Page 77 - Impact: Collected Essays on Expanding Access to Justice

communications, increase pro bono partnerships, encourage non-LSC fundraising, fund and support new technologies, http://tig .lsc .gov/, and more . Non-LSC programs appear to be expanding in number, size, funding, scope of coverage and the nature of services they provide . See Justice Index, http://www .justiceindex .org/findings/attorney-access/ (attorney access page, showing overall count of civil legal aid attorneys, in both LSC and non-LSC programs) . See also, III . Funding and Coordination, below .
n Innovation in Legal Aid Programs – Civil legal aid providers operate on numerous levels: providing people with information, advice, brief service, and traditional legal representation; using new technologies to expand their reach to new communities (geographical, specific case focus, specific intake models e .g ., in hospitals via medical-legal partnerships); partnering with courts and the bar to carry out services and coordinate pro bono services; carrying out research to determine what approaches work best; providing policy knowledge to communities, courts, officials, social service agencies and law schools; and advocating for law and policy reform that benefits clients .
n Civil Right to Counsel Movement – States guarantee a right to counsel for certain civil cases (for example, state actions to terminate a parent’s rights or initiate involuntary commitment), but not for cases involving basic human needs, such as housing, domestic violence, medical care, and public assistance . The National Coalition for a Civil Right to Counsel (NCCRC), in 38 states, guides a national movement and supports local initiatives (litigation, legislation, court rules reform, public education) to establish a civil right to counsel for low-income people . www . civilrighttocounsel .org . NCCRC maintains an interactive map of civil rights to counsel in the states, and a bibliography of articles . It helped create a 2006 ABA Resolution encouraging states to provide a civil right to counsel in cases involving basic human needs, and developed the ABA’s Directory of Law Governing Appointment of Counsel in State Civil Proceedings . http:// www .americanbar .org/content/dam/aba/administrative/legal_aid_indigent_defendants/ ls_sclaid_judges_manual_prefatory_info .authcheckdam .pdf .
n Legal Aid Programs Protecting Group Rights, Solving System Problems with Systemic Solutions – Civil legal aid programs see individual clients harmed on a routine basis and are well-positioned to identify patterns resulting from systemic problems . Many pursue diverse approaches to bring about systemic solutions, including by sharing their knowledge and expertise with government officials, but also by initiating systemic litigation, and pursuing policy reform advocacy . Some organizations prioritize this work . See Legal Impact Network, http://www .povertylaw .org/ lin . Funding restrictions limit certain forms of client advocacy by organizations receiving LSC funds, http://www .lsc .gov/about-statutory-restrictions-lsc-funded-programs, although limited exceptions are recognized where LSC programs affiliate with non-LSC programs, and LSC programs remain able to help clients achieve systemic goals not prohibited by funding restrictions . See, e.g., Affirmative Litigation Under the LSC Restrictions, http://heinonline . org/HOL/Page?handle=hein .journals/clear34&div=51&g_sent=1&collection=journals . Initiatives to modify and remove onerous funding restrictions have met with some success, including in LSC v. Velazquez, https://www .oyez .org/cases/2000/99-603, overturning federal funding restrictions that had banned certain challenges to certain welfare reform laws, https:// www .brennancenter .org/analysis/national-campaign-fix-legal-services-restrictions .
n Coalition-Building and Organizing Support for Legal Aid - Representing the civil and criminal defense legal aid provider communities, NLADA has promoted access to justice at the national, state and local level, including through the development of national standards for legal representation, groundbreaking legal legislation, support for research, http://legalaidresearch . org/, and support for the Legal Services Corporation and other important institutions . www . nlada .org . The ABA supports civil legal aid in many ways, including on policy and funding .
Alternative Models
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