Public Interest Briefs

CLIPI is moving forward.

We’ll still be pursuing the same public interest lawsuits as in the past. But, starting this summer, CLIPI will use outside counsel rather than employ a full-time legal staff to handle CLIPI-funded public interest cases. 

Why the change? Simply put, it’s a matter of dollars and cents. 

Tax-exempt, charitable institutions are generally allowed – even encouraged – to charge fees for the charitable services they provide. Museums charge admission, schools charge tuition, hospitals charge emergency fees and so on. Often, these enterprises defray between 50-90% of their operating budgets from these fees-for-services-rendered. To make up the difference, foundations and the general public are solicited for grants and contributions. 

In the case of public interest law firms such as CLIPI, the IRS has limited the attorneys’ fees they can accept to only court-awarded contingent fees paid in successful public interest cases under a very limited number of statutes. Not only are these cases usually controversial, complex and difficult to win, but even when successful, collection of any fees awarded can take years. 

As a result, CLIPI and other public interest law firms that employ full-time legal staff find themselves caught in a financial bind. Their yearly operating budgets are fixed and substantial, but their potential revenue from fees-for-services-rendered is highly contingent and variable. Furthermore, as public interest lawsuits become more complex and difficult, more time must be spent by the attorneys and delays before payment even longer. 

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