Civil Legal Needs of Low-Income
Households Left Unmet
By John Cary
The purpose of this column is to highlight the findings of the Civil Legal Needs Study. This study showed that the legal needs of most low-income households go unmet. Funding for legal aid
falls millions of dollars short of the need. Let me set the stage with some background information.
Diverse Models for Delivering Legal Aid
There are several models for providing civil legal services to low-income clients. One model is the staffed legal aid program--e.g., Northwest Justice Project, Columbia Legal Services, and Northwest Immigrant Rights Project-- that has attorneys on staff to serve clients. Another model is the volunteer attorney program--e.g., KCBA’s pro bono programs, Eastside Legal Assistance Program --that employs staff for administrative tasks but relies on volunteers to provide legal services. Yet another model is the specialty legal aid provider--e.g., Northwest Women’s Law Center, Unemployment Law Project--that focuses on specific subject areas.
Staffed legal aid is funded largely by state and federal grants and IOLTA proceeds. The expenses of pro bono and specialty programs are funded in large part by contributions but also in varying degrees by IOLTA.
Like much of Washington’s justice system, civil legal aid is complicated by diverse sources of funding and the variety of programs and program models. If there is to be adequate justice for low-income households across the state, all of the programs must coordinate their services and cooperate with each other on funding sources.
King County Lawyers are Strong Supporters of Legal Aid
King County lawyers have always been strong supporters of the various models of legal aid programs. In 1938 the Seattle Bar Association set up one of the country’s first legal aid bureaus and in 1939 raised money to put the bureau in its own office with its own director and secretary. Through various permutations the legal aid bureau evolved into KCBA’s Community Legal Services Department. CLS now employs ten full-time staff and four part-time work-study students. KCBA uses over $100,000 from its dues, CLE and lawyer referral income to cover part of the overhead of its pro bono programs. Its contribution amounts to about one-sixth of the total cost of the programs.
KCBA’s pro bono programs depend on the time and expertise of volunteers. Last year, 1,400 lawyers volunteered 23,000 hours to help 9,300 vulnerable clients. The value of these pro bono services was about $4.5 million. In addition, King County lawyers contributed $520,000 in cash and an additional $146,000 in pledges to the King County Bar Foundation. The foundation is KCBA’s fund-raising arm. Contributions to the foundation support KCBA’s pro bono programs and, in addition, provide scholarships for minority law students. (The foundation is the largest source of such scholarships in the state.)
King County lawyers also give strong support to staffed legal services. They led the effort to create the first legal services offices in Washington under the federal Model Cities Program in the 1960s. Those offices evolved into today’s Northwest Justice Project and Columbia Legal Services. Funding for staffed legal services has been under attack from the beginning and KCBA has consistently been in the front ranks of those advocating adequate funding.
King County lawyers are justifiably proud of their record of support for legal aid. They have been deeply committed and have given generously of their time and money. But more is needed.
Washington State Civil Legal Needs Study
The Task Force on Civil Equal Justice Funding, established by the state Supreme Court in 2001, commissioned a first-of-its-kind study of the legal needs of low-income households in Washington. The study conducted face-to-face and telephone interviews with 2,100 individuals and sought the advice of attorneys, judges and others in the access-to-justice community. In September 2003, the task force reported its findings.
140,000 low-income households (about 75 percent of the total) will recognize each year that they have a legal problem that requires some level of legal assistance.
Needed legal services range from low levels of assistance such as education about rights, self-help assistance, brief advice and legal service (about 75 percent of the total) to more extended service such as assistance with discrete tasks, formal representation, and legal proceedings (about 25 percent).
119,000 of these households (about 85 percent) will not receive the assistance of an attorney.
Women and children have more legal problems than the general population, especially problems involving family and domestic violence.
Housing disputes, family law, domestic violence, predatory consumer practices, wage claims and other employment problems, and administration of public benefits are the primary civil legal problems faced by low-income households.
Rural residents face the same problems as ur-ban residents but have less knowledge of available legal resources.
Federal funding for civil legal services has been flat since 1996 (adjusted for inflation) and is not expected to increase any time soon.IOLTA income has dropped by a third, from $6.2 million in 2001 to an estimated $4 million in 2004, due to historically low interest rates.
The Task Force estimated that an additional $28 million is needed to meet the civil legal needs of the low-income population. $18 million of this amount falls within categories for which state funding may be used.
Support Legislation to Increase Funding for Civil Legal Studies
Lawyers proclaim that “Justice for All” is a cornerstone of our democracy. But when a large number of people cannot access the justice system, they are effectively denied the benefits and protections the law brings to the rest of us. “Justice for All” becomes an empty slogan.
Practical concerns as well as principle support civil legal aid. Money spent on legal aid yields a return to society greater than the investment. Legal aid promotes fairness and justice, helps families in crisis return to safe, productive lives, and saves dollars for taxpayers by preempting a spiral of costly social problems.
King County lawyers are rightfully proud of their support for civil legal aid but more must be done.
Legislation addressed to civil legal needs will be proposed in the next legislative session. King County lawyers will again be asked come to the support of civil legal aid. Your support will be crucial. When the call comes, I urge you to be a vocal supporter of the legislation.
John Cary is KCBA president. He can be reached at caryj@att.net.
