OAB-GO and the Government resume payment of court-appointed attorney fees.

Goiás 247 - The Brazilian Bar Association – Goiás Section and the Government of Goiás will hold, this Thursday (20), at 4:30 pm, the ceremony that will announce the resumption of payment of legal aid fees after 15 months of interruption. In total, R$ 10 million will be allocated - R$ 6 million immediately and another R$ 16 million in January - an amount that will settle part of the approximately 14 cases. This is a joint effort between the Bar Association and the Government Secretariat (Segov), which created a task force with the objective of updating the processes, allowing the resumption of payments.

The event will be held in the Meeting Room at the OAB-GO headquarters, with the presence of Governor Marconi Perillo, the Secretary of Government, Tayrone di Martino, the President Lúcio Flávio de Paiva, as well as the board of directors of the section, councilors, directors of sub-sections and state authorities.

The Order joined forces with the Government to seek, in addition to the R$ 5 million already reserved for transfer to the fund since May, the opening of a special credit line up to a limit of R$ 10 million in order to meet the financial charges arising from the start of the fund's operation. "We fought to obtain a significant contribution from the Treasury so that we can pay a greater number of pending cases," says Lúcio Flávio. The resources are remaining from a state agreement whose transfers were interrupted in September 2015.

The task force was created after the governor sanctioned Law 19.464 on November 4th, which established the Special Fund for Payment of Court-Appointed Lawyers and the Justice Access System. Two percent of the revenue from notary offices in Goiás is allocated to this fund. A CNPJ (Brazilian tax ID) was created and a current account opened for depositing the resources. The government expects an average of R$ 1 million to enter the fund every month.

Earlier this year, the State Government had already signaled positively towards the legal profession when it adjusted the value of the Legal Aid Fees Unit (UHD) from R$ 80 to R$ 165,25, extended the scope of legal aid lawyers' work to Goiânia, and transferred the responsibility for payment, previously held by the Public Defender's Office, to the Government Secretariat.

The OAB's efforts with the Government had already begun well before. "Right after taking office, one of the first measures I adopted was to contact the State government to renegotiate issues related to the payment of court-appointed lawyers," recalls Lúcio Flávio.

As of this Thursday's announcement (22), the Government Secretariat will immediately begin paying the fees due, following the criteria of seniority of the cases. The resources are sufficient to recover amounts owed to approximately two thousand lawyers. Today there are 14 cases that have already been judged and are therefore pending payment. In these cases, approximately 2,8 court-appointed lawyers acted.

To accommodate a larger number of lawyers, the law limits payments to 62 units of court-appointed attorney fees (UHDs) per month. For cases that became final before May 2016, the ceiling is equivalent to R$ 4.960,00, as it observes the UHD value in effect at that time, of R$ 80. Cases that became final after May 2016 will already have the reference values ​​in the current UHD, which, adjusted by 106,5%, is now worth R$ 165,25.

According to the technical area of ​​Segov, the 14 pending payment cases total R$ 26 million in legal fees. With the funds coming in regularly, the expectation is that the debt for court-appointed attorney fees will be fully settled by the end of 2018 at the latest, allowing compliance with the guideline that mandates payment within 60 days of the final judgment.