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SCHENECTADY COUNTY
Bar group offers break on divorce, family cases
BY STEVEN COOK Gazette Reporter
Reach Gazette reporter Steven Cook at 395-3122 or scook@dailygazette.net.

    Low-income residents with family and matrimonial cases in the courts should have better access to representation under a new program, officials said Wednesday.
    The program, being introduced by the Schenectady County Bar Association, offers attorney services at a lower cost to people who might have too high an income for other programs but not enough to pay for a case.
    Local attorney Barbara J. King said “It’s meant to catch those average Joes out there who can’t pay $250 to $300 an hour for a private lawyer.”
    The Bar Association has been working on the program for three years, but King said the services are especially needed now with the economic downturn. The effort has been dubbed the Modest Means Panel Program.
    Those wishing to participate must meet financial guidelines, with a sliding scale relating to the number of people in the household. The income limit for a single-person household is $26,000, according to the bar association Web site.
    What those qualifying would get is legal services at the lower rate of $100 per hour, with a retainer fee of $1,000. Attorney participation is voluntary, with 16 signed up so far. ..................>>>>...................>>>>........................................http://www.dailygazette.net/De.....r01302&AppName=1