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● Flood Proof Incubator Project in Baton Rouge (2018-present), operated in partnership
with Southeast Louisiana Legal Services, Southern University Law Center, the ABA
Center for Innovation and Louisiana State University Law School, addresses the legal
needs of disaster victims, such as clear title and successions, in East Baton Rouge,
Ascension, Pointe Coupee, and Livingston. This project is funded by the Louisiana Bar
Foundation.

Legal Education & Assistance Program (LEAP)/ “Lawyers in Libraries”

LEAP is a partnership between the LSBA, Law Library of Louisiana, legal aid organizations, and
public libraries statewide. The program provides libraries with specialized resources on
frequently-sought topics, training for library staff on how to respond to (but not answer) legal
inquiries from the public, and supplemental research support from the Law Library of Louisiana
(located at the Louisiana Supreme Court). These services are available to all public libraries in
the state but are especially impactful in areas without a physical legal aid office and/or pro bono
program.

LEAP is highlighted by “Lawyers in Libraries” events, which bring pro bono attorneys into
libraries to provide limited services. Events are held throughout the year but culminate in the
annual week of service held in October in conjunction with National Celebrate Pro Bono Week.
ATJ staff provide logistical support and resources via www.LouisianaLawyersinLibraries.org. In
2020, due to COVID-19, all “Lawyers in Lawyers” events were held virtually in order to provide
remote access to individuals who were in even more need of legal direction due to the current
health crisis. Volunteer attorneys provided virtual legal assistance through remote
“Ask-a-Lawyer” sessions to patrons from 25 different parishes across the state and webinar
presentations on important legal topics reached over 2,500 viewers on the new “Lawyers in
Libraries” Facebook page.

Consumer Debt Working Group

In August 2016, the Access to Justice Committee approved a motion to reconvene the Consumer
Debt Working Group after the publishing of a white paper by volunteers of Louisiana Appleseed
that describe the access to justice issues consumers face in cases brought by third party debt
buyers. Debt buyers are companies or firms that purchase delinquent debts for pennies on the
dollar and in many cases pursue collection through the legal system. The authors of the paper
identified many cases in which the plaintiff debt buyer does not have the documentation required
to establish a prima facie case, e.g., chain of title to prove ownership, agreement between
original creditor and debtor, and itemized accounting of the credits and debits on the account.
However, most consumers go unrepresented and are unable to effectively advocate for
themselves, and as a result the courts often issue default judgments against them without the
debt-buyer plaintiff meeting their burden of proof.

Since its re-launch in August 2016, the working group has conducted two CLE trainings – one
for legal aid attorneys and the other for pro bono attorneys – and assisted in the pilot launch of a