BOSTON - State officials said yesterday that there is no quick resolution to the debate over pay rates for lawyers representing the poor, as an increasing number of private advocates refuse to accept public cases.

As a result, the state's highest court authorized yesterday the appointment of lawyers in Hampden County to work as bar advocates representing indigent clients.

Private lawyers in Hampden County have been refusing to take such cases, saying that the pay from the state does not cover their overheads. The Supreme Judicial Court ruled late last month that defendants held for more than seven days without a lawyer could be released pending trial, and that charges should be dropped against those held for more than 45 days.

Francis X. Spina, associate justice for the court, issued late yesterday an order that judges in Hampden courts could appoint lawyers from lists created in cooperation with the regional administrative Superior Court judge. Hampden Superior Court Judge Constance M. Sweeney is compiling such a list, said David Chernock, assistant clerk.

Gov. W. Mitt Romney, House Speaker Thomas M. Finneran, D-Boston, and Senate President Robert E. Travaglini, D-Boston, met for 75 minutes yesterday with Willie J. Davis of Boston, chairman of the Committee for Public Counsel Services; William J. Leahy, the committee's chief counsel and others.

The committee is the state agency that oversees legal representation for the poor. That agency also provides lawyers employed by the state, called public defenders, to represent the indigent.

After the meeting in the governor's office, Davis issued a memorandum saying that 700 indigent people across the state have no court-appointed lawyers. He said that he and Leahy "delivered a strong message" on the need to immediately increase hourly rates for such lawyers, but the Statehouse leaders would not agree.

Finneran said further pay increases probably would not be considered until next year, when legislators convene again. He could seek to increase the pay in a spending bill that is being discussed during informal sessions, but he indicated that he would not do this.

Finneran and Romney said they would speed appointments to a nine-member study commission on the issue.

"It will take a few months at least for the members of that commission to evaluate the totality of the circumstances and to give us some advice and recommendations on what the options might be," Finneran said.

He, Travaglini, and the governor will each name three members.

The governor and legislators raised the hourly pay by $7.50 as of Aug. 1 for bar advocates. Lawyers are now paid $37 for District Court cases, $46.50 for Superior Court cases, and $61.50 for murder cases.

Bar advocates said this is not enough money to cover overheads such as office rentals, health insurance, and utilities. They want to increase the rates to $60 an hour in District Courts and about $80 an hour in Superior Court cases.

"We just don't see any significant increases coming through," said Christopher J. Walton, a lawyer in Fitchburg, who said he would take no more cases as a bar advocate. "I don't see anything that really came out of that meeting."

Walton, who received a law degree from Western New England College in Springfield in 1998, said that private lawyers for the poor at district courts in Fitchburg, Leominster, Gardner, and Winchendon are turning down cases.

At Central District Court in Worcester, private lawyers who take the cases of indigent defendants voted 20-2 on Monday to stop taking new cases on Sept. 7 unless the pay is raised before then.

Bar advocates in Bristol County in southeastern Massachusetts are also refusing to take cases of the indigent.

In Hampden County, judges are using a procedural rule to direct private lawyers to represent poor clients.

Finneran said he would consider next year hiring more public defenders.

Romney said yesterday he was pleased to discuss the concerns of private lawyers for the poor, but reiterated that no such lawyers should refuse assignments.

"We cannot have a strike against public safety," Romney told reporters. "That is just unacceptable in a modern society."

He said last week that he would not support any further pay increases beyond the additional $7.50 an hour.

Anthony J. Benedetti, general counsel for the Committee for Public Counsel Services, said lawyers across the state will continue to reject appointments to represent the indigent.

"They are independent contractors," he said. "How do you force them to take work?"

Material from The Associated Press was used for this report.