80 FR 75847 - Outside Practice of Law; Fee-Generating Cases; Financial Eligibility; Private Attorney Involvement; Restrictions on Legal Assistance to Aliens; Timekeeping Requirement

LEGAL SERVICES CORPORATION

Federal Register Volume 80, Issue 233 (December 4, 2015)

The Legal Services Corporation (``LSC'') Office of Inspector General (``OIG'') intends to revise the Compliance Supplement for Audits of LSC Recipients for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2015, and thereafter and is soliciting public comment on the proposed changes. The proposed revisions primarily affect certain regulatory requirements to be audited pursuant to LSC regulations. In addition, the LSC OIG is proposing to include for audit certain regulatory requirements which impact recipient staff's involvement in the outside practice of law. Finally, suggested audit procedures for several regulations have been updated and revised for clarification and simplification purposes.

[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 233 (Friday, December 4, 2015)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 75847-75848]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2015-30643]


=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

LEGAL SERVICES CORPORATION

45 CFR Parts 1604, 1609, 1611, 1614, 1626, and 1635


Outside Practice of Law; Fee-Generating Cases; Financial 
Eligibility; Private Attorney Involvement; Restrictions on Legal 
Assistance to Aliens; Timekeeping Requirement

AGENCY: Legal Services Corporation.

ACTION: Notice of proposed changes and request for comments.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The Legal Services Corporation (``LSC'') Office of Inspector 
General (``OIG'') intends to revise the Compliance Supplement for 
Audits of LSC Recipients for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2015, 
and thereafter and is soliciting public comment on the proposed 
changes. The proposed revisions primarily affect certain regulatory 
requirements to be audited pursuant to LSC regulations. In addition, 
the LSC OIG is proposing to include for audit certain regulatory 
requirements which impact recipient staff's involvement in the outside 
practice of law. Finally, suggested audit procedures for several 
regulations have been updated and revised for clarification and 
simplification purposes.

DATES: All comments and recommendations must be received by January 4, 
2016.

[[Page 75848]]


ADDRESSES: The proposed LSC OIG Compliance Supplement for Audits of LSC 
Recipients is available at https://www.oig.lsc.gov/images/pdfs/ipa_resources/DRAFT_2015_Compliance_Supplement_for_Audits_of_LSC_Recipients.pdf.
    You may submit comments by any of the following methods:
     Email: [email protected].
     Fax: (202) 337-6616.
     Mail: Legal Services Corporation Office of Inspector 
General, 3333 K Street NW., Washington, DC 20007.
    Instructions: All comments should be addressed to Anthony M. 
Ramirez, Office of the Inspector General, Legal Services Corporation. 
Include ``2015 Compliance Supplement'' as the heading or subject line 
for all comments submitted.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Anthony M. Ramirez, 
[email protected], (202) 295-1668.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The purpose of the Compliance Supplement for 
Audits of LSC Recipients is to set forth the LSC regulatory 
requirements to be audited by the Independent Public Accountants 
(``IPA'') as part of the recipients' annual financial statement audit 
and to provide suggested guidance to the IPAs in accomplishing this 
task. Pursuant to 45 CFR part 1641, IPAs are subject to suspension, 
removal, and/or debarment for not following OIG audit guidance as set 
out in the Compliance Supplement for Audits of LSC Recipients. Since 
the last revision of the LSC OIG's Compliance Supplement for Audits of 
LSC Recipients, LSC has significantly revised and updated several 
regulations. These revisions and updates, including the corresponding 
changes to suggested audit guidance provided to the IPAs, must be 
reflected accurately in the Compliance Supplement for Audits of LSC 
Recipients. A summary of the proposed changes follows.
    The LSC OIG has included regulatory requirements under 45 CFR part 
1604 in the Compliance Supplement for Audits of LSC Recipients. The 
proposed inclusion sets forth the requirements dealing with the 
permissibility of recipient staff engaged in the outside practice of 
law. We have proposed suggested audit guidance for use by the IPAs.
    The LSC OIG made major revisions to several regulatory summaries to 
reflect LSC's revisions to its regulations. Revised summaries include 
those for 45 CFR parts 1609 (fee generating cases); 1611 (eligibility); 
1614 (private attorney involvement); 1626 (restrictions on legal 
assistance to aliens); and to a lesser extent, 1635 (timekeeping 
requirement). Other summaries contain relatively minor revisions. The 
proposed summaries follow the existing law and LSC regulations. The 
proposed suggested audit procedures for each of these sections have 
been revised and updated to incorporate and take into consideration the 
regulatory changes.
    The LSC OIG proposes to revise the case sampling methodology by 
reducing criteria utilized in the case selection process. The proposed 
changes are intended to clarify and simplify the process.
    The LSC OIG proposes to update and revise suggested audit 
procedures for the regulations. The proposed updates and revisions are 
intended for clarification and simplification purposes and to provide 
added emphasis on internal controls.

    Dated: December 1, 2015.
Stefanie K. Davis,
Assistant General Counsel.
[FR Doc. 2015-30643 Filed 12-3-15; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 7050-01-P