Recognizing Severe Shortage of Available Civil Legal Aid, Tennessee Supreme Court Creates Statewide Access to Justice Commission to Develop Comprehensive Plan
Legal Services E-lert

Date of E-Lert – 12/12/08

Bibliographic Info:
Author: Richard Locker
Source: Memphis Commercial Appeal (TN)
Date: December 6, 2008

Memphis Commercial Appeal reports:   "The Tennessee Supreme Court announced an initiative Friday [December 5, 2008] to improve access by low-income people to legal assistance in civil cases.  The effort includes a commission to develop a comprehensive plan to address the growing problem.  Unveiling the project to a large group of judges, lawyers and law group representatives at the State Capitol, Chief Justice Janice M. Holder of Memphis said it 'is no exaggeration to say that low-income Tennesseans have little hope of legal assistance when they encounter civil legal problems.  Only one in five income-eligible people will receive the legal help they need . . .' she said.  Currently in Tennessee, civil legal assistance for low-income people and the working poor is provided by four federally funded legal aid societies with a total of 75 lawyers -- including [LSC-funded] Memphis Area Legal Services -- the pro bono work of lawyers, and legal clinics at the four law schools in the state.  But the Tennessee Bar Association estimates there are over 1 million Tennesseans living in poverty eligible for civil litigation services.  The program unveiled Friday includes:  [1] Creation of a statewide Access to Justice Commission under the court's auspices that will study access to justice issues, develop a plan to address those issues and act to implement the plan.  [2] Hiring an access to justice coordinator at the state's administrative office of the courts, which has already been done.  [3] Redesigning the Tennessee Supreme Court's Web site to be more user-friendly and provide a single point of access to all information and services provided by the state judicial system.  [4] Educating the public about the problem . . . .  [5] Asking judges to help, both in educating the public and the legal community, and in offering ideas to increase legal assistance."

Tags: Feature Story, Funding, Issues in Legal Services Delivery, Legal Services Structure