About the Access to Justice Program
The Louisiana State Bar Association has historically supported the concept of “Access to Justice,” and has long recognized the importance of the efforts of organizations providing for the legal needs of the indigent. The Bar has demonstrated its commitment to help meet the needs of poor Louisianans by establishing and funding the Access to Justice (ATJ) Program.
The ATJ Committee
The Access to Justice Committee was established in 1996 to consolidate the efforts of two existing LSBA committees (The Legal Services Committee and The Volunteers In Public Service Committee). As the mission states, the committee helps to strengthen an integrated delivery network by supporting all those who deliver legal services to the poor. The current committee is comprised of 40 volunteer members, both attorneys and non-attorneys, with the common interest of assisting the indigent with their legal needs. These volunteers, with various backgrounds, reside throughout Louisiana and include corporate counsel, legal service attorneys, legal educators, large and small firm representatives, and pro bono directors. The Committee facilitates the work of all legal services providers by encouraging statewide collaboration and interaction through the programs the ATJ Committee sponsors and the projects it implements.
The ATJ Department
The LSBA Access to Justice Department was established in 1997, following the establishment of the ATJ Committee, to commit full-time personnel to assist Louisiana’s legal services providers in their efforts to provide access to the court system for all people, regardless of income. Now with a staff of six, the ATJ Program provides direct support to all members of Louisiana's access to justice community.
The ATJ Commission
The ATJ Commission was created in 2015 by an order of the Louisiana Supreme Court in response to national encouragement from the American Bar Association that all states facilitate groups of dedicated, influential leaders through which response to systemic and policy-oriented access to justice issues could be addressed, and is a standing committee of the LSBA. The ATJ Commission subsumed the work of its predecessor group, the ATJ Policy Committee, which functioned in a similar manner since 2009 with the engagement (but not the written endorsement) of the Louisiana Supreme Court. A diverse 21 member Access to Justice Commission is appointed annually by the LSBA President in conjunction with the Chief Justice of the Louisiana Supreme Court. Its members represent designated organizations and interests, including the LSBA, the judiciary, Louisiana Law schools, the legal aid providers, private practice, corporate counsel, pro bono organizations, and the Louisiana Bar Foundation. 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 six committees. Currently, there are six ATJ Commission Committees which are Accessibility, Community, Outreach, and Education, Funding, Modest Means, SRL and Technology.