By Judge Leah Williams Duncan Esq.

Since late 2022, the Lawyer of the Day program has operated in four local Magisterial District Courts (Homewood, Hill District and both Northside courts). The program sought to bring financial support to tenants facing eviction while also, as the name suggests, providing tenants with in-court legal representation on the day of their hearings (think “public defender” but for lower income tenants). This cooperative effort among RentHelpPGH, Neighborhood Legal Services, Ebony Law and Community Justice Project and other partner organizations such as Just Mediation Pittsburgh, has been connecting tenants with legal representatives and resource navigators to assist them in navigating their eviction and very importantly, accessing needed financial assistance to solve the cause of the eviction.

Being one of the four judges in the City of Pittsburgh in whose court this pilot program has operated, I have witnessed firsthand many favorable outcomes that may otherwise not have happened but for the efforts of this collaboration of service providers. Unfortunately, it came to my attention in mid-May that the “lawyer” element of the program was being suspended effective almost immediately with the only explanation being “loss of funding.” This truly came as a surprise since earlier this year it was announced that City Council voted to implement the Lawyer of the Day program citywide.

While I and my colleagues remain committed to fair and impartial hearings for all concerned, I must admit that the technical legal issues often identified, raised, and argued by the “Lawyer of the Day” may be lost on the lay people who will now return to representing themselves in these matters. The “Lawyer of the Day” was also invaluable in the appeals process and in negotiations with willing landlords.

There are a few bright spots in this matter. First, it appears that the efforts of the program to seek out financial resources and other supportive services will continue with social advocates remaining present to help tenants navigate this process (although they will not be able to offer legal advice). To this end, it is my understanding that Neighborhood Legal Services will continue to be a resource in these matters. Lastly, I am also told that the “disruption” in funding (which mostly came from Pittsburgh’s Housing Opportunity Fund through the Urban Redevelopment Authority), may only be temporary. At this point, those involved can only hope.

Since the implementation of the program, over 1,600 evictions have been prevented and many landlords have been able to recover significant amounts in past due rents which they otherwise may have had to simply write off as a loss.

It is important to note that with the loss of the “Lawyer of the Day,” nothing within the operation of the Magisterial District Courts will change. We will conduct business as usual, seeing to it that everyone has their rightful day in court. As always, the best approach is to keep good records, come to court, state your case and never forfeit your rights based on what “somebody” said nor on what happened to someone else. Each case is different and your judges are here to listen impartially, even if you don’t have a lawyer for the day.