This report describes the state of civil legal services today and how we got here. It also recommends more funding and better service delivery.
Audience
Managing Pro Bono: Doing Well by Doing Better
This article provides the first systematic look at the professionalization of pro bono programs in large firms and the challenges they face in the current economic climate. It draws upon a survey of large-firm pro bono counsel conducted in 2009.
The Importance of Representation in Eviction Cases and Homelessness Prevention
Two randomized pilot projects in Massachusetts in 2009 involving eviction cases showed prevented evictions, protected the rights of tenants, and maintained shelter in a high rate of cases.
Access Across America: First Report of the Civil Justice Infrastructure Mapping Project
Access Across America is the first-ever state-by-state portrait of the services available to assist the U.S. public in accessing civil justice. The report documents, for the nation as a whole and individually for the states who is eligible for assistance and how it is delivered, funded, coordinated and regulated.
Access to Evidence: How an Evidence-Based Delivery System Can Improve Legal Aid for Low- and Moderate-Income America
By encouraging evidence-based approaches in civil legal assistance, the federal government can help service providers target resources more efficiently.
Connecting Self-Representation to Civil Gideon: What Existing Data Reveal About When Counsel is Most Needed
This reviews existing reports reveals a correlation between representation and success rates in court. It finds that this is especially true when the litigant faces a power imbalance and when the litigant’s advocate is skilled and has relevant knowledge.
Foreclosures: A Crisis in Legal Representation
This is a review of the foreclosure crisis including the number of persons without legal representation in selected counties with high rates of foreclosure, why having a lawyer matters, the barriers to legal representation, concluding with recommendations.
Legal Needs and Civil Justice: A Survey of Americans, Major Findings from the Comprehensive Legal Needs Study
Interviews by phone and in person were conducted in 1993 with more than 3,000 low- and moderate-income Americans to ask about circumstances experienced that pertain to civil justice. (Link is major findings only.)
Economic Benefits of Civil Legal Aid
This two-page fact sheet lists five ways the civil legal aid also yields substantial economic benefits.
An Analysis of the Economic Impacts and Social Benefits of Assistance Provided by Alaska Legal Services Corporation
ALSC has in economic impacts alone, has exceeded the dollars invested by a ratio of five to one. ALSC’s efforts stabilize and sustain families, save people’s homes from foreclosure, secure federal benefits denied eligible Alaskans, maintain communities, and make society safer.
Legal Aid Research 