Legal Defender Of Poor Under Scrutiny

(CBS)  When poor people need a lawyer — whether it's for a domestic violence case or help getting hurricane assistance — they can get free legal aid thanks to the taxpayer-funded Legal Services Corporation.

But a CBS News investigation begs the question of whether if those at the top can really relate to those they're serving.

The demand for free legal aid is so great that for every needy person who gets help from an office another is turned away, CBS News correspondent Sharyl Attkisson.

But there might be more money to help the poor if executives running Legal Services weren't wasting so many tax dollars, according to investigators who are now probing dozens of accusations from excessive spending to serious conflicts of interest.

Whistleblower allegations include tax dollars used for questionable trips to foreign countries, first-class travel, conferences in resort spots like Puerto Rico, and excessive bonuses for Legal Services president Helaine Barnett.

Ken Boehm — who used to be counsel to Legal Services' board of directors — says what's most egregious is the disconnect between the board and the needy they're supposed to serve.

"First of all, it shows bad management. Second of all, it's embarrassing. It's a lapse of judgment. This is, after all, an anti-poverty group," Boehm, who now works for the National Legal and Policy Center, says.

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