac vice — a legal term meaning “for this occasion.” The fee boost, which takes effect in 30 days, follows the Supreme Court’s recent decision to designate proceeds from the fee into the Loan Repayment Assistance Program, or LRAP, administered by the Pennsylvania Bar Foundation.

Beginning September 1, the Bar Foundation will receive loan applications from attorneys working for qualified agencies that provide legal assistance in civil matters to indigent Pennsylvanians. The LRAP loans will be forgiven if the attorneys remain employed at the legal aid organizations for one year.

The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania has announced a student loan forgiveness program for attorneys employed by agencies that help people who cannot afford legal representation.

Beginning Sept. 1, the Loan Repayment Assistance Program - or LRAP - will receive applications for reimbursements for student loans to attorneys working for at least one year with a qualified agency that provides legal assistance in civil matters to indigent Pennsylvanians.

The Brennan Center for Justice has recently published an analysis entitled The Impact of the Recession on the Ability of the Poor and Working Poor to Obtain Help with Pressing Civil Legal Needs.

This analysis, part of the Center's Civil Justice initiative, provides nationwide evidence of the economic downturn’s impact on the ability of vulnerable individuals to obtain legal assistance through the nation’s civil legal aid programs.