The cozy co-existence between CLAO and the powers-that-be may be shattered as the office moves from "service" cases toward improving the state of the poor in the face of the law. Ferren says they will try to "aim broadsides against institutional adversaries of the poor,"--chiefly by using the weapon of test cases. Eligibility standards of local welfare boards are one primary target of the "institutional reform" policy.
At present the CLAO is challenging a welfare board which threatened to cut off a recipient's benefits unless she filed a paternity suit against her "paramour."
Another test case seeks to establish a standard procedure for what the City Health Department calls "the little old lady syndrome." In the past, when a health inspector found an elderly person living alone who did not appear capable of taking care of himself--or who might be a danger to neighbors through carelessness--the inspector usually had him committed to a mental institution for observation.
CLAO is optimistic that its test case will establish the rule that public hearings, with full counsel, must be held for even such supposedly temporary commitments.
Other efforts for "institutional reform" are directed against merchants and landlords who allegedly exploit the poor. "What do those ... think they're doing suing me," one mercant supposedly fumed when told of a test case against him for unfair selling practices.
But efforts to establish precedents can be frustrated, for targets of test cases will sometimes offer generous out-of-court settlements to avoid an adverse--and publicized--court ruling. They can then continue their practices, hoping only that their next victim does not go to CLAO.
These moot test cases tear CLAO between the interests of its present client and the ultimate interests of the poor. An out-of-court settlement would satisfy the client, but a court-established precedent would aid CLAO and other agencies to combat the accused practices in the future. So far, CLAO has always deferred to the client's wishes to accept the settlements offered.
A third avenue of "institutional reform" consists of aiding local community action groups to unravel the complexities of the law. During the past six months, CLAO has advised a group of Boston poor organizing an egg-buying co-operative, a neighborhood rehabilitation program, and a proposed Cambridge credit union.
But institutional reform programs are often long and costly--they can detract from the handling of routine "service" cases in the office. CLAO's present experimentation with the full handling of both types of cases is possible only as long as a certain surplus of manpower and money exists--and that surplus is shrinking as the case load grows.
Sometime within the next 18 months, CLAO will have to decide which policy to follow. The normal limit for OEO research and demonstration grants is two years, or until October 1968 for CLAO. After this date, the program will have to seek financing elsewhere, probably from private foundations. Ferren feels that the available funds will probably not be enough to support anticipated case loads from both approaches.
Residents of East Cambridge will make the final decision, since CLAO exists to serve their desires for legal aid. If they want a "service policy," CLAO will accept as many cases as possible according to some arbitrary selection process. If the neighborhood opts for an "institutional reform" policy, the office will concentrate on promising test cases and advice to community action groups.
Accordingly, CLAO's prime concern at the moment is to strengthen its rapport with the neighborhood. Since it is under a research, not a community action grant, CLAO does not have a formal board of advisors from the poor. It must seek information through the less formal channels of neighborhood meetings, church groups, and talks with clients.
Along side the informal talks, CLAO hopes to develop a program of legal education for the poor, to inform them of the nature of legal problems, and of their rights in court. Three pilot programs early last fall were only sparsely attended, but Ferren feels that the subsequent successes of CLAO will aid a series of programs for the spring.
The second question mark in CLAO's future is its relationship with the law school curriculum. A group of Faculty members worked at the office during January exam period; a larger group will probably work there during May exams. Some CLAO students want to encourage an even closer faculty involvement, with the aim of making the program into a clinic for credit.
But other volunteers--probably a majority--insist that the program remain purely extracurricular. They argue that the separation of the program from the classroom allows a flexibility and a freedom from grade pressure.
Whether or not CLAO is integrated into the Law School curriculum, it will undoubtedly continue to produce spillover benefits for law school classes. Early in November, CLAO workers produced 57 legal memoranda covering 313 single-spaced pages on topics of "poverty law." The Massachusetts Bar Association plans to use them for legal educational programs for low-income groups.
Several CLAO participants have combined their field observations with legal research for term papers in a seminar on Urban Legal Studies given by Adam Yarmolinsky '43, professor of Law. Yarmolinsky is presently planning an Urban Studies Workshop program for next year. A small group of selected third-year students will work on original urban problems offered by community agencies.
The Law School's continuing support of CLAO indicates the school's determination to break with its passive past and take an active interest in the problems of the urban poor. As the program matures, however, it should draw closer to the neighborhood and further from the school, for a real foothold in the neighborhood is CLAO's best insurance against future crises