Page 255 - 2024 Orientation Manual

Justice For All Project
In October 2019, the ATJ Commission was awarded the Justice For All Project (JFA) grant from
the National Center for State Courts (NCSC). The purpose of the project is to bring traditional and
non-traditional stakeholders together to collaborate on statewide efforts that advance meaningful
access to civil legal services. The Louisiana Justice For All Project was led by a diverse group of
stakeholders including representatives from the Louisiana Supreme Court, Louisiana ATJ
Commission, LSBA, legal aid organizations, public libraries, and local community organizations.
The initial grant was administered through the Louisiana Bar Foundation.

During the first year of the Project, the Commission completed an Inventory Assessment, which
included a thorough statewide examination of citizens’ access to in-person civil legal resources.
The findings show that in Louisiana, over 600,000 people meeting income eligibility for civil legal
aid must drive 45-min or more to get legal help. These areas, termed “civil legal resources deserts”
encompass 60% of the state’s landmass and were found using Geographic Information Systems
Mapping tool. These maps were featured in the LSBA’s April/May 2021 Bar Journal, several
local articles and news outlets, and in the Louisiana Bar Foundation’s civil legal aid media
campaign. The final JFA report with recommendations is available here. From this report, the ATJ
Commission created a strategic plan - which has become a staple of the Commission’s projects
and initiatives.

In April 2021, the Commission was awarded a second grant to implement solutions that address
the civil legal resource desert findings. During this phase of the project, “access points” were
created to expand the reach of much-needed legal resources in parts of the state where barriers to
legal resources, coupled with high rates of poverty, are the greatest. To accomplish this, the JFA
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