I'm more interested in learning how we can get access to HIFICO lawyers because they seem to be helping the same people over and over, while ignoring people who contact them who aren't in their friend circle
Things to keep in mind before I get into this. Our attorneys primarily work on contingency, with no charge to the plaintiff except for some smaller fees. The attorney is paid by the County/State if they win a case in Federal court or settle it. If the case is lost or ruled moot, the attorneys don't get paid anything. Private practice civil rights attorneys are paid at the low end of the attorney's pay scale, so those who do it on contingency are a rare breed and do it for the cause. Even if the attorney "wins" the case, the State can get it ruled moot, canceling out the attorney's pay, resulting in our attorneys losing hundreds of thousands of dollars on their "wins," such as our Taser and Butterfly Knife lawsuits.
Option #1 Pay up front
The attorneys will take almost any case if they are paid for it. A slam dunk case with a fast settlement may cost $10,000. Something that goes to the 9th Circuit 3-judge appeal is $150,000. Going up to an En banc or SCOTUS appeal would be $300,000 or more. It may seem excessive, but a significant amount of research, briefs, expert testimonies, fees, and travel is typically involved over a decade for a SCOTUS opinion. For example, I just paid $2,200 today in this case for the 9th Circuit En Banc briefs formatting and printing fees, which is printing 20 copies of the court briefs. If the attorney wins against the State/County, the client might get their money back.
Option #2 Contingency Basis
Attorneys working on contingency are looking for:
1. Good chance of winning or settlement
2. A similar case wasn't previously lost with no major changes in the courts since then
3. A person with a good, clean, and moral background
4. A reliable and trustworthy person who will see the case through to the end, even if it takes 10 years (won't get in trouble, leave the state, etc.)
5. Has been proven to be a 2A supporter through selfless acts
6. Attorneys have the resources to take on the case
A good way to look at this is that we aren't taking cases to help the individual. We are doing these cases to help the 2A cause and community in general. I took on this case not to help myself, but to help the tens of thousands of others in Hawaii who struggle with the cost of living and can't take time off work to get a firearm. The changes we've made in this case have saved the 2A community millions of dollars in lost wages, mileage, and productivity.
For the slam dunk, easy and quick to settle cases, we'll take just about anyone. For complex cases that will run the course over a decade, we need people we can fully trust. In order to trust them, we need to know who they are. Know they are fighting for the 2A just as hard as we are. They are contributing to the cause not necessarily with money, but with their time, efforts, and sacrifice.
Most of the plaintiffs in the high-profile and long-running cases have done that and proven themselves. They've put in hundreds of hours of work and a lot of their own money to support the 2A and the attorneys. I put $15,000 into this case alone.