BOSTON (WHDH) - As the Massachusetts Legislature inches closer toward August recess, negotiations with bar advocates remain stalled, with little sign of progress.
The private attorneys, who contract with the state to represent low-income defendants, have stopped representing new clients as they push for higher pay. Bar advocates handle 80% of indigent defense cases in Massachusetts, while public defenders employed through the state’s Committee for Public Counsel Services cover the remaining 20%.
The lawyers are pushing for their hourly rate to increase from $65 to $100—closer to what bar advocates make in neighboring states. The lawyers say the last significant pay raise came in 2004, and since then, pay increases have averaged just 71 cents a year.
“I am losing hope the more that this goes on,” said Jennifer O’Brien, a bar advocate. “I remain hopeful, but I don’t know what they’re doing because everything is done behind closed doors.”
The Senate Ways and Means Committee said it approved a 22.6% pay raise for the fiscal budgets in 2022 and 2023. Lawmakers say the legislature can’t afford the bar advocates’ proposed increase for the 2026 fiscal budget, which has already been signed into law by Gov. Maura Healey. They say the proposal would cost between $90 million and $100 million.
“The current situation is unsustainable,” a Senate Ways and Means spokesperson said. “We are having active conversations in the legislature, but it remains our hope that the bar advocates will get back to work.”
Lawmakers pushed for targeted raises for bar advocates handling the most serious cases, including murder cases, other Superior Court cases and mental health proceedings. However, the proposal was cut from the final budget sent to Healey.
The work stoppage is already having ripple effects across the criminal justice system. Judges were forced to dismiss more than 120 cases after an emergency protocol was invoked that requires the release of anyone held without a lawyer for seven days, and the dismissal of cases when defendants go 45 days without representation. These cases can be retried, but many say the situation raises due process and public safety concerns.
“This is a public safety issue and also a due process issue because people need representation,” Healey said Wednesday.
Bar advocates say they haven’t had a seat at the table during key budget discussions. While they’ve met with several lawmakers over Zoom, the lawyers say they’ve been largely excluded from formal negotiations.
“The people who hold the purse strings and make those decisions, they are not negotiating with us,” O’Brien said. “They have not invited us to the table to talk about the issues.”
Both Senate and House leaders say discussions are ongoing. A House spokesperson added they hope “to address this issue through a future legislative vehicle.”
Bar advocates are not unionized and cannot organize a formal strike. The work stoppage is an individual decision, and some attorneys are still accepting new clients. But as negotiations drag on with the state legislature, advocates warn they expect more lawyers to step away from indigent defense work entirely.
“If someone’s right to counsel is important to the state of Massachusetts, then it’s important to fund it,” O’Brien said. “If they’re going to spend the money to prosecute, they have to spend the money on the defense.”
The legislature says the proposed 53.8% increase in one year comes at a time of broader fiscal uncertainty, when the state is already making cuts to other services. Bar advocates say the work stoppage wasn’t an easy decision, and they’re hoping to reach an agreement soon.
“It’s not something that we’ve taken lightly,” O’Brien said. “There’s a lot we pay out of pocket. Sometimes your client doesn’t have anything to wear so bar advocates will buy them a suit or shoes. We’re not compensated for a lot of it. We do it because we care about people.”
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