Law in the Public Interest: Challenges & Strategies

Public Interest Law Seminar: 20 June 2008 Morrison Hotel, Dublin 1

Michele Storms, Executive Director Gates Public Service Law Program

University of Washington School of Law, Seattle, WA

“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere”

Martin Luther King, Jr., 1963 from Birmingham jail, Alabama

Public Interest Law Advocacy

Identify the problems facing people, society

Root out the barriers Identify your allies Develop resources Coordinate & collaborate every step of

the way Utilize multi-forum advocacy

2003 Civil Legal Needs Study in Washington State

No Attorney

Assistance 88%

Attorney Assistance

12%

3 out of 4 low income people face at least one critical civil legal problem each year.

2008 US Federal Poverty Guidelines

Persons in Household

Income Limit100% FPL

Income Limit125% FPL

2 $14,000 $17,500

3 $17,600 $22,000

4 $21,200 $26,500

5 $24,800 $31,000

Poverty by the Numbers

About a Millionpeople are living in poverty in Washington (125% FPL).

About 600,000low income people do not receive legal help when they need it.

Income: $24,000Annual income of a family of 4 living in poverty

Imagine Living on this Budget

Expenses: Balance Housing $5,756 $18,244

Utilities $2,656 $15,588

Transportation $5,330 $10,258

Food $4,064 $6,194

Health Care $2,329 $3,865

Child Care $2,600 $1,265 www.povertyusa.org

What do you leave out?

You have $105 left over per month…

School Supplies Clothes & Shoes Toiletries Cleaning Supplies Travel (visiting family) Birthdays & Gifts Life Insurance Entertainment Savings Education

Now Imagine…

You’re unlawfully evicted from your home.

Your employer has not paid you in two months.

Your food stamps are terminated with no explanation.

Your spouse is violent. You fear for your safety and that of your children.

Unresolved Legal Issues = Devastating Consequences

Homelessness Unemployment Hunger Broken Families Physical Abuse Lack of Medical Care Despair

Public Interest Law Advocacy represents the difference

Between:

Homelessness and Shelter

Abuse and Safety

Hunger and Food on the Table

Poverty and Economic Stability

Public Interest Law Advocacy might be in the form of:

Individual Case Representation Class Action Litigation Legislative Advocacy and Reform Community Outreach and Community

Legal Education Collaboration between public interest

lawyers and private practitioners

What is Washington State Doing to Close the Justice Gap?

Alliance for Equal Justice

The State Plan

Public-Private Partnership

The Alliance for Equal Justice

The Alliance for Equal Justice of Washington state is a network of organizations providing civil legal aid to those with nowhere else to turn. Formed to coordinate and foster collaboration, the Alliance provides critically needed services-information, advice and representation-to those in need.

Alliance Members & Supporters

For Clients: Legal education, advice, and representation to

those who otherwise could not afford legal counsel

Legislative Advocacy

For Public Interest Organizations: Financial Support & Accountability Strategic Planning Technological Improvements Effective Communications

The Coordination Challenge:The State PlanA Blueprint for Delivery of Civil Legal Aid to Low-Income People in Washington

Goals:

Ensure availability of equal services for all low

income people in need.

Invest scarce resources equitably & effectively.

Coordinate activities toward common goals.

Support the needs of programs serving clients.

The Hallmarks of an Effective State-wide Civil Legal Services Delivery System

Poverty should not be an impediment to Justice. The mission of the statewide legal services delivery system is to offer low income individuals and groups both direct representation and other legal assistance that enables them to:

Protect and enforce their rights; Use the civil justice system to oppose laws, regulations,

policies and practices that operate unfairly against them; Develop and implement laws, regulations, polices and

practices that improve their quality of life; and Effectively advocate their legal rights and interests on

their own behalf.

The Hallmarks of an Effective State-wide Civil Legal Services Delivery System

The system's effectiveness is dependent upon its commitment to assessing and responding to the most critical needs of clients as identified by low income clients and potential clients.

Those in poverty have an equal right to justice regardless of who they are, where they live, or the language they speak.

The justice system must be barrier free.

The Hallmarks of an Effective State-wide Civil Legal Services Delivery System

A legal services delivery system is effective only to the degree that positive results are achieved for clients, particularly in areas of high priority client need.

The right to justice must remain constant regardless of changing social, political, economic or other conditions in the country, state and communities where low income people live.

The Funding Challenge:Public-Private Support

IOLTA

(Interest on Lawyers Trust Accounts)

Private Support (Campaign for Equal Justice)

Federal

(Legal Services Corporation)

State

(Office of Civil Legal Aid)

The Justice Gap

Justice Gap

IOLTA

Federal

State

Private

Estimated Graph

Getting the Work Done: Partnerships for Advocacy & Education

Alliance Partners Public Interest Advocates & Private

Practitioners Coordination with Social Service

Agencies and Law Schools

Examples of Advocacy Partnerships

Education Equity project: The Washington State Constitution requires that the state provide an adequate education to every Washington child regardless of color, caste, race or gender. The Education Equity project is focusing on: 1) remediation services and other issues relating to ELL (English language learner) students; 2) rulemaking around alternatives to the WASL, remediation services for ELL students and the appeals process for the WASL; and 3) outreach to affected communities in the Yakima Valley.

Participants: Columbia Legal Services, Team Child, ACLU-WA, Northwest Justice Project, law professors & student interns

Working with Law Schools

Providing Public Interest-Focused Curriculum

Coordinating with Law School Clinical programs

Integrating Law Students into Public Interest Practice Venues

Helping to make public interest careers affordable for law graduates

The Relevance of Public Interest Law in Society Today

This is the duty of our generation as we enter the twenty-first century -- solidarity with the weak, the persecuted, the lonely, the sick, and those in despair. It is expressed by the desire to give a noble and humanizing meaning to a community in which all members will define themselves not by their own identity but by that of others.

Elie Wiesel, writer, professor, political activist, Nobel Laureate & Holocaust survivor

Some National (US) ResourcesAlliance for Justicehttp://www.afj.org/about-afj/American Bar Association: Center for Pro Bono & Standing Committee on Legal

Aid and Indigent Defendantshttp://www.abanet.org/legalservices/probono/ http://www.abanet.org/legalservices/sclaid/ Equal Justice Workshttp://www.equaljusticeworks.org/ Legal Services Corporationwww.lsc.orgManagement Information Exchangewww.m-i-e.orgNational Legal Aid & Defender Organizationwww.nlada.org Pro Bono Nethttp://www.probono.net/ The Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty Law http://www.povertylaw.org/

Washington State Resources

Advocate Resource Centerwww.advocateresourcecenter.org Alliance for Equal Justicehttp://allianceforequaljustice.org/ Equal Justice Coalitionhttp://www.ejc.org/ Washington LawHelpwww.washingtonlawhelp.org (for clients)Washington State Bar Association, Access to Justicewww.wsba.org/atj