[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 45, Volume 4]
[Revised as of October 1, 2007]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 45CFR1614.3]

[Page 405-406]
 
                        TITLE 45--PUBLIC WELFARE
 
                 CHAPTER XVI--LEGAL SERVICES CORPORATION
 
PART 1614_PRIVATE ATTORNEY INVOLVEMENT--Table of Contents
 
Sec.  1614.3  Range of activities.

    (a) Activities undertaken by the recipient to meet the requirements 
of this part must include the direct delivery of legal assistance to 
eligible clients through programs such as organized pro bono plans, 
reduced fee plans, judicare panels, private attorney contracts, or those 
modified pro bono plans which provide for the payment of nominal fees by 
eligible clients and/or organized referral systems; except that payment 
of attorney's fees through ``revolving litigation fund'' systems, as 
described in Sec.  1614.5 of this part, shall neither be used nor funded 
under this part nor funded with any LSC support;
    (b) Activities undertaken by recipients to meet the requirements of 
this part may also include, but are not limited to:
    (1) Support provided by private attorneys to the recipient in its 
delivery of legal assistance to eligible clients on either a reduced fee 
or pro bono basis through the provision of community legal education, 
training, technical assistance, research, advice and counsel; co-
counseling arrangements; or the use of private law firm facilities, 
libraries, computer-assisted legal research systems or other resources; 
and
    (2) Support provided by the recipient in furtherance of activities 
undertaken pursuant to this Section including the provision of training, 
technical assistance, research, advice and counsel, or the use of 
recipient facilities, libraries, computer assisted legal research 
systems or other resources.
    (c) The specific methods to be undertaken by a recipient to involve 
private attorneys in the provision of legal assistance to eligible 
clients will be determined by the recipient's taking into account the 
following factors:
    (1) The priorities established pursuant to part 1620 of these 
regulations;
    (2) The effective and economic delivery of legal assistance to 
eligible clients;
    (3) The linguistic and cultural barriers to effective advocacy.
    (4) The actual or potential conflicts of interest between specific 
participating attorneys and individual eligible clients; and
    (5) The substantive and practical expertise, skills, and willingness 
to undertake new or unique areas of the law of participating attorneys.
    (d) Systems designed to provide direct services to eligible clients 
by private attorneys on either a pro bono or reduced fee basis, shall 
include at a minimum, the following components:
    (1) Intake and case acceptance procedures consistent with the 
recipient's established priorities in meeting the legal needs of 
eligible clients;
    (2) Case assignments which ensure the referral of cases according to 
the nature of the legal problems involved and the skills, expertise, and 
substantive experience of the participating attorney;
    (3) Case oversight and follow-up procedures to ensure the timely 
disposition of cases to achieve, if possible, the result desired by the 
client and the efficient and economical utilization of recipient 
resources; and
    (4) Access by private attorneys to LSC recipient resources, 
including those of LSC national and state support centers, that provide 
back-up on substantive and procedural issues of the law.
    (e) The recipient shall demonstrate compliance with this part by 
utilizing financial systems and procedures and maintaining supporting 
documentation to identify and account separately for costs related to 
the PAI effort. Such systems and records shall meet the requirements of 
the Corporation's Audit and Accounting Guide for Recipients and Auditors 
and shall have the following characteristics:
    (1) They shall accurately identify and account for:
    (i) The recipient's administrative, overhead, staff, and support 
costs related to PAI activities. Non-personnel costs shall be allocated 
on the basis of reasonable operating data. All methods of allocating 
common costs shall be clearly documented. If any direct or indirect time 
of staff attorneys or paralegals is to be allocated as a cost to

[[Page 406]]

PAI, such costs must be documented by time sheets accounting for the 
time those employees have spent on PAI activities. The timekeeping 
requirement does not apply to such employees as receptionists, 
secretaries, intake personnel or bookkeepers; however, personnel cost 
allocations for non-attorney or non-paralegal staff should be based on 
other reasonable operating data which is clearly documented;
    (ii) Payments to private attorneys for support or direct client 
services rendered. The recipient shall maintain contracts on file which 
set forth payment systems, hourly rates, and maximum allowable fees. 
Bills and/or invoices from private attorneys shall be submitted before 
payments are made. Encumbrances shall not be included in calculating 
whether a recipient has met the requirement of this part;
    (iii) Contractual payments to individuals or organizations that 
undertake administrative, support, and/or direct services to eligible 
clients on behalf of the recipient consistent with the provisions of 
this part. Contracts concerning transfer of LSC funds for PAI activities 
shall require that such funds be accounted for by the recipient in 
accordance with LSC guidelines, including the requirements of the Audit 
and Accounting Guide for Recipients and Auditors and 45 CFR part 1627;
    (iv) Other such actual costs as may be incurred by the recipient in 
this regard.
    (2) Support and expenses relating to the PAI effort must be reported 
separately in the recipient's year-end audit. This shall be done by 
establishing a separate fund or providing a separate schedule in the 
financial statement to account for the entire PAI allocation. Recipients 
are not required to establish separate bank accounts to segregate funds 
allocated to PAI. Auditors are required to perform sufficient audit 
tests to enable them to render an opinion on the recipient's compliance 
with the requirements of this part.
    (3) In private attorney models, attorneys may be reimbursed for 
actual costs and expenses. Attorney's fees paid may not exceed 50% of 
the local prevailing market rate for that type of service.
    (4) All records pertaining to a recipient's PAI requirements which 
do not contain client confidences or secrets as defined by applicable 
state law shall be made available for inspection and review by LSC 
auditors and monitors during regular business hours.