Page 199 - 2021bogOrientationManual

The ATJ Policy Committee was active from 2009 through 2015. The Committee was created in
response to a national trend to allow for the most effective policy development and meaningful
interaction with the Bar. This 20-member ATJ Policy Committee oversaw the work of ATJ
subcommittees and strengthened ties to the private bar and judiciary. While the ATJ Committee
was composed primarily of individuals providing direct delivery of services and focused on the
interworking of those organizations, the ATJ Policy Committee ensured leadership from a
cross-section of those involved in access to justice issues. The ATJ Policy Committee met
regularly to guide the activities of the ATJ Committee, determine ATJ Committee policy, and
assess impact. The work of the ATJ Policy Committee members was meant to guide the forces of
the ATJ Committee while ensuring the quality of the committee’s work. The ATJ Policy
Committee was the precursor organization to the ATJ Commission, which was created in 2015.

The ATJ Commission

As access to justice issues became more critical and began to have broader impact nationwide,
the ABA encouraged states to form entities similar to the LSBA Policy Committee, including
prominent stakeholders and calling these groups Access to Justice Commissions. These were
cooperative endeavors among state supreme courts, state bar associations, IOLTA entities, law
schools, business organizations and some faith-based entities to focus jointly on identified justice
problems in their state. Chief Justice Bernette Joshua Johnson expressed an interest in forming a
commission and, after consideration at a summit of stakeholders, signed an order on September
17, 2015 creating the Louisiana ATJ Commission. The Louisiana Access to Justice Commission
is a standing committee of the LSBA. The mission of the 21-member ATJ Commission, as stated
in the order, is “to assure continuity of policy and purpose in the collaboration between the
private bar, the courts, and the civil justice community so as to further the goal of assuring that
Louisianans, regardless of their economic circumstance, have access to equal justice under the
law.” The Commission held its first meeting at the Supreme Court on January 8, 2016 and
established six committees. Currently, the six ATJ Commission Committees are: Building
Bridges, Funding, Language Access, Modest Means, SRL/Uniform Forms and Technology.