About the Resource Center

The Resource Center for Access to Justice Initiatives was created to serve bar, bench and legal services leaders engaged in establishing and expanding state Access to Justice efforts. This Resource Center's web pages bring together in one place key resources and updates on Access to Justice structures and initiatives from around the country. The Resource Center's consultants provide technical assistance and support on the creation and development of Access to Justice structures and on increasing state-level funding for civil legal aid.

News

View Materials from the 2013 National Meeting of State Access to Justice Chairs

Resource Center Grants Announced

The Resource Center's Access to Justice Commission Expansion Project is making grants to strengthen the Access to Justice commission movement nationally by facilitating development of new Access to Justice commissions and expanding agendas and promoting innovative initiatives in existing commissions.
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ACCESS TO JUSTICE NEWS

Access to Justice News

• 5.1.13 – "The turnout for the state’s first Lawyers in Libraries program at the Bangor Public Library on Wednesday demonstrates the need for legal services in the community, said Maine Supreme Judicial Court Justice Andrew Mead….  The program is the culmination of years of work by the Maine Justice Action Group, which includes judges, lawyers, librarians, social service providers and representatives from advocacy groups. JAG’s goal is to improve access to justice in Maine. Wednesday’s program was organized by the Collaboration on Innovation, Technology and Equal Access to Justice, an offshoot of JAG.  Mead said that the goal of the program is to have local lawyers in libraries at least once a month around the state. Over the past six months, libraries have held sessions using the statewide teleconferencing system based at the Maine State Library in Augusta."  (Story from the Bangor Daily News.) 
• 5.1.13 – "Judge David Tatel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit made an impassioned plea yesterday for law firms to take more responsibility for the welfare of civil legal services groups….  Tatel spoke at an event honoring 36 law firms that contributed $3.6 million last year to local civil legal services through the D.C. Access to Justice Commission's second annual Raising the Bar in D.C. Campaign. Firms were honored based on the percentage of annual D.C. office revenues donated to legal services; the number of participating firms in 2012 was up from the 23 that participated in 2011….  If the 12 Washington-based firms featured as top earners in this year's Am Law 100 contributed one-quarter of a percent of their annual revenue – they earned $7.5 billion last year – Tatel said it would double the capacity of local legal services organizations."  (Story from the Blog of the Legal Times.)
• 4.29.13 - video of various speeches and panel discussions at the April 16 White House/LSC Forum on Increasing Access to Justice is now available.
  • Connecticut Chief Justice Chase T. Rogers participated in the forum.  And home-state paper The Day looked at several initiatives underway to promote ATJ in the Nutmeg State.  They include corporate sponsorship of a new legal fellowship program, and exploring a loosening of scope-of-representation rules.
• 4.26.13 - the Chicago Tribune highlights, before the fact, a Law Day "Listening Conference" hosted by the Illinois Supreme Court Commission on Access to Justice.  In addition to Chief Justice Thomas Kilbride, several other officials from the judiciary, legal aid community, and the private bar participated in the conference, the purpose of which was "to hear from people engaged in the judicial system about problems confronting the poor and vulnerable in our communities and to hear about possible solutions."
• 3.18.13 - the Louisiana Supreme Court amended Canon 3(a)(4) of the Louisiana Code of Judicial Conduct to provide guidance to judges in their engagement with self–represented litigants. Here is the revised canon along with relevant commentary language.

Legal Aid Funding & Service Delivery

• 5.1.13 - "The Legal Aid Society of Palm Beach County received an infusion of $365,634 in March from the National Mortgage Settlement….  Statewide, 20 legal aid groups were allocated $4.37 million by Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi….  The money is being provided in three phases with an end date for services scheduled for July 31. Legal aid will get another influx of money after this week’s decision by Florida lawmakers on how to spend $200 million from the National Mortgage Settlement. Both the House and Senate agreed to give legal aid a one-time stipend of $10 million to help homeowners facing foreclosure. The legislation, SB 1852, must still get Gov. Rick Scott’s approval. If successful, the money will be available July 1." (Story from the Palm Beach Post.)
• 4.30.13 – From the Progressive Pulse, which did an interview with Legal Aid of North Carolina executive director  George Hausen:  "Hausen…says the sequester means $550,000 less in federal support this year through the Legal Services Corporation. That means some low-income, disadvantaged clients in North Carolina may get turned away, even if they do have a strong case.  Hausen joined us over the weekend on News & Views to discuss the impact of federal and state cuts on Legal Aid."
  • 4.27.13 - more bad funding news out of North Carolina: "A $330,000 reduction in Pisgah Legal Services' state and federal funding could leave more than 2,200 local domestic-violence victims without legal assistance. The Asheville-based nonprofit is scrambling to close the gap but may reduce services.  Pisgah Legal is losing $210,000 from…a state agency that distributes federal funds. And the U.S. [DOJ] is cutting another $120,000 from what it typically awards the organization. The total is 59 percent of the organization's budget for helping domestic-violence victims."  (Story from the Mountain Express.)
• 4.27.13 – "Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott has resolved the State’s enforcement action against Austin-based legal services provider Just for People, Inc. In July 2012, the State charged Just for People, its directors and its affiliates with providing unauthorized legal advice, document preparation and other immigration-related services in violation of the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act (DTPA)."  (Story from the Memorial Examiner.)
• 4.24.13 – in Washington State, a judge writes of the importance of not diminishing state funding for the Northwest Justice Project: "The Port Angeles NJP office opened in 2007 with three attorneys….   Since then, budget cuts have reduced staffing levels to a single attorney….   And it gets worse: a $3 million cut in funding for civil legal aid services under consideration in Olympia could force the outright closure of the North Olympic Peninsula's only NJP office as well as other offices serving rural communities across the state.   Any further reduction in state-funded civil legal aid would seriously impact the ability of indigent people to obtain access to justice….  The state budget should not be balanced on the backs of our community's most vulnerable citizens.   Civil legal aid in our state should be fully funded."  (Op-ed in the Peninsula Daily News.)  

Other News of Note

Delivery of Legal Services & Funding

• 4.17.13 – an editorial in the Scranton Times–Tribune (a/k/a the New York Times of Northeast Pennsylvania), supports a boost in legal aid funding: "Assistance of counsel is crucial on matters such as divorce, foreclosure, eviction, debt and tax collection, civil litigation aspects of domestic violence, workplace rights and innumerable others…. The Great Recession and the slow recovery…have exacerbated the need for legal assistance for the poor…. In 2011, programs funded by [LSC] provided legal services to about 2.3 million people, but about 50 percent of those who were eligible for help and sought it were turned away. President Barack Obama's proposed budget includes a $90 million increase in the LSC budget…. Equal justice under the law is a cherished American principle, but it will be just a phrase unless Congress provides adequate funding for legal assistance to the poor.

• 4.16.13 – "The Legal Aid Society of the District of Columbia today opened a newly expanded legal services center in Southwest Washington, with financial help from Kirkland & Ellis. The firm has pledged $125,000 a year for at least five years toward a legal services center that expands an existing clinic [in Southwest DC]." The Kirkland Foundation had helped to start the original clinic a few years ago, and Kirkland & Ellis attorneys/staff have been active supporters ever since. Now a new partnership is evolving as the Legal Aid Society will begin management to expand the clinic, with K&E's support. (Report from the Blog of the Legal Times.)

• 4.15.13 – CBS legal commentator and Brennan Center fellow Andrew Cohen rings the alarm bell concerning the state of civil legal aid funding, and the sequester's already–felt impact on the legal aid community. Cohen touches on the economic case for legal aid, citing the Brennan Center's Mark Ladov: "Ladov says that apart from whatever moral value there is in helping the less fortunate among us, 'investing in foreclosure prevention pays for itself by stabilizing communities, saving lost property taxes, and preventing costly increases in crime and dislocation.' He says that 'legal services for domestic violence victims pays for itself by reducing public healthcare costs, the need for police assistance, and lost jobs and wages.' And, he adds, society ends up paying anyway — 'legal services for low–income citizens prevent evictions, saving $116 million in shelter costs in 2009–2010 in New York state [sic] alone'."

• 4.13.13 – "[Texas RioGrande Legal Aid] announced…that it would lay off almost 25 percent of its workforce, including closing its offices in Del Rio. The staffing reductions — affecting about 65 attorneys, paralegals and other staff — will result in a reduction of services to about 5,000 families across its 68–county service area in Southwest Texas…. The layoffs are the unavoidable toll of federal budget cuts that 'finally caught up with us,' said David Hall, its longtime executive director. Last year, the nation's legal aid organizations suffered a 15 percent cut in federal funding, resulting in the loss of 1,000 attorneys at similar offices across the country. Those cuts were briefly mitigated in Texas by the infusion of one–time grant moneys from a settlement. But when TRLA was then hit by the automatic federal budget cuts in the sequester, it forced the organization to quickly cut its budget by a total of about $3 million." (Full story from The Monitor. And here's similar coverage from the Austin American Statesman.)

• 4.12.13 – Happy 100th, Mid– Minnesota Legal Aid! "On April 15, 1913, Legal Aid opened for business in Minneapolis…. Working with University of Minnesota law clerks, [Legal Aid's sole attorney] handled over 3,000 cases that year. Today, Mid–Minnesota Legal Aid represents and advises people in the 20 counties of central Minnesota from the Wisconsin to the South Dakota borders…. In 2012, Legal Aid represented and advised over 3,000 clients with housing matters alone. In addition to cases handled by staff, Legal Aid partners with students, private and corporate attorneys, and government agencies to extend our service to more people seeking our help." (Full piece, from executive director Cathy Haukedahl, in The Minnesota Lawyer.)

• 4.10.13 – the Obama Administration's FY2014 budget proposal would provide $430 million in funding for the Legal Services Corporation, "…an increase of $90 million over current funding and $28 million more than the White House recommended for FY 2013. The recommendation includes $400.3 million (93 percent) for basic field grants, which fund the delivery of civil legal assistance to low–income Americans, and $19.5 million (4.5 percent) for management and grants oversight. It also includes $3.5 million for LSC's Technology Initiative Grants (TIG), $1.5 million for a new Pro Bono Innovation Fund, $1 million for the Herbert L. Garten Loan Repayment Assistance Program, and $4.2 million for the Office of Inspector General."
  • Recall that LSC itself is asking Congress for $486 million in FY 2014.

• 4.11.13 – the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit heard arguments in the dispute between California Rural Legal Assistance and the Legal Services Corporation over the scope of an LSC subpoena concerning CRLA records. This is part of a long–running LSC Office of Inspector General investigation of CRLA activity. (Here's coverage of the run–up to the appellate hearing, from the California Report and McClatchy News Service.)

• 4.8.13 – "Despite steep federal funding cuts, legal services for the poor are protected in Maryland – for now. In the final hours of the 2013 session, the Maryland General Assembly is acting to soften the blow of federal budget reductions to the Maryland Legal Aid Bureau, which have topped $1 million over the past two years. The Maryland House and Senate are extending state–level funding sources for the bureau, including a civil court filing–fee surcharge that was set to expire this year." (Story from the Public News Service.)

• 4.8.13 – new OSI grants going to nonprof coalitions to fund joint projects

Pro Bono

• 5.1.13 – from the New York Law Journal: "New York lawyers must disclose on their biennial registration forms how many pro bono hours they provided and the amount of financial contributions they made to pro bono programs during the previous two years.  The new reporting requirements of Part 118 and Rule 6.1 of the Rules of Professional Conduct were approved by Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman and the presiding justices of the Appellate Division's four departments on April 23 and went into effect yesterday (See Announcement).  Lippman's Task Force to Expand Access to Civil Legal Services recommended increasing the voluntary pro bono goal for lawyers in the state to 50 hours a year from 20 (NYLJ, Dec. 7, 2012). That proposal was also implemented yesterday."
• 4.30.13 – "In support of a new U.S. Patent and Trademark Office regional office in Dallas, the Center for Innovation in Arlington said today it will serve as the area’s pro bono patent assistance center….  The center will match inventors with volunteer patent and intellectually property attorneys. Pro bono service will be provided to entrepreneurs whose household income does not exceed 300 percent of federal poverty guidelines. The poverty guideline for a family of four, for instance, is $23,550. The center will also have a sliding fee scale for anyone who exceeds the poverty income guidelines."  (Blog post from the Dallas Morning News.)
• March/April 2013 – in the ABA’s Law Practice magazine, Baker Donelson’s Linda Klein makes the case for including law-firm staff in pro bono projects: "It’s important to have a policy that expressly includes staff. It’s equally important that the firm culture support the policy. Our lawyers in management do a great job of emphasizing that the firm supports and encourages pro bono. One way our culture supports the policy is to provide credit for staff members, lawyers and paralegals whose performance is judged on productivity. Our pro bono policy grants some credit hours annually for paralegals because they have billable hour requirements, too. We also have paid community service hours for staff, so they can take "time off" to devote to pro bono activities. This applies to all staff, not just those who get billable hour credit….   [S]taff can be involved in pro bono in the same way they support paying clients.  We find that morale for our attorneys and staff is best when we use the services of support staff for pro bono matters as well as paying ones.

Legal Education

• 4.30.13 - the successes of the Lewis B. Puller Jr. Veterans Benefit Clinic at William & Mary Law School has caught Virginia Senator Mark Warner's eye as a replicable model, and he's urged the Veterans Administration to give the clinic a look. http://www.dailypress.com/news/military/dp-nws-veterans-law-clinic-20130430,0,7746002.story
• 4.27.13 – a look at how Superstorm Sandy and the New York 50-hour pro bono rule conspired to create a legal clinic, and how the rule may help shape future law school pro bono and curricular offerings: "[The] Disaster Relief Law Field Clinic, which ended this week, grew out of discussions between Kevin Cremin, MFY Legal Serivice’s [sic] director of litigation for disability and aging rights, and Rebecca Rosenfeld, Cardozo’s director of externships, about the new 50-hour pro bono work requirement for New York State bar admission."  (Story from DNAinfo.com.)
• 4.26.13 – from New York: "The Legal Aid Society has created a diverse menu of pro bono opportunities to assist law students in completing 50 hours of pro bono work prior to bar admission. The Chief Judge’s initiative, the first in the country, became effective as of January 1, 2013 and will be applicable to candidates for admission to the New York State bar on or after January 1, 2015. The timetable enables current second and first year law students to plan their pro bono service in a meaningful and timely fashion.  The Society's Civil, Criminal, and Juvenile Rights Practices, will partner with law students and law graduates on a number of specific 50-hour projects."  (Announcement posted on ProBono.net.) 
• 4.22.13 – ripples from the New York 50-hour Rule?  "It's been nearly a year since the New York State court system announced its first-of-its-kind 50-hour pro bono requirement for new attorneys. No state has followed suit yet, but that may soon change. Leaders of the State Bar of California are poised this fall to adopt a similar rule, while a task force…in New Jersey is weighing the merits….  A report by the Connecticut Judicial Branch's Access to Justice Commission also recommends that the state create a task force to consider a pro bono mandate, but judicial leaders were inclined against the idea….  Some pro bono advocates had hoped that the [ABA] would take the lead on incorporating a 50-hour requirement into its law school accreditation standards.  However, the idea gained little traction among the ABA committee members, who said that mandating pro bono hours falls outside the scope of its accreditor role."  (Story from the National Law Journal.)

Civil Right to Counsel

• 4.24.13 – "A federal judge in California has ordered immigration courts in three states to provide legal representation for immigrants with mental disabilities who are in detention and facing deportation, if they cannot represent themselves. The decision is the first time a court has required the government to provide legal assistance for any group of people before the nation’s immigration courts."  (Story from the New York Times.)   
  • A Washington Post op-ed wonders about extending the right-to-counsel scope in immigration proceedings: "Now that such an important precedent has been set, it is imperative that the government move quickly to ensure that minors get similar protections. As it stands now, children under 18 without a parent or guardian are forced to navigate the immigration detention process alone. Even children who are little more than toddlers are expected to appear before immigration judges to defend themselves in legal proceedings if they can’t secure a lawyer."
• April, 2013 – Legal Aid of North Carolina executive director George Hausen – who I think now qualifies as the star of this "ATJ Headlines" edition - makes the practical case for Civil Gideon in the April edition of the state-based magazine Trial Briefs.

Updated: 05/08/2013