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Training
The Access to Justice Department offers a wide variety of low-cost and no-cost Continuing Legal
Education (CLE) opportunities focused on various areas of public interest law to civil legal aid
attorneys. The ATJ Training and Projects Counsel works with public interest law task forces,
training subcommittees, and various non-profit organizations to create affordable and pertinent
CLE programming for Louisiana’s justice community. While this position was originally created
as a training coordinator through funding subsidized by the Legal Services Programs, the position
has expanded to include building and fostering relationships among five substantive task forces,
pro bono organizations and other members of the justice community to ensure educational needs
are met.
ATJ provides training through in-person, remote, and pre-recorded formats, giving attorneys
multiple options to attend and access the educational seminars they may not otherwise receive due
to costs as well as time away from the office. Recorded CLEs are made available on probono.net/la
to legal aid, contract, and volunteer attorneys. The ATJ Department also provides customized
trainings for new solos in the LIFT Legal Incubator and Accelerator Program.

Louisiana Justice Community Conference
Every fall, the LSBA’s Access to Justice Department hosts the Louisiana Justice Community
Conference. This is typically a two-day in-person event that provides civil legal aid attorneys 9.0
hours of relevant CLE training and networking opportunities with the Louisiana access to justice
community. During the pandemic, the conference was held virtually in an effort to support social
distancing and at the request of attendees. In lieu of the conference last year, the ATJ Program
hosted the Disaster Law Summit with training designed for disaster response and legal aid
communities. This year, ATJ will bring back the in-person LJCC in Baton Rouge. In addition to
substantive law, professionalism, ethics, and technology training, the conference includes the
CINC pre-conference, the Pro Bono Subcommittee meeting, and the Louisiana Civil Legal Aid
Awards.

Louisiana Civil Legal Aid Awards

In 2015, the LSBA introduced two new awards at the Louisiana Justice Community
Conference recognizing excellence and ingenuity in the civil justice community. The Legal
Service Excellence in Advocacy Award recognizes an individual advocate who has
displayed the highest levels of dedication, passion, and professionalism in representing
vulnerable clients. The Legal Service Innovation Award recognizes an individual attorney
or organization that has developed an innovative program or service that effectively meets
the legal needs of vulnerable populations in Louisiana. To learn more about the awards and
past recipients, visit this link.

Statewide Task Forces
The ATJ Department staffs five statewide substantive law task forces to provide practice area-
specific forums for discussion among civil legal aid and volunteer attorneys. The Task Forces
include Elder Law, Family Law, Housing and Consumer Law, Public Benefits Law, and Child in

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