Page 10 - Impact: Collected Essays on Expanding Access to Justice

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included substantial funding for civil legal services in the judiciary’s budget, beginning in 2010 . That funding has increased steadily from $27 .5 million in the first year to $85 million this year, with a goal of $100 million annually . Our partners in government, the New York State Legislature and the Governor, recognized that providing funding in the judiciary budget was critical, and that civil legal services for the poor were as much a priority for our state and society as housing, schools, education, and the other essentials of life . Moreover, funding for civil legal services makes good economic sense: studies show that investing in civil legal services returns money to our State through increased federal support, reduced shelter and social services costs, and other effects at a rate of $10 for every $1 invested .14
In obtaining this government funding – and in all our innovations – the Task Force to Expand Access to Civil Legal Services in New York made tremendous contributions . Establishing the Task Force, now the Permanent Commission on Access to Justice, was one of my first acts as Chief Judge . The Task Force, led by Helaine Barnett, a former head of the Legal Services Corporation, includes judges, legal service providers, lawyers in private practice, and representatives of corporations, labor unions, and social service organizations . Their combined expertise and hard work has made an immeasurable impact on New York’s success by measuring the problem, amassing research, and identifying recommendations for action . In addition, I have held annual public hearings in each of the four Judicial Departments to assess the extent and nature of the unmet civil legal needs of low-income New Yorkers throughout the state, to identify the level of public resources necessary to meet that need, and to evaluate the impact of increased civil legal services . Since beginning in 2010, we have heard testimony from New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, Speaker of the City Council Melissa Mark Viverito and her predecessor in that office Christine Quinn, Timothy Cardinal Dolan of the Archdiocese of New York, three successive Presidents of the New York City Bar Association, judges, legal service providers, law school deans, economists, district attorneys, business leaders, educators, healthcare providers, labor and community leaders, government officials from around the state, and many litigants whose lives were turned around when they found a lawyer to help them . Their testimony made clear over and over again the deep need for legal help in cases involving the basic necessities of life, the myriad ways that help can be provided, and the clear social and economic benefits of legal assistance for people in need .
Some of the initiatives that emerged from the hearings and Task Force reports include technology tools like interactive do-it-yourself forms and online legal resources, increased use of mediation and alternative dispute resolution, an annual law school conference along with enhanced education and pre- and post-graduate opportunities for law students relating to access to justice . We have explored ways that non-lawyers can provide support and information to poor and near- poor people who are facing legal problems, both in our courthouses through the Navigator program15 and in our neighborhoods through Legal Hand .16 While there is no substitute for
14 PermanenT commission on access To JusTice, rePorT To The chief Judge of The sTaTe of new york 5 (2015), available at http://www.nycourts.gov/accesstojusticecommission/PDF/2015_Access_to_Justice-Report-V5.pdf.
15 The Navigator program trains non-lawyers to provide legal information, accompaniment, and support to litigants in New York City housing Court and in consumer debt cases in New York City Civil Court. See Court Navigator Program, NYCOuRTS.GOV, http://www.courts.state.ny.us/courts/nyc/housing/rap.shtml; and new york sTaTe courT naVigaTor Program, commiTTee on nonlawyers and The JusTice gaP, naVigaTor snaPshoT rePorT: december 2014, available at http://nylawyer.nylj.com/adgifs/decisions15/022415report.pdf.
16 Legal hand staffs storefront offices with trained non-lawyer volunteers to provide information, support, and referrals to low-income people facing legal problems. See Press Release, New York State unified Court System, Chief Judge Lippman Announces Launch of Legal hand: Neighborhood Legal Information Centers to help Close New York’s Justice Gap (Nov. 23, 2015), https://www.nycourts.gov/press/PDFs/PR15_17.pdf.
Impact: Collected Essays on Expanding Access to Justice