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The Louisiana State Bar Association’s

Access to Justice Committees and Initiatives

August 2020

The Louisiana State Bar Association has historically supported the concept of “Access to Justice”
and has long recognized the importance of the efforts of organizations providing for the legal needs
of the indigent. Since 1997 the Bar has actively demonstrated its commitment to help meet the
needs of poor Louisianans by establishing and funding the Access to Justice (ATJ) Program.

History

The ATJ Department

The LSBA’s Access to Justice Department commits full-time Bar personnel to support the
activities of Louisiana’s non-profit civil legal aid community in their efforts to ensure access to
the court system for indigent people. The six member ATJ Department also provides personnel for
the LSBA’s independent efforts to address the unmet legal needs of the poor.

The ATJ Committee

The ATJ Committee’s mission is to assure that every Louisiana citizen has access to competent
civil legal representation by promoting and supporting a broad based and effective justice
community through collaboration among the LSBA, Louisiana Law Schools, private practitioners,
local bar associations, pro bono programs, the LBF, civil legal aid providers and other stakeholders
in Louisiana’s Justice Community. The ATJ Committee works to increase awareness of the
indigent population’s unmet civil legal needs and assists by working toward solutions that can be
realized through proper funding of the legal services providers, alternate methods of service
delivery, and increased participation by the legal community. The Committee has 36 volunteer
members. The majority of members are attorneys, but also include non-attorney members of the
justice community that support our efforts. Membership is geographically diverse and includes
corporate counsel, judges, legal services attorneys, legal educators, large and small firm
representatives, as well as pro bono directors. Their one common goal is assuring that legal needs
of the indigent in Louisiana are addressed. The Committee facilitates the work of all legal services
providers by encouraging statewide collaboration and interaction in ATJ Committee-sponsored
programs and the projects it implements. Committee work is accomplished through subcommittees

The ATJ Policy Committee

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

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