Managing in Hard Times: Lessons from Legal Aid & the Public Sector

Law Librarians of Puget Sound: 29 April 2009 Michele Storms, Executive Director Gates Public Service Law Program

University of Washington School of Law, Seattle, WA

2003 Civil Legal Needs Study in Washington State

No Attorney

Assistance 88%

Attorney Assistance

12%

3 out of 4 low income people face at least one critical civil legal problem each year.

The Alliance for Equal Justice

The Alliance for Equal Justice of Washington state is a network of organizations providing civil legal aid to those with nowhere else to turn. Formed to coordinate and foster collaboration, the Alliance provides critically needed services-information, advice and representation-to those in need.

The Alliance for Equal Justice

More than 30 legal aid providers make up the Alliance:

Statewide and Specialty Programs provide civil legal aid services from staffed offices throughout the state, to specific low-income populations or for specific legal problems

Volunteer attorney programs coordinate and leverage free legal aid services provided by pro-bono attorneys

2009 US Federal Poverty Guidelines

Persons in Household

Income Limit100% FPL

Income Limit125% FPL

2 $14,570 $18,212

3 $18,310 $22,887

4 $22,050 $27,562

5 $25,790 $32,237

LESSONS LEARNED

CHANGE IS A CONSTANT

OUR SYSTEM MUST BE DRIVEN BY OUR SHARED VALUES

The Hallmarks of an Effective State-wide Civil Legal Services Delivery System

Poverty should not be an impediment to Justice.

Those in poverty have an equal right to justice regardless of who they are, where they live, or the language they speak.

The right to justice must remain constant regardless of changing social, political, economic or other conditions in the country, state and communities where low income people live.

The Coordination Challenge:The State PlanA Blueprint for Delivery of Civil Legal Aid to Low-Income People in Washington

Goals:

Ensure availability of equal services for all low

income people in need.

Invest scarce resources equitably & effectively.

Coordinate activities toward common goals.

Support the needs of programs serving clients.

The Funding Challenge:Public-Private Support

IOLTA

(Interest on Lawyers Trust Accounts)

Private Support (Campaign for Equal Justice)

Federal

(Legal Services Corporation)

State

(Office of Civil Legal Aid)

LESSONS LEARNED CONT.

TRANSPARENCY/COMMUNICATION

WE NEED ALLIES & A NONPARTISAN EFFORT; NEVER WRITE ANYONE OFF

EVALUATE, QUANTIFY, EVOLVE

LESSONS LEARNED CONT.

NO TURF

NEVER LET A SERIOUS CRISIS GO TO WASTE

IT’S THE CLIENTS, STUPID

“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere”

Martin Luther King, Jr., 1963 from Birmingham jail, Alabama

Some National (US) ResourcesAlliance for Justicehttp://www.afj.org/about-afj/American Bar Association: Center for Pro Bono & Standing Committee on Legal

Aid and Indigent Defendantshttp://www.abanet.org/legalservices/probono/ http://www.abanet.org/legalservices/sclaid/ Equal Justice Workshttp://www.equaljusticeworks.org/ Legal Services Corporationwww.lsc.orgManagement Information Exchangewww.m-i-e.orgNational Legal Aid & Defender Organizationwww.nlada.org Pro Bono Nethttp://www.probono.net/ The Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty Law http://www.povertylaw.org/

Some WA State Resources

Advocate Resource Centerwww.advocateresourcecenter.org Alliance for Equal Justicehttp://allianceforequaljustice.org/ Equal Justice Coalitionhttp://www.ejc.org/ Washington LawHelpwww.washingtonlawhelp.org (for clients)Washington State Bar Association, Access to Justicewww.wsba.org/atj