Anti-Oppression Client Services Program

Reimagining Access to Legal Services: How our billing is changing to reflect our anti-oppression ideals: 

The purpose of our “Anti-oppression Client Services Program” is to further racial economic justice and equity. 

We acknowledge that the traditional hourly-fee structure that drives the legal industry is fraught with inequity. How is it that an attorney’s time, sometimes costing clients upwards of $1,500 per hour can be deemed more valuable than an hourly worker, or the time of the client?  Why is it that so many cannot afford an attorney or to access quality legal representation, particularly for a community-oriented or social justice endeavor? While there are certain costs embedded in an attorney’s hourly rate to cover overhead and even costly education and training, a fair proportion of an attorney’s hourly rate is driven by the so-called “market”.   

The so-called “market” is one of the dominant pillars of the white supremacist system we are committed to dismantling. The “invisible hand” of the market has been used as an instrument of racial oppression since before Adam Smith wrote those words. 

 In early June, we took a vocal stand in support of the Movement for Black Lives, including movements for Indigenous and other people of color. 

In furtherance of our work, we have crafted a new fee arrangement aimed at repairing the harm done by “market” rates for legal services.  

For now, there are three independent but related components to our Anti-oppression Client Services Program: 

• Anti-Oppression Discount: As a Firm, we are committed to racial justice and stand in solidarity with the movement to support Black and Indigenous People and People of Color (BIPOC) in our communities. We do this in a variety of ways, including offering a discounted fee to clients led by or primarily serving BIPOC communities and that are working on social justice issues. We discount the lead project attorney’s fee by a certain meaningful percent and the rest of the team’s fees are also discounted by the same or a lower percent.  We offer this discount unsolicited; the client or prospective client need not ask. 

• Anti-Oppression “Pay-it-Forward” Pilot: We are in the planning phase for a “Pay-it-Forward” program that has several components: 
  • We will soon begin surveying clients about what anti-racist actions they are taking in their daily work. We will examine results and share trends, best practices and help connect clients with other ideas and resources. 
  • We will be asking clients if and how they might want to connect with our other clients, particularly those led by or primarily serving BIPOC communities working on social justice issues.  We have clients that have achieved a scale or obtained funding that enables them to serve as mentors, clients and advocates for our other clients that are just starting out, or those that are led by historically marginalized Black, Indigenous or other people of color. 
  • We are designing a “Pay-it-Forward” billing program. We would ask clients led by or primarily serving non-BIPOC communities to acknowledge and leverage privilege, and volunteer to pay a fixed amount or a percentage of our Firm’s fee on a “pay-it-forward basis”. The proceeds from this program would be used to deepen and expand our Firm’s work to expand access to broad-based wealth and income through collective business ownership and alternative financing, specifically for clients led by or directly supporting BIPOC communities doing social justice work. 

• Reporting and Accountability:  We are committed to transparently reporting anonymous and aggregate participation and outcomes of this program.  We will report regularly on our firm’s pro bono and discounted fee contributions to this program. We are also committed to reporting on the concrete ways this program is benefitting BIPOC communities through the dispatch of our law firm’s legal services. We hope to show the clear connection of between anti-racism work and positive outcomes for BIPOC communities. 

 For a law firm of our size, we are committed to providing outsize pro bono support to low and modest means clients, particularly those led by or primarily serving BIPOC communities.  Our Firm has participated in the Colorado Supreme Court’s Pro Bono Recognition Program for the last 3 years. We strive to contribute an average of 50-hours of pro bono legal service per full-time equivalent attorney, on a paid basis. We are on track this year to meet the challenge. 

 Contact us to learn more about the program.