Legal Aid Disparities and Challenges: A Closer Look

Addressing the realities of civil legal aid, the content highlights the significant gap in legal assistance for low-income Americans. It sheds light on the staggering number of individuals facing civil legal issues without adequate representation, leading to profound impacts on their lives. The data underscores the limited resources allocated to legal services for the disadvantaged, resulting in barriers and challenges that hinder access to justice. Particularly, issues such as lack of affordability, language barriers, transient populations, and ignorance of rights further compound the already dire situation. The statistics and insights shared emphasize the urgent need for comprehensive reform to bridge the justice gap and ensure equal access to legal aid for all.

• Legal aid disparities
• Access to justice
• Civil legal issues
• Low-income Americans
• Barriers and challenges

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1. Baseline: The Realities of Civil Legal Aid DONNY MACKENZIE

2. The Justice Gap 86% of the civil legal problems reported by low-income Americans last year received inadequate or no legal help More than 60 million Americans have family incomes below 125% of the Federal Poverty Level. Just 1/10,000th of our $4.4 trillion federal budget is allocated for legal services for the poor 7 in 10 low-income Americans say a civil legal problem has significantly affected their lives Low-income Americans seek professional legal help for only 20% of the civil legal problems they face. 2017 Justice Gap Report, LSC

3. The Justice Gap When confronted with a civil legal problem, 30% of low-income Americans give and seek no legal redress Only 14% of the persons who reported having civil legal issues during the past year obtained legal help in addressing them. 2017 Justice Gap Report, LSC

4. LSC 2015 Annual Report 62.5/1.8M = 2.9%

5. 1/10,000 VS. 1/6

6. I will never reject, from any consideration personal to myself, the cause of the defenseless or oppressed, or delay anyone s cause for lucre or malice. Florida Population 20,500,000 Poverty 4,175,270 LSC eligible Lawyers to people 1:205 Legal Aid Lawyers 409 Ratio: 1: 8,802 Aspirations 20 hours or $350 Mandatory reporting Standing committee Circuit court committees Reality 2.2%

7. The Justice Gap Renters in Colorado who lacked legal representation were evicted 68% of the time from private housing. Meanwhile, those represented by counsel were evicted only 6% of the time. 80% of divorce cases in Florida have at least one self- represented litigant. In many courts, 90% of parties in restraining order matters are unrepresented.

8. Barriers and challenges

9. Low-income Americans cannot afford $350/hour Language and cultural barriers Transitory populations Fear (immigrants, migrant workers, domestic violence, children, elderly) Ignorance of rights Lack of societal infrastructure

10. Trends in Legal Aid Funding NATIONAL 50 STATES $600,000,000 $500,000,000 $400,000,000 $300,000,000 $200,000,000 $100,000,000 $0 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 LSC IOLTA State Other Public Private

11. The first duty of society is justice. - Alexander Hamilton

12. Equal justice under law is not merely a caption on the facade of the Supreme Court building, it is perhaps the most inspiring ideal of our society. It is one of the ends for which our entire legal system exists...it is fundamental that justice should be the same, in substance and availability, without regard to economic status. - Lewis Powell, Jr., U.S. Supreme Court Justice

13. Without equal access to the law, the system not only robs the poor of protection, but it places in the hands of their oppressors the most powerful and ruthless weapon ever created. their only - Reginald Heber Smith, Justice and the Poor (1919)

14. There can be no equal justice where the kind of trial a man gets depends on the amount of money he has. - U.S. Supreme Court Justice Hugo Black (1964)

15. But more than anything else, we have learned that legal assistance for the poor, when properly provided, is one of the most constructive ways to help them help themselves. - President Richard Nixon, 1974

16. Whats the alternative?

20. Where do we go from here? Economies of scale Collaboration Societal and political investment Technology Legislation and rule changes Different delivery model A unified voice

21. Justice Matters. For Everyone.

22. Thank you

23. Lack of Funding: Florida

24. https://www.law360.com/articles/1094693/legal-aid-funder-faces-existential-crisis-under-trumphttps://www.law360.com/articles/1094693/legal-aid-funder-faces-existential-crisis-under-trump

25. https://www.law360.com/articles/1094693/legal-aid-funder-faces-existential-crisis-under-trumphttps://www.law360.com/articles/1094693/legal-aid-funder-faces-existential-crisis-under-trump