Access to Justice Committee

Access to Justice Committee

PBA and Other Resolutions and Recommendation on Pro Bono

New York Times Article: ‘Top New York Judge Urges Greater Legal Rights for the Poor,’ May 3, 2010
Jonathan Lippman, New York’s chief judge, has called for a new guarantee of legal representation for the poor in civil cases. Read the article.

Philadelphia Chancellor's Forum on Civil Gideon, July 7, 2010

PLAN's Milkes Writes on Legal Services in May/June 2010 Issue of PBA Magazine
Sam Milkes, executive director of the Pennsylvania Legal Aid Network and a past contributor to the PBA’s Pennsylvania Lawyer magazine, appears as an author and co-author of articles in the May/June 2010 issue. The articles, linked here in PDF, are titled "The Changing Profile of Civil Legal Aid" and "A Right to Counsel in Civil Cases, Too?," with the latter co-authored by Andrew F. Susko, a former PBA president, and Rhodia D. Thomas, executive director of MidPenn Legal Services.

Public Libraries and Self-Representation Conference, 2010, Pa. Dept. of Education Weekly Report of Jan. 13, 2010

Gideon’s New Trumpet: Expanding the Civil Right to Counsel in Massachusetts, September 2008
Gideon’s New Trumpet: Detailed Description Memo
Gideon’s New Trumpet: Appendices

The ABA Delivery Committee on Access to Justice's 2009 Annual Report
The ABA Delivery Committee on Access to Justice's 2009 Annual Report, titled Agenda for Access, is a compilation of articles, reports, trainings and projects from the last calendar year. It summarizes the work of the committee while including efforts from others who are working to increase access to justice for those of moderate income. Click here for the report.

LSC Releases Updated 'Report on the Justice Gap in America' Indicating That Legal Aid Programs Turn Away One Person for Every Client Served
In a report released Sept. 30, 2009, the Legal Services Corp. (LSC) finds that nearly a million poor people who seek help for civil legal problems will be turned away this year by the nation's largest nonprofit legal aid network due to insufficient resources. Click here for the news release, which contains a direct link to the report. Click here for a letter from 108 U.S. House members to House and Senate chairs urging an increase in LSC funding.

‘Pro Bono: A Case for Judicial Intervention’ In April 2009 PBA Quarterly
Philadelphia Judge Anne Lazarus writes on how the judiciary can help bridge the “justice gap” in America in the April 2009 issue of the PBA Quarterly. Click here (requires PBA member login) to read the article.

Philadelphia Bar Association Board Approves 'Civil Gideon' Resolution, April 30, 2009
The Philadelphia Bar Association Board of Governors has approved a resolution calling for provision of legal counsel for indigent persons in civil matters involving basic human needs. Read the resolution.

"(Penny) wise justice for California," Los Angeles Times Editorial, Sept. 25, 2009

"A Key Legal Right at Risk," by former Vice President Walter F. Mondale, Washington Post, March 10, 2009

California Right to Counsel Pilot Legislation Introduced, Feb. 25, 2009

American Bar Association Section of Litigation Symposium Addresses Civil Right to Counsel, Dec. 4-5, 2008

Tennessee High Court Calls On Attorneys to Step Up In Effort to Ease Burdens On Legal Aid System, December 2008

Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Editorial of Nov. 24, 2008: "Has Gideon's time arrived … again?"

"Suits, Legislation Over a Civil Right to Counsel Grow Across U.S.," National Law Journal Article, Sept. 19, 2008

Boston Bar Releases Plan to Expand Right to Counsel in Civil Cases, Sept. 2, 2008

Alaska Bar Association Pro Bono Committee Resolution in Support of Recognizing a Right to Counsel for Indigent Individuals in Certain Civil Cases, September 2008

"Advocacy for a Civil Right to Counsel: An Update," by Paul Marvy, Clearinghouse REVIEW Journal of Poverty Law and Policy, March-April 2008

Bob Racunas, executive director of Pittsburgh-based Neighborhood Legal Services Association, on the "Need for Equal Justice," Pitt Law Magazine, Spring 2008 (posted with permission from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law)

Access to Justice: Opening the Courthouse Door (A Brennan Center Report)