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Services Programs. However, with changes of administrations and reduced state budgets,
civil legal aid funding through a state appropriation had been eliminated after FY 2011.

Louisiana Appleseed, as an integral stakeholder, has more recently hired a lobbyist to assist
the efforts of ATJ Commission’s Funding Committee to obtain state funding for civil legal
aid.

In July 2020, with a state budget surplus, the Louisiana Legal Services programs received
$500,000 in supplemental funds for the FY 2019-20. With increased coordination and
support of a lobbying firm, the Louisiana Legal Services Programs were able to obtain a
$500,000 appropriation for FY 2020-21. Then again for FY 2021-2022 the Louisiana Legal
Services Programs obtained an appropriation of $500,000. It is the Committee’s goal to
increase this appropriation to $1 Million dollars for FY 2022-2023.
In recent years, Louisiana Appleseed and the Committee have hosted a breakfast to educate
legislators on the importance of civil legal aid to their constituents, the state, and our
economy. Additionally, members of the Funding Committee annually travel to Baton
Rouge to conduct a “Civil Legal Aid Day at the Capitol.” This provides yet another event
where volunteer members of the Funding Committee and ATJ supporters can reach out to
their legislators. The committee prepares educational material that will be distributed to all
legislators in advance of this day.
The ATJ Director coordinates participation of LSBA leadership in ABA Day in
Washington DC, an organized lobbying event at which our Bar leaders meet with each
member of the Louisiana Congressional Delegation to encourage adequate funding of the
Legal Services Corporation, the major funder of Louisiana’s largest legal services entities.
For the past two years, Bar leaders participated in virtual meetings in light of the COVID-
19 pandemic.

Access to Justice Fund

The Access to Justice Fund is a Louisiana Bar Foundation Fund which supports specific
access to justice needs related to at least one of the following issues: Statewide Technology,
Statewide Intake and Referral, or Disaster Response. The ATJ Committee identifies
eligible projects and recommends allocation of funds to the LBF. The source of funding is
an LSBA dues check-off which allows attorneys to make a financial contribution to civil
legal aid.

Language Access Committee, Chair Professor Luz Molina
This Committee works to support the ongoing efforts of the Louisiana Supreme Court’s Office of
Language Access Court and the implementation of the statewide Language Access Plan. The goal
of the Committee is to expand efforts to ensure litigants in Louisiana’s court are not denied due
process because of an inability to communicate with court personnel. In recent years, the
Committee has developed an Attorneys’ Reference Guide for engaging interpreters and an
interpreter services brochure for members of the public who need to request interpreter services

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