Justice System Partnership Increases Legal Aid for Low-Income Litigants

Because there’s no guarantee to counsel in civil cases, many low-income Californians cannot afford legal representation. In 2024, a State Bar of California study found that eight in 10 low-income Californians felt they did not receive sufficient legal help for civil legal problems that substantially impacted them. 

Partnering to Expand Access to Justice

To help increase access to the court system, the Judicial Council partners with many government and public agencies to support Californians navigating the justice system, particularly those that may face additional challenges. 

For example, the council has worked with the California Access to Justice Commission (CalATJ) over the commission’s 30-year history. One major effort has been the implementation of the Sargent Shriver Civil Counsel Act. Developed through the council’s Center for Families, Children, and the Courts, the Sargent Shriver Civil Counsel Act provides funding for pilot projects that offer legal representation and improved court services for low-income court users. The program’s attorneys and self-help services help clients facing eviction, seeking a restraining order, or navigating child custody or guardianship and conservatorship matters.

When the Sargent Shriver Civil Counsel Act was being drafted, CalATJ consulted with the council and met with former Chief Justice Ronald M. George to support its passage in the legislature. A member of CalATJ has since served on the Sargent Shriver Civil Counsel Act Implementation Committee, which makes recommendations for the selection of pilot projects.  

Since the program’s creation in 2012 to 2023, it’s served 53,000 clients and benefited nearly 150,000 household members.

“The Sargent Shriver Civil Counsel Program is one of the ways the judicial branch, California legal aid nonprofits, and local communities collaborate to narrow the justice gap,” said Executive Director of the California Access to Justice Commission Jack Londen.

History of CalATJ

In 1993, the State Bar of California appointed a working group to study how the legal needs of low-income Californians were being met. The group identified about five million Californians, who had almost two million legal issues, living at or below the poverty line in 1990. 

In 1996, CalATJ was created under the State Bar to pursue recommendations and funding options from the working group. Some of these recommendations included further developing alternative dispute resolution, improving small claims courts, or expanding court technology and interpreter services. Of its 21 members, CalATJ included both lawyers and non-lawyers to represent a wide range of experience. 

Today, CalATJ has 26 members and operates independently of the State Bar. All three branches of the state government are represented, with eight judges, two appellate justices, and California Supreme Court Associate Justice Kelli Evans currently representing the judicial branch. 

Learn more about CalATJ.