Opinion
02 Civ. 1730 (BSJ) (HBP)
March 14, 2002
MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER
By motion dated March 20, 2002 (Docket Item 3), plaintiff moves for pro bono counsel. For the reasons set forth below, the motion is denied without prejudice to renewal.
In a civil case, such as this, the Court cannot actually "appoint" counsel for a litigant. Rather, in appropriate cases, the Court submits the case to a panel of volunteer attorneys. The members of the panel consider the case and each decides whether he or she will volunteer to represent the plaintiff. If no panel member agrees to represent the plaintiff, there is nothing more the Court can do. See generally Mallard v. United States District Court, 490 U.S. 296 (1989). Thus, even in cases where the Court finds it is appropriate to request volunteer counsel, there is no guarantee that counsel will actually volunteer to represent plaintiff.
The factors to be considered in ruling on a motion for pro bono counsel are well settled and include "the merits of plaintiff's case, the plaintiff's ability to pay for private counsel, [plaintiff's] efforts to obtain a lawyer, the availability of counsel, and the plaintiff's ability to gather the facts and deal with the issues if unassisted by counsel." Cooper v. A. Sargenti Co., 877 F.2d 170, 172 (2d Cir. 1986). of these, "[t]he factor which command[s] the most attention [is] the merits." Id. Accord Odom v. Sielaff, 90 Civ. 7659 (DAB), 1996 WL 208203 (S.D.N.Y. April 26, 1996). As noted fifteen years ago by the Court of Appeals:
Courts do not perform a useful service if they appoint a volunteer lawyer to a case which a private lawyer would not take if it were brought to his or her attention. Nor do courts perform a socially justified function when they request the services of a volunteer lawyer for a meritless case that no lawyer would take were the plaintiff not indigent.Cooper v. A. Sargenti Co., supra, 877 F.2d at 174. See also Hendricks v. Coughlin, 114 F.3d 390, 392 (2d Cir. 1997) ("`In deciding whether to appoint counsel . . . the district judge should first determine whether the indigent's position seems likely to be of substance.'").
Even is I assume that plaintiff lacks the financial resources to retain counsel and that she has already made a diligent search for pro bono counsel, her papers do not establish the remaining factors relevant to her motion. Plaintiff first claims that she lacks the knowledge to proceed with her case without counsel. Very few of the pro se litigants in this Court have specialized legal knowledge, and if this fact alone were sufficient to add a case to the pro bono list, almost every pro se case would have to be added. In addition, it is well settled that unskilled pro se litigants are entitled to have their submissions read leniently, in the interests of justice. See generally Haines v. Kerner, 404 U.S. 519, 520-21 (1972); Soto v. Walker, 44 F.3d 169, 173 (2d Cir. 1995). This lenient consideration of plaintiff's submission will, to some extent, ameliorate whatever difficulties result from plaintiff's lack of knowledge.
Finally, plaintiff's motion provides no information demonstrating that this action is sufficiently meritorious to warrant being added to the list of cases circulated to the Pro Bono Panel.
Accordingly, petitioner's motion for counsel is denied without prejudice to renewal. Any renewed motion should be accompanied by an affidavit specifically addressing the relevant factors set forth above. The affidavit should provide details to establish that the foregoing factors are satisfied.