2009 Access to Justice Board, from left to right: Hon. Elizabeth Fry, Bruce W. Reeves, Hon. Steven C. González, Gregory R. Dallaire, M. Wayne Blair, Millicent D. Newhouse, Elizabeth Schoedel, Daniel S. Gottlieb, Chair.
 
Fifteen years ago the Washington State Supreme Court created the Access to Justice Board. Prior to that, legal aid planning in the state was done informally, if at all. Starting in 1985, the Washington State Bar Association identified access to justice as the most important issue facing the Bar, culminating in the 1993 recommendation for the creation of the ATJ Board. The Court's order establishing the ATJ Board was issued on May 18, 1994.

 

The ATJ Board provides the forum for the coordination of efforts to address the difficult problems of access to justice in our state, and develops strategies to strengthen the delivery system and meet the needs of an ever-increasing number of low income individuals. The ATJ Board's mission, vision and values guide its planning efforts, articulated through its State Plan, and shape funding decisions, allowing for more efficient and effective use of resources. As a result, the legal aid delivery system has grown significantly over this 15-year period. Low income clients now receive a wide array of legal services all across the state.
 
During its existence, the ATJ Board's oversight and coordination has resulted in notable achievements, including:
 
·  Establishment of the Equal Justice Coalition, which has expanded state and federal legal aid funding;
·  Cooperation with the judicial branch to make awareness of civil legal aid a core judicial branch function;
·  Institution of the annual Access to Justice Conference, which builds a sense of community and commitment to the cause of civil equal justice;
·  Creation of the Alliance for Equal Justice as the unifying brand for all civil legal aid related activities in the state.
 
For more details on the ATJ Board's accomplishments, click here.
 
The ATJ Board has worked tirelessly to shepherd the civil legal aid delivery system through many ups and downs over the past 15 years. Much has been achieved that is worthy of commemoration. But our celebration won't be long, because there are many more challenges ahead.

 

 

                             
                              
                               
                                
          

 

The Access to Justice Conference, Justice: Hope and Help in Hard Times, brings together the legal community to discuss equal justice issues.  The conference will offer substantive workshops on predatory lending, limited English proficiency, right to counsel in housing cases, legal needs of veterans, economic migration, medical/legal partnerships and more.
 
The WSBA Bar Leaders Conference will include a Supreme Court and Board of Governors roundtable discussion, a continuation of the "Young Bar Leaders Summit" and a panel discussion about various trends that are changing how the legal profession operates.
 
Dr. Benjamin Danielson, Medical Director, Odessa Brown Children's Clinic, will address the conference at the Friday evening Welcoming Reception.  The conference plenary session, "Understanding the Origins and Underlying Factors Contributing to the Current Economic Crisis and the Role of Lawyers and the Legal System Moving Forward" will feature Professor john a. powell, Executive Director, Kirwan Institute for the Study of Race and Ethnicity at The Ohio State University.
 
If you did not receive a conference registration brochure, please download the brochure. You can keep current with ATJ Conference updates on the new ATJ Conference blog.