Page 204 - 2021bogOrientationManual

Access to Justice Commission

By order of the Louisiana Supreme Court, signed September 17, 2015, the Louisiana Access to
Justice Commission was created and continues the work of the long-standing Louisiana State Bar
Association (LSBA) Access to Justice Committees to pursue a coordinated and systemic
approach to ensuring the public’s access to the legal system. The Louisiana Access to Justice
Commission is a standing committee of the Louisiana State Bar Association.

Upon consultation with the Chief Justice of the Louisiana Supreme Court, the President of the
LSBA appoints twenty-one members with diverse backgrounds in civil legal aid who have
demonstrated a commitment to and/or familiarity with access to justice in Louisiana. The
representative membership of Louisiana’s justice community stakeholders brings an increased
involvement by judges, clerks of court, the business community and others to nearly two decades
of collaboration between the Louisiana State Bar Association and the Louisiana Supreme Court
on Access to Justice efforts, providing an even greater impact to initiatives that support access.
The ATJ Commission is staffed by LSBA Access to Justice Department members, who facilitate
the Commission committees in support of the goals enumerated in the Supreme Court order to
address the needs of individuals who are otherwise unable to afford an attorney in civil matters.

Mission Statement

The mission of the commission 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.”

Justice For All
In October 2019, the ATJ Commission was awarded a grant from the National Center for State
Courts’(NCSC) Justice for All (JFA) Project. NCSC created the JFA grant program in an effort to
implement two advanced resolutions promulgated by the Conference of Chief Justices and the
Conference of State Court Administrators: 1) meaningful access to effective assistance for
essential civil legal needs and 2) for traditional and non-traditional stakeholders to collaborate
and develop a comprehensive approach to achieve meaningful access to justice. The JFA Project
is housed by NCSC and operated in partnership with the Self-Represented Litigants Network.
Louisiana’s Justice for All leadership includes active participation from the Louisiana Supreme
Court, Louisiana ATJ Commission, the Louisiana State Bar Association, legal aid providers,
public libraries, and local community leaders in areas where access points will be implemented.
The Louisiana Justice for All Grant will be administered through the Louisiana Bar Foundation.

During the first year of the Project, the Commission completed the Inventory Assessment and
Strategic Planning phases of the JFA Project, which entailed a thorough statewide examination of
people’s access to in-person civil legal resources in Louisiana. The findings show that one in
three people potentially income eligible for civil legal aid are required to travel long distances for
in-person legal help. These areas, termed “civil legal resources deserts,” impact approximately