Top Dems on Beacon Hill announce pay raise deal for bar advocates

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7 days ago

Top Democrats on Beacon Hill said Wednesday that they've reached an agreement to end a standoff over pay raises for bar advocates that's paralyzed the state's court system.
The raises come at a lower level than the bar advocates, the private attorneys who provide the bulk of criminal defense representation for indigent defendants, had sought.
The agreement struck Wednesday 'balances sustainable rate increases for private bar advocates with continuing fiscal and federal uncertainty,' according to an analysis provided by majority Democrats in the state House.
The agreement also 'shifts a greater share of the work burden from the private bar to state public defenders by providing increased resources to those public defenders. Policy provisions in this legislation will help guard against future private bar work stoppages which impinge upon defendants' Constitutional rights,' the analysis continued.
In a statement, Massachusetts House Speaker Ronald J. Mariano, D-3rd Norfolk, said the deal announced Wednesday 'provides for a significant raise for the bar advocates, while balancing the responsibility that we have to Massachusetts taxpayers to continue to budget in a fiscally prudent manner.'
With lawmakers set to leave town for a yearly August break, the agreement announced Wednesday would boost the advocates' pay by $20 an hour over the next two years, an increase of more than 30% over current district court rates.
'With this provision, the Legislature is providing a significant increase in compensation for private bar counsel and upholding a bedrock principle of our justice system — a right to counsel for the accused," the analysis continued.
Starting Aug. 1, the annual pay rate for private bar counsel would range from $150,000 to $260,000, rising to $170,000 to $280,000 starting on Aug. 1, 2026.
But Elyse Hershon, a bar advocate in Suffolk County, slammed the proposal, saying she was 'extremely disappointed' in the Legislature.
'We don't consider this a legitimate proposal or a serious one, and it is insufficient to make up for the lack of funds for bar advocates for over 20 years,' Hershon said in a telephone interview.
Democratic leaders in the Legislature refused to meet with bar advocates, despite the lawyers attempting to get them to the table for two months, Hershon said.
'They didn't care to understand the problem,' she said. Legislators 'came up with their own solution,' Hershon continued
The Committee for Public Counsel Services will also get an additional $40 million, which lawmakers said will allow it to 'more than double its existing workforce' in part to lessen the state's reliance on bar advocates.
The Committee for Public Counsel Services is the state's public defender agency. It represents about 20% of defendants who can't afford their own lawyers across the state.
And as a hedge against further work disruptions, the language now under consideration would require bar advocates to enter into contracts that would have to be renewed every two years.
Bar advocates would have to stipulate that if they 'refuse to compete for or accept new appointments or assignments unless the rates of pay are increased shall constitute evidence of a violation of the Commonwealth's antitrust laws, consistent with federal precedent,' according to the analysis provided by House Democrats.
'The right to legal representation is a crucial element of the Constitutional guarantee to a fair trial, which is why I urge the bar advocates to return to work so that they can resume upholding that right and put an end to this public safety crisis,' Mariano said.
Senate President Karen E. Spilka, D-Middlesex/Norfolk, rejected suggestions Wednesday that the influx of money for public defenders and the antitrust language in the legislation were retaliatory or represented a heavy-handed way to head off future work stoppages.
'No, it's not retaliatory, it's reality,' the Ashland Democrat said after an unrelated event at the State House on Wednesday. 'About 10 years ago ... there was a spur of giving more [money] to CPCS to hire more attorneys, to have their own staff attorneys handle cases. If there are more, it balances up and down, and it cycles out.'
Anthony Benedetti, the chief counsel for the Committee for Public Counsel Services, said the deal reached Wednesday represented the 'most significant progress ever made toward improving Bar Advocate pay and strengthening the statewide right to counsel.'
But the proposal was a 'starting point,' he said in a statement.
'We also recognize and appreciate the Legislature's mandate to expand our in-house staffing capacity over time. Increasing our internal resources will help ensure greater stability and continuity in the delivery of legal services to those who need them most,' Benedetti said.
Since bar advocates began refusing new cases in late May, more than 4,000 people have come to CPCS without being assigned lawyers. As of July 30, 3,196 people were still unrepresented, with 145 of those in custody.
'This remains a constitutional crisis,' he said.
Benedetti urged bar advocates to get back to work.
'We share a mission with Bar Advocates to ensure that every person, regardless of income, receives high-quality legal representation. A strong, sustainable public defense system depends on a balanced and collaborative partnership between the public and private bar,' he said.
Legislative negotiators wove the raises into a deal on a fiscal year 2025 spending bill that emerged Wednesday afternoon. The underlying legislation included funding for elder care, rental aid, hospitals, and more, State House News Service reported.
The state Senate is slated to meet in formal session on Thursday, when a vote could take place. Senior leaders were set to brief reporters later in the day on Wednesday.
CPCS called on Gov. Maura Healey to sign the supplemental budget quickly when it reaches her desk.
'The need is urgent, and this investment cannot wait,' Benedetti said.
The top Republican in the state Senate met with representatives from the bar advocates on Wednesday. Speaking to reporters afterward, he reiterated the need for a speedy resolution.
Lawmakers will have to avoid the temptation of any accord that's 'going to leave us back in this same situation months or even a few years from now,' Senate Minority Leader Bruce E. Tarr, R-1st Essex/Middlesex, said. 'We're hoping for that, and that's going to be our message.'
The attorneys have publicly said that they have felt left out of Beacon Hill's deliberations on the raises.
Read the original article on MassLive.
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