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was comprised 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 the following six committees: Building Bridges, Funding, In Forma Pauperis,
Language Access, Modest Means and SRL/Uniform Forms. Since that time, the In Forma Pauperis
Committee has become an ATJ Committee Subcommittee and a Technology Committee was
created.

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