A Publication of the California Commission on Access to Justice

October 2014

In This Issue

A Message from the Chair

Modest Means Incubator Project

State Bar's Civil Justice Strategies Task Force Tackling Access Issues

Access Commission Comments on Language Access Plan

Welcome New Access Commissioners

Justice Within Grasp: The Campaign for Justice Reaches Farther Than Ever

National Pro Bono Celebration

A MESSAGE FROM THE CHAIR

During these final months of 2014, we can look back on some of the this year's Access Commission accomplishments and also look forward to continuing our efforts in 2015.

Among the articles in this issue of Justice, I'd like to highlight three that are especially timely: the Modest Means Incubator Project, the Civil Justice Strategies Task Force, and the Language Access in the Courts update.

One of the Commission's major efforts this year was the Modest Means Incubator Project designed to both help new attorneys enter the profession and improve access to justice for low and moderate income people. The outreach and informational phase of the project was started this year.

The Commission is continuing to participate in the Civil Justice Strategies Task Force as it seeks ways to overcome the barriers that Californians face in accessing our civil justice system.

The Access Commission has been a partner in the effort to provide language access in the courts for many years. We are continuing to participate in that effort and there have been significant developments.

As we welcome our new Access Commissioners, we also bid a fond farewell to those Commissioners who are leaving, thanking them for their contributions over years of service.

This is also my last year as Chair of the Commission and I'd like to express my gratitude for the opportunity to serve as Chair during a time that presented new challenges to our pursuit of access to justice. The Commission can be proud of our novel and groundbreaking efforts to meet this challenge and be encouraged by them as we continue our mission in 2015.

I'm confident that the Access Commission will continue its work to increase access to justice in California.

Ronald B. Robie, Court of Appeal, Third Appellate District

Modest Means Incubator Project

Earlier this year the Access Commission's Modest Means Incubator Project was launched. The project's ultimate goal is to enable the creation of law practice incubators that will provide legal services to underserved low and moderate income people while also providing training and entry into the legal profession for new attorneys facing a dearth of employment prospects.

First Regional Moderate Means Incubator Projects Meeting in San Francisco

The initial phase of the project was an outreach and informational effort which included in-person conferences in San Francisco, Los Angeles and Fresno County. There was strong interest in the conferences resulting in high attendance. Access Commissioners Justice Goodwin Liu and Judge Mark Juhas contributed many hours both in planning the project and delivering thoughtful and engaging remarks. Their energetic participation was an important part of making the in-person meetings a huge success.

Panelists and speakers from several organizations such as bar associations, law schools, legal services providers, and others shared their experiences and provided advice on creating and sustaining successful law practice incubators.

The project has moved to its next phase with the release of a Request for Proposals and Incubator Guide for entities planning to start modest means incubators. Grants soon will be awarded to the most promising applicants. The Incubator Guide already is serving as a resource across the country.

State Bar's Civil Justice Strategies Task Force Tackling Access Issues

Upon his 2013 election as President of the State Bar, Luis Rodriguez declared his intention to make access to justice issues a central focus of his term. Specifically his vision was the creation of a task force to analyze the reasons for the existing "justice gap", to evaluate the role of the legal profession in addressing the crisis, to seek the input of groups who have been working to expand access to justice to understand what efforts have worked and which have not been successful, to study creative solutions being considered in other states and other countries, and to develop an action plan with recommendations for steps that should be taken to fill the justice gap and achieve true "access to justice" in California.

With that vision in mind, and with the approval of the Board of Trustees, the Civil Justice Strategies Task Force ("CJSTF") was created, and has been working in earnest since March of 2014. The CJSTF is comprised of 26 members, judges, practitioners, legal aid, bar association officials and academics.

Throughout the course of the year, the task force has heard from experts from within California and nationwide on a variety of topics, including, but not limited to, the history of the legal services landscape, incubator programs, limited scope and modest means representation, the impact of student debt on students and new lawyers.

Speakers have included luminaries in the California legal community such as Justice Laurie Zelon and Justice Earl Johnson (Ret.) who have been focusing on access to justice issues for decades, as well as the Chief Judge of New York, Justice Jonathan Lippman who has been a trailblazer in New York on these important issues.

In addition to hearing testimony the task force has formed three subcommittees to focus on the following: what is being done now and is working and can be further expanded; what new ideas and programs should the State Bar consider; and, a student debt group to look at the issue of student debt and its impact on access issues. The subcommittees are preparing their reports and recommendations which will then be reviewed by the task force and submitted to the State Bar Board of Trustees for their review and possible implementation. All of the meetings are open to the public and additional information about the task force can be found at Civil Justice Strategies Task Force. The work of the task force is in its final stages and its reports are expected to be released in the first quarter of 2015.

Access Commission Comments

on Language Access Plan

California courts continue to struggle with expanding access for the many Californians who have limited English proficiency. The Access Commission studied this problem and made recommendations in its 2005 publication Language Barriers to Justice in California. The Judicial Council has formed a Joint Working Group that will develop a comprehensive, statewide, language access plan for the judiciary to be able to expand access for those who face language barriers. Hearings on this matter have already been held throughout California and a Draft Strategic Plan for Language Access in the California Courts has been published for comment.

The Access Commission submitted comments on the draft plan making the following points:

Language access is neither optional nor supplemental and is critical to access to justice. It should be a core service of the courts.
Additional resources from the Legislature are needed to implement the plan. Funding for the plan should be secured so that it can be fully implemented without any reduction to other court services.
Guidelines for the use of remote interpreting are important and there are multiple factors and circumstances to be considered such as efficient use of court resources and effective interpretation.
Staff training on language access policies and procedures is critical since court staff without knowledge of the potential problems could inadvertently act or fail to act in ways that could prejudice the interests of litigants.
Implementation of the Strategic Plan should be swift. The Commission commended the Joint Working Group's proposal that language access should be provided in all court matters by 2020 and recommended full implementation as soon as possible.
The courts should continue to communicate with the Limited English Language Proficiency community and advocates. Ongoing dialogue with those most impacted by the Strategic Plan will help ensure that the goals of the Strategic Plan continue to be met in the future.

Welcome New Access Commissioners and Thanks to Those Who Have Served

The Access Commission is comprised of twenty-six members from across the state and includes representatives from fifteen appointing entities. Recently, the State Bar reappointed commissioner Paul S. Marks to a second term, and appointed three new members to serve on the Commission. New commissioners Mana Barari, Paul S. Cohen, and Lisa R. Jaskol fill the positions vacated by outgoing commissioners Kresta Daly, Mary E. Kelly, and Dian M. Vorters.

The Commission would like to thank Kresta, Mary, and Dian for their dedicated years of service on the Commission and wishes them the best in their future endeavors. We also welcome our new members and look forward to working with them to help ensure access to justice for all.

	Mana Barari is an associate attorney at Sundeen Salinas & Pyle in Oakland. She has a deep and long-standing commitment to serving and representing vulnerable communities, particularly immigrant and lower income communities. Much of Mana's practical experience has involved working directly with marginalized communities, including working with a South Asian immigrant NGO to strategize and investigate the impact of discriminatory citizenship delays among community members, and working directly with refugees resettling in California through her work with the Organization for Refuge, Asylum and Migration. Also, in addition to volunteering at existing workers' rights clinics, she has spearheaded and led workers' rights trainings for local Middle Eastern community organizations.
	Paul S. Cohen is the Executive Director of Legal Aid of Marin. Paul has been working for social justice most of his adult life. Since becoming ED in early 2006, he has formed alliances with other legal and social service providers. Prior to joining Legal Aid of Marin, he fought primarily for the rights of poor and disenfranchised Latino immigrants through his work at La Raza Centro Legal. He has provided access to justice consistently over his twenty year career as a non-profit attorney, and has engaged in pro bono services from his first year in law school until becoming a public interest civil rights attorney. Paul was admitted in 1990. For him, "the greatest part of my job is knowing that I have been able to help improve a client's life."
	Lisa R. Jaskol is the Directing Attorney of the Appellate Law Program at Public Counsel Law Center in Los Angeles, a position she has held for the last eight years. Other experience includes three years as Directing Attorney of Public Counsel's Homelessness Prevention Law Project and fourteen years in private practice. Lisa is a State Bar certified appellate specialist and a member of the Appellate Advisory Committee to California's Judicial Council. Lisa was previously involved with the Access Commission as a member of the Federal Courts Committee and the Right to Counsel Committee. She is honored to participate in the Commission's work as an active member.

For more information about the Commission and for a listing of all of its members, click here.

Justice Within Grasp: The Campaign for Justice Reaches Farther Than Ever

In 2014 the Campaign for Justice has worked harder and smarter, finding new ways to help all Californians get a fair shot at achieving justice. While individual donations dipped slightly from last year's totals, cy pres and residual gifts helped make up the difference and kept the campaign going strong. Cy pres and residual gifts are an important source of support for access to justice, that can be used when undistributed funds are left over after a legal matter is resolved. Maybe some beneficiaries of a class action can't be located, or there's a specific bequest that can't be fulfilled. The Campaign has developed guides for attorneys and bench officers, explaining how and when these otherwise undistributable funds can be contributed to the Campaign for Justice on behalf of nearly 100 legal non-profits around California.