New York appointed counsel lost money on every indigent case they took

In New York, appointed counsel had average hourly overhead costs of $42.88 — covering office rent, malpractice insurance, staff, and basic operating expenses — but were paid only $40 per hour for in-court work and $25 per hour for out-of-court work on indigent defense cases. Attorneys literally lost money on every hour they spent representing poor defendants. The out-of-court rate of $25/hour — which covers case investigation, witness interviews, legal research, and client communication — is less than half the attorney's overhead before any compensation for their own time. The rational response is to minimize out-of-court work: skip the investigation, skip the research, and show up to court to process the plea. The defendants who receive this 'representation' would be better described as unrepresented. This persists because appointed counsel rates are set by statute and have not been meaningfully updated in decades, while overhead costs have risen steadily. Raising the rates requires legislative action, and there is no political constituency advocating for higher pay for lawyers who defend accused criminals.