EN WAAR ZIJN DIE HANDJES?

Of, hoe Regi van Milk, Inc. zijn volk leerde omgaan met de politie.

Vrienden hebben is niet evident. Je wordt niet zomaar iemands vriend door hem of haar maat of moatje te noemen. Dus, als je wil dat de politie je vriend is dan moet je daar wel wat moeite voor doen. Het kan je leven sparen, en redden.

Wanneer de politie je staande houdt dan is de eerste taak die volbracht moet worden de veiligheid van zowel de persoon als van de politiemensen zelf. Dat houdt in: zo ver mogelijk weg van bijvoorbeeld het verkeer; zo ver mogelijk weg van de straat en op een plaats waar de persoon die wordt aangesproken zo onbeperkt mogelijk kan worden geobserveerd -- vooral de handen! Getrainde handen kunnen nu eenmaal heel snel een wapen tevoorschijn toveren.

Niemand, heilig noch crimineel, wil worden gestopt en ondervraagd door enkele sjampetters. Je wil gewoon voorbij dit blauwe obstakel en je reis verder zetten. De beste manier om dat te bekomen is kalm en beleefd de vragen te beantwoorden, gevraagde identiteitsbewijzen te overhandigen en dan nog iets: doe vooral alles wat ze je vragen, en toon je handen!

Als een politieagent vraagt om tegen de muur te staan, Dyab Abou Jahjah, dan doe je dat, tenzij je brokken wil -- uitlokken.

Je auto, de straat, het café zijn geen gerechtszalen. Je beantwoord de vragen van de politie. Je moet jezelf echter niet beschuldigen.
Je voert geen debat op straat, het is niet de plaats voor argumenten. Bovenal wees beleefd, werk mee, niet tegen. Neem geen voorbeeld aan de civiele ongehorigen die de maatschappij waar ze te gast zijn enkel misbruiken voor hun eigen entertainment, persoonlijke agenda and profijt.

Het is van het allerhoogste belang dat landen en gemeenschappen zoals de onze gerust kunnen zijn in het bestaande respect voor en het vertrouwen in de juridische procedures en dit in zowel goede als slechte tijden.

Dat begint eerst bij onszelf en niet in het minst door middel van een gezonde dosis respect voor hen -- de politie -- die de gevaarlijke job hebben om onze wetten te laten naleven.

EN HIJ WILDE NIET TEGEN DE MUUR GAAN STAAN.

Of, hoe Wim Helsen met zijn klokkenspel heeft gerammeld.

Wat een mooi en intrigerend stukje televisie op Canvas Winteruur een paar dagen geleden, niet?
Als ode aan het geschreven woord bracht Dyab Abou Jahjah een citaat van Malcolm X als zijn favoriete tekst. Hij was er helemaal klaar voor, maar niet voordat Wim hem eerst in zijn ondergoed zette. O die snoodaard! Hij pookte Abou Jahjah in de ribben met een paar regeltjes van Willem Elsschot. "Ken jij Elsschot, Dyab?", vroeg hij conspirerend. "Het hoofd intrekken zoals de verstandige schildpad doet wanneer zij onraad ruikt." uit De wijze gaat liefst onopgemerkt voorbij. Wel, Dyab kent Elsschot niet en was zich dus van geen onraad bewust.

Dyab Abou Jahjah is een meester in het debat en raconteur. Hij kent alle knepen van het vak maar zijn repertoire is belachelijk beperkt: Malcolm X en Uncle Toms.

De pseudo-Belgische Malcolm X citeerde de echte - sans Negro - toen die van leer ging in 1965 tegen de brutale methodes van de Amerikaanse ordehandhavers. Het was inderdaad een bloedige affaire. Abou Jahjah vergeleek die woelige periode uit de Amerikaanse geschiedenis met het veiligheidsklimaat in België vandaag. Excuustruus Abou Jahjah haalde daarvoor zijn laatste behandeling aan tijdens een nachtelijke controle, op straat, door franstalige politieagenten. Zowel voor de veiligheid van Abou Jahjah alsook voor de veiligheid van de politie werd hij gevraagd om tegen de muur te staan. Dat stond niet in het boekje van de pan-arabische onstuimigaard. O neen, dat wekt executiebeelden op, dat is een baksteen te veel. Nog volgens de geprofileerde activist was het muurconflict uiteindelijk opgelost door de interventie van "de goei", de vlaamstalige Brusselse politie.

Op alle vlak is de botsing tussen Islamieten en Westerlingen een vijftig jaar lang politiek falen. Racistische karikaturen zoals Dyab Abou Jahjah hebben de Westerse publieke opinie zodanig vergiftigd dat de multi-culturele samenhorigheid nog lang niet aan de horizon ligt.

Dyab Abou Jahjah klaagt de maatschappelijke spanning aan waar hij zelf medeplichtig aan is. Zoals zijn grote voorbeeld Malcolm X werkt hij tegen, in de illusie zo zijn arabische supremacie in Europa te bekomen. Allen die zich niet achter hem scharen krijgen dan weer de stempel van Uncle Tom.

Dyab Abou Jahjah heeft dringend nood aan huisvesting met hele lage plafonds: zo kan hij leren om zijn hoofd in te trekken want de wijze blijft het liefst onopgemerkt. En zo bereik je veel, meer.

LSC AND VIVALDI'S FOUR SEASONS

NOTE: IF YOU WISH, CLICK HERE FOR A FULL PLAY OF VIVALDI'S "FOUR" AS YOU READ THIS POST.

A few weeks ago I attended the Board of Directors meeting of the Legal Services Corporation (LSC) in their very own Washington D.C. offices.

In the spirit of this blog's title, let me pass on some bona fide advice: if you ever visit LSC on K Street, here's where you park: at the very end of K Street on the parking lot of the Boat Club. It's free - imagine that in D.C. - safe and less than a minute's walk from the building. Thank me later.


So what is LSC? Let me explain by using their own words, straight from their website at About LSC - What is LSC?:

"LSC is the single largest funder of civil legal aid for low-income Americans in the nation. Established in 1974, LSC operates as an independent 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation that promotes equal access to justice and provides grants for high-quality civil legal assistance to low-income Americans. LSC distributes more than 90 percent of its total funding to 134 independent nonprofit legal aid programs with more than 800 offices."

In other words, 134 legal assistance and legal aid organizations all across this nation are receiving funds (grants) to help the indigent, the poor, the weak with any of the civil legal issues they may have.

The dominant legal matters affecting legal aid recipients are Family Law, Housing Issues, Income Maintenance and Consumer Law. As I wrote in my previous post, "Ceci n'est pas une pipe.", "Sometimes an attorney is the only one who can prevent a family from tumbling into poverty or homelessness.". Certainly, legal aid clients are already poor but in their case an attorney can achieve two no-small objectives: 1) prevent further calamity from occurring and 2) give the gift of hope so the client in question may find the strength to move on and preferably, up.

Now is a good time to introduce Antonio Vivaldi and his 'Quattro Stagione' as referred to in the title. Vivaldi was born in a poor Venetian family, so poor in fact that young Antonio was sent into the priesthood - well against his will - in order to get free education. Vivaldi's father was a barber, couldn't make ends meet and became a touring violinist instead. Antonio Vivaldi suffered poverty, poor health and was very unhappy in his "job" as a priest; he knew his talent lay elsewhere. The Vivaldi family, as the family grew, had a hard time keeping food on the table and a roof over their heads. The Vivaldi family could have been a cookie cutter legal aid candidate.

Fortunately, Antonio Vivaldi found a way to develop his talent as a violinist, performer and composer - creator of 'The Four Seasons' known to all and one of my favorites.

All twelve concertos take you through an entire range of sounds, emotions, awarenesses and visualizations. Brooks, barking dogs, barren land, thunderstorms - there are even a few drunks in there.

Somehow, when I was walking to the LSC office that Sunday afternoon (I had just parked at the Boat Club, remember?), 'Spring' came to mind: Spring Mov. 1. Spring is new, growth, exciting, anticipation. I was looking forward to attending and meeting a few people I had been communicating with beforehand but never met.

All LSC staff, upper management, President, Committee Members and Members of the Board are very welcoming, gracious and genuine and took a newcomer like me straight into happy 'Summer': Summer Mov. 1.

Without going into too much detail, which would take you to 'Winter' - Winter Mov. 1 - by the way, the first item on that afternoon's agenda was "Criminal Defense in Tribal Courts". How exciting! I know next to nothing about that so it sounded interesting (Spring Mov. 2) and for a while it was (Summer Mov. 2) until a pesky and recurring problem reared its ugly head for the first time and many more times in the following days: "no funding" or also referred to as "lack of resources". That's when you hear things such as "authorized but not funded", "oh, did you mean funded but not appropriated?", "well no, I meant to say, the funds were authorized but they haven't been appropriated yet". That's when you look up at the ceiling and you see the leaves dropping, there's a chill in the air and you want a cup of hot tea: 'Autumn' had come: Autumn Mov. 1.

I considered taking advantage of an upcoming 5-minute break to retrieve my iPod from my car (which was parked at the Boat Club, remember?) and feeding one ear with the sounds of 'Quattro Stagione'.
I quickly disposed of the idea thinking it inappropriate to treat an LSC Board of Directors meeting as the backdrop of a classical concert.

The afternoon continued with a few Rulemaking  sessions, where some very impressive drafting staff were able to shine (Spring Mov. 3) and receive credit from the Board for work very well done (Summer Mov. 3).

Following summer, at least here in the United States, we trick 'r treat ourselves into the fall, right? Well, so it happened: Autumn Mov. 2; a "Public Comment Out Of Order" was offered and the ABA representative with a trick up his sleeve felt the need to parse definitions. Following some slicing, dicing, word-wrestling and compromising, the ABA rep achieved what the ABA is really-really good at: freeze things into place, cover it up with a thick sheet of ice to be discovered in the next millenium (Winter Mov. 2).

Truly, hour upon hour is played out in The Red Priest's Four Seasons (*). I'll give a quick rundown of all subsequent discussion items; you will probably be able to fill in the corresponding season yourself.

Legal services to aliens (illegals) who are the victims of crimes such as domestic abuse, trafficking, etc.: what a heartbreaking topic, not helped by a surprising comment by one of the participants: "more often than not, alien victims are asked about their legal status vs. 'what happened to you?'" 'Winter' continued: Winter Mov. 3.

Reporting on staff compensation, performance measurements, collective bargaining negotiations, data collection parameters, system reviews, "lack of resources", time records & timekeeping and case management systems reviews: Autumn Mov. 1 Autumn Mov. 2 Autumn Mov. 3 Winter Mov. 1 Winter Mov. 2 Winter Mov. 3.

Upcoming 40th Anniversary, new initiatives, pro bono innovation: Spring Mov. 1 Spring Mov. 2 Spring Mov. 3.

Raising public awareness for all the good work LSC and all 134 legal aid programs are doing day after day: Summer Mov. 1.

We didn't have much of a summer 'that year' and the fall felt like winter (Winter Mov. 1) because there was another one of those "Public Comments Out Of Order" moments where the ABA representative demonstrated yet another ABA talent: after his comments, the mumble in the galleries was "Anybody know what he just meant by that?".

Lack of funding & forced part-time by legal aid organizations and transportation-related legal issues: Winter Mov. 2 and Winter Mov. 3.

We were all looking forward to the spring at this point and for a while it looked promising. The ABA representative made his way to the microphone table to summarize a brand-new (and it was new because you could smell the fresh ink in the back of the room!) report on 'all' the pro bono work done by ABA lawyers. The report is called "Supporting Justice III" but it ought to be called "Supporting Justice, Third Attempt".
After some pleasantries, percentages, numbers and statistics started filling the room and it became clear that Punxsutawney Phil had seen his shadow (Winter Mov. 1).
Following a bit of entertaining questioning, the report revealed a fatal flaw: it was counterproductive to its purpose because it showed ABA's lawyers as doing virtually no pro bono work. ABA's response was meek: "We'll try again and I think we're getting better at it,..." Intermission: A Musical Joke by W. A. Mozart (pun intended).

The reason I can demonstrate - vis comica - the events at this LSC Board of Directors meeting with Vivaldi's Four is because all seasons combined are life as it is in nature, as it is within our own lives and our society's life in general. And LSC is a reflection of just that society.
Need is increasing, funding is shrinking, rights are forfeited, "access to justice" is denied. People need help, courts need unclogging (pro se), trust in the rule of law must be maintained.

This current Board, faced with numerous challenges and unknowns, never once, for one minute, lost sight of the needs of the poor and its mission. All of them are impressive people, you can read their bios here, and dedicated, and yet they call themselves humbly "new" at this. This Board, LSC's President and his team are maybe the only levee left separating the vulnerable neighborhood from the angry sea when it comes to civil legal services for low-income Americans. One legal aid office director already described the situation as follows: "Due to the lack of funding, released attorneys, staff put on part-time, all we can do now is focus on the most serious needs of the most desperate people."

Indeed, more public awareness of their work is needed but more importantly more support. More support from the top down to the bowels of Congress because what they are receiving for their selfless service today is empty and populist rhetoric (bullhorn be-bop), also from the top down.

Before someone accuses me of amantes amentes, I do have a better Board composition in mind whose names I will disclose shortly, bona fide.

(*) Antonio Vivaldi was nicknamed il Prete Rosso because of his red hair.

CECI N'EST PAS UNE PIPE.

THIS IS NOT A PIPE.

"What is the meaning of this painting?", Mrs. Fransen, my high school art teacher asked us, back in 1985.

All of us in that classroom went quiet. If she would have asked us what the gates of hell looked like, we may have come up with an answer of some sorts but to look at a painting of a pipe described by the artist, René Magritte, as not being a pipe was, well, confusing.
"It's not a pipe because it is a painting!", she shouted out. She clearly enjoyed the moment.

The message is that things are not always what they seem.

And so it is with today's legal services. For years now, press, bloggers, legal marketeers, legal services companies and the inevitable experts have been using phrases such as "access to legal" and "access to justice". The context these phrases are used in is a simple one: too many people with legal needs cannot afford an attorney. That's it -- nothing more, nothing less.

In response to this phenomenon, legal entrepreneurs responded with their version of creating affordable legal services. But have they really?

• Purchasing a legal document online is not access to legal services; it's access to a form.
• Chatting with an attorney online at $25 per 5 minutes is not access to legal services; it's chatting at $300 per hour.
• Participating in a prepaid legal services plan is not access to legal services; it's an insurance product with limitations and exclusions.
• Submitting your legal matter to an online bidding platform is not access to legal services; that's an auction.
• Unbundling, also known as "limited scope services" is not access to legal; it's partial service similar to buying french fries but you'll need to peel the potatoes yourself.

All these legal services variations have their purpose and some of them are quite good although I'm not much of a fan of the legal auctioneers. I know a good many attorneys who have unbundling down to a science and who are very good at recognizing the client for whom it may work. The chatting solution can get pricey and I know of only one legal services plan that's worth considering. Legalzoom and Rocket Lawyer won't get that speeding ticket reduced or dismissed.
I just named these for sample purposes; they are legal products among many more. I discover new ones daily and some of them are actually pretty entertaining -- there are some creative folks out there in Legalland!

Many highly educated and very smart people write mile-long papers and organize conferences worldwide in an effort to discover how to make legal services accessible to millions more. And yes, a lot of what they come up with is truly good stuff, innovative, creative, out-of-the-box, etc., but will it solve anything? No.
These innovations, especially when it comes to legal research, are geared toward increasing law firm efficiency, productivity and profitability. Even if these savings get passed on to the client, it won't reduce the hourly rate or fixed fee enough to make a difference.

The single path to affordable legal services is to make the legal services affordable. At Law99™, we promise $99 per hour or less. That's a 60% discount of the average rate. But then think about it, a hundred bucks an hour is still a lot of money. No one can claim that $100 is cheap yet we've been accused of helping "the race to the bottom".
The fact of the matter is that there are a lot, a lot, of attorneys with many years of experience and fine track records who are more than happy to work at such a reduced rate. They are helping people who otherwise would have forfeited their rights or attempted self-representation (pro se). Sometimes an attorney is the only one who can prevent a family from tumbling into poverty or homelessness.

In contrast, there are also many attorneys who insist on maintaining a higher rate or fee. There's nothing wrong with that except that their consumer market is shrinking with many more attorneys passing Bar exams to vie for a piece of the pie.

For me, the future of the legal industry is bright. I do not join the doom and gloom crowd who predict a pending implosion and all other sorts of terrifying events. I believe that this industry has its best years still to come  because of its willingness to rethink itself and the slow realization that lower rates bring in clients which is the only way to make access to legal for all a reality. Everything else is not a pipe.

THE CHAMPAGNE MOMENT

So here it is. For nearly two years friends, acquaintances, business associates and family have been nagging me to write a blog.
I've resisted for all this time for a couple of reasons. One, I am an incredibly slow writer who writes in three paragraphs what a good writer only needs half a sentence for. Second, I tend to get people's heart rate up thereby becoming the receiving end of not-so-nice comments. Third, there are lots of good writers, bloggers and legal news sites out there - so why another one? Besides, I prefer reading over writing.

This blog's theme is everything to do with the delivery of legal services to America's middle class and the legal services industry as a whole. I don't know of any other industry that is so reflective, self-critical and in such pursuit of change. Not because it wants to change but rather because it knows that change it must.

This blog's title is 'Bona Fide' or 'good faith'. Yes, it is legal lingo but there's also a story behind it. Back in the 80s, my dad owned a print shop in Gent, Belgium. Each spring, a priest-missionary who ran a village school in (then) Zaire came by to have the new school year's text books printed. Time was of the essence, he was only in town for a couple of weeks and many times we worked well into the night to get it all done. At the end of the job, an invoice was created and every year my father said the same thing: "Don't bother, he doesn't have any money - it's bona fide." For all these years, these boxes full of books left the store, unpaid. Then one year, this priest comes in the store with a pretty large parcel. He tells us that he is now retired and back in the country for good. He also tells us that he doesn't have the money to pay us but that he wants to give us his stamp collection instead. Long story short, my father accepts this stamp collection which ends up in a stamp auction. The collection sold for many times what we were owed. In the meantime, the priest had passed away and we sent the excess money to the parish he founded in Zaire.

The background picture I used is from West-Flanders (West-Vlaanderen), where I'm from. One would expect to use photos of gavels, law books, court rooms, etc. for a legal-type blog but that's boring galore. West-Flanders, the scene of many battles, was nearly completely destroyed in World War I but today contains much beauty, tons of historical sites and is arguably Belgium's economic engine. In addition, the world's best beer (Westvleteren) is just a hop, skip and a jump from my family's home.

My next post, probably tomorrow, will be about "Ceci n'est pas une pipe.".

I look forward to everyone's bona fide comments and bona fide opinions and you can always drop me a line at dominique@legalisus.com.