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professionals including social workers, licensed professional counselors, and peer support
specialists and will take place via zoom April 25-26. The event presents a unique
opportunity for the legal and mental health community to gather, learn, cross-train, and
collaborate - all of which were recommendations that came out of the Committee’s 2022
Criminal Justice Summit last March. The agenda features sessions on the stages of the
criminal justice process and its impact on people suffering from mental illness as well as
Hon. Kern Reese’s Assisted Out-Patient Treatment Civil Specialty Court. Featured
presenter Judge Steven Leifman will discuss Miami-Dade County Court’s nation-leading
program that diverts people with untreated mental illness, who are not a significant public
safety threat, away from the criminal justice system and into community based treatment.
LAMHA is allowing lawyers and judges to attend these sessions at no cost which will be
worth CLE and CEU credit. Attorneys and judges interested in attending can register at
https://lamha2023.heysummit.com/ and enter “LSBA” under coupon.

3. Louisiana Justice For All Project work continues as new access point locations are
being evaluated

The Louisiana Access to Justice (ATJ) Commission was awarded a second $100,000 grant
from the National Center for State Courts’(NCSC) Justice for All (JFA) Project to increase
access to civil legal resources in areas with high poverty rates, limited internet access, and
long drive times to the nearest legal aid office or self-help center (commonly referred to as
civil legal resource deserts). After successfully launching the Legal Help Access Points in
Concordia, East Carroll, and Catahoula parishes, to assist residents in navigating civil legal
help, learning about their legal issues, filling out self-help forms, meeting with an attorney,
and appearing online for a court hearing, it was determined that sufficient funds remained
to establish additional access points throughout the state. Currently, work is being
conducted to install two additional access points. One will be located in Acadiana Legal
Service Corporation’s service area and another in Southeast Louisiana Legal Services
Corporation’s service area. In addition to physical access point locations, the JFA Team
has begun quarterly “Law Talks”, which are virtual presentations on important legal topics
hosted by legal aid & volunteer attorneys. Presentations are held via Zoom & streamed on
the Louisiana Lawyers in Libraries Facebook page. Topics covered included Custody,
Divorce, and Small Successions. A Law Talk on Social Security and Medicaid will be held
on April 12, 2023.

4. Two new sponsors join ATJ Developing Leadership Intern Program

The ATJ Developing Leadership Intern Program was initiated in 2015 for the purpose of
exposing law students to the experiences and skills necessary to become the next generation
of access to justice leaders. Four students - one from each of Louisiana’s four law schools
- are chosen to participate in the program. Each student is sponsored by an organization
with a commitment to access to justice; the sponsors provide guidance, mentorship, and a
$3,000 stipend for the interns. Over a 6 week period, interns work with civil legal aid
programs to learn about the civil legal needs of low-income people and the ways in which
these organizations address those needs. New to the program this year as sponsors are
Butler Snow, LLP and the LSBA’s Civil Law & Litigation Section. The two returning
sponsors for the 2023 program include Entergy and Phelps Dunbar, LLP.