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began meeting in anticipation of a federal disaster declaration, only to discover that the federal
disaster declaration did not include legal services. Since legal services were not included in the
disaster declaration, the hotline was not activated. Instead, the subcommittee acted as a line of
communication for legal services and pro bono providers, who established outreach efforts
related to legal issues surrounding the pandemic, such as evictions, employment issues, and
domestic violence issues. After Hurricane Laura, this of course changed and the hotline was
activated on September 7, 2020. The hotline has continued after Hurricanes Delta and Zeta. The
hotline currently provides a recorded message referring callers to Acadiana Legal Service
Corporation and Southeast Louisiana Legal Services as well as the LSBA Find Legal Help Page
for legal assistance and information.

Pro Bono Subcommittee, Chair Elena Perez

This subcommittee is tasked with developing and supporting activities coordinated through local
pro bono entities to engage the private bar and judiciary in pro bono efforts, as well as
recognizing those who actively provide volunteer legal services. This subcommittee has been
active most recently in assisting Lagniappe Law Lab in revising the statewide pro bono website,
probono.net/la.

In Forma Pauperis Subcommittee, Chair Jeff Coreil

This subcommittee has reviewed past efforts of the civil justice community and Access to Justice
Commission committee to develop a strategy for impacting the ongoing variances applied to in
forma pauperis (IFP) laws and procedures, which produce differing levels of court access in
different courts. Attempts to remind the judiciary and clerks of courts of specific IFP rules and
the law’s intent to liberally interpret access to courts for indigent citizens were, at best,
short-term successes. Support of Access to Justice Commission members resulted in a successful
response from the Louisiana State Law Institute (LSLI) to review the Louisiana IFP and related
statutes. The recommendations of the LSLI were included in a bill to the Louisiana legislature
during its 2020 session. Unfortunately, the bill changing the IFP statutes was not taken up in the
session that was limited due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The bill has been filed in the 2021
session. This subcommittee will continue to monitor and advise the LSLI and follow the efforts
to ensure consistency in the application of the IFP statutes, thus ensuring equal access to the
courts.

Pro Bono Activities

The Access to Justice Committee recognizes that an important aspect of the justice community’s
work is the volunteer support by the private bar which is coordinated by local pro bono
programs. The Access to Justice Pro Bono Subcommittee annually holds a statewide Pro Bono
Coordinating meeting, bringing together pro bono programs from around the state to define areas
where the LSBA can further assist local pro bono program efforts. Past efforts by the ATJ