Mass. Gov. Healey signs spending bill with bar advocate raises, reforms

Healey OKs bar advocate raises; attorney's promise continued fight for fair wages

BOSTON — Gov. Maura Healey approved pay raises for private attorneys who represent indigent clients in a move aimed at ending a work stoppage that has allowed more than 100 criminal defendants to be released for a lack of representation.

Gov. Healey signs off on raise for criminal defense attorneys — but crisis continues

Touted as their largest pay raise in 20 years, a long-awaited boost in hourly wages for bar advocate attorneys was signed into law by Gov. Maura Healey this week. But in the days following, courtrooms remain in crisis, as the lawyers press on with their work stoppage — now into its third month.

Maura Healey signs bar advocate increase into law — but lawyers say it’s not enough

The bill will provide an immediate $10 per hour pay raise to be followed by another $10 next year for attorneys appointed to represent criminal defendants who cannot afford an attorney who work at the District Court level.

Healey signs bill to give court-appointed attorneys raise - Boston News, Weather, Sports

Governor Maura Healey signed a new bill to give court-appointed attorneys a pay raise in hopes of ending a work stoppage. The State House said the bill will give the Committee for Public Counsel Services $40 million to hire hundreds of new public defenders. The bill will also give court-appointed attorneys a $20-per-hour raise over two years, an amount many of the attorneys say is not enough.

Healey signs spending bill with bar advocate raises, reforms

Gov. Maura Healey on Tuesday signed the supplemental spending bill she first filed in early April, including the Legislature's addition of a take-it-or-leave-it pay raise proposal for bar advocates who have been refusing to take court-appointed cases.

Governor Healey signs pay raise for bar advocates - The Boston Globe

It remains unclear if the $20 per hour raise, over the next two years, will end the lawyers ongoing work stoppage.