The recent work action by bar advocates could affect cases at East Boston District Court
(May 26, 2025, Boston, MA) – Public defender bar advocates will mark the first day of refusing to accept new court-appointed work until they receive an hourly wage comparable with other states with a rally at the Massachusetts State House on Tuesday, May 27, 2025 at 1:00 p.m.
“Massachusetts is at the bottom of the country for pay but at the top for cost of living,” said Jen O’Brien, a Middlesex County public defender bar advocate who will speak at the rally. “We are not asking to be paid the same as lawyers on Wall Street in huge law firms. We are simply asking to be paid fairly. Paid a rate that is on par with other northeastern states like Maine, New Hampshire, New York, and Rhode Island.”
While Massachusetts pays $65 per hour for District Court and $85 for Superior Court Counsel, Maine pays $158, New Hampshire pays $125-150, New York pays $158, and Rhode Island pays $112-142.
O’Brien also points out, “There are fewer and fewer new skilled attorneys who can afford to or who are willing to do bar advocate work, and that’s 80% of all public defender work. If bar advocates had been given even a modest cost of living increase on par with the rise in inflation over the last 20 years, this crisis would never have happened.”
In addition to the indigent accused, public defender bar advocates also represent victims and witnesses in cases where they may have a Fifth Amendment right not to testify and people with alcohol and substance use disorders in need of immediate medical intervention, and often provide social work services by connecting clients to available resources.
“Many public defender bar advocates have already left because they couldn’t afford to do the work they love,” said Governor’s Councillor Mara Dolan, a public defender bar advocate. “But ask any public defender bar advocate why they do it, and they’ll tell you it’s because they know how important the work is. When you defend the accused, you defend anyone who might be wrongfully accused, and that’s everyone.”
