White House Forum on State of Legal Assistance – A Recap
By: Steve Grumm
Last week many high-level stakeholders in the civil legal services community and government met to review the health (or un-health) of the civil legal services system. Even the president partook. The DOJ’s Access to Justice Initiative was one of the players, and they’ve written an event summary on DOJ’s blog. An excerpt:
Legal aid attorneys, pro bono partners from law firms, government leaders, judges, and advocates from around the country gathered at the White House earlier this month for a forum on “The State of Legal Assistance.” Moderated by Legal Services Corporation (LSC) Chairman John Levi, the forum looked at the legal challenges faced by America’s most vulnerable groups, including veterans, low-income families, the elderly, and people with disabilities.
A 2009 LSC study(PDF) found that less than 20 percent of the legal problems experienced by poor people were addressed with the help of a private or legal aid lawyer. At the forum, a panel of LSC attorneys spoke of the strains on their system in the wake of the country’s economic recession, and the hardships faced by those served by legal aid.
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