TEXAS ACCESS TO JUSTICE COMMISSION CHAIRMAN TESTIFIES AT SUPREME COURT OF TEXAS HEARING ON LEGAL AID
Statewide leaders and local legal aid providers give testimony on legal needs of the poor.

AUSTIN, Texas--The Supreme Court of Texas took testimony yesterday on the status of legal aid in Texas to determine what has been accomplished and what still needs to be done to ensure equal access to the justice system for the poor.

Texas ranks 42nd in the nation in terms of per capita funding for legal aid. Although legal aid organizations close about 100,000 cases per year, it is estimated that more than 80,000 Texans who qualify for legal aid are turned away due to a lack of resources.

Despite declining funding at both the state and federal levels, the legal aid community has mobilized, with the assistance of the Supreme Court of Texas, to diversify its funding sources. One example is the new out-of-state attorneys’ fee assessed to non-resident lawyers who are licensed in a state outside of Texas, but who participate in court proceedings in Texas. The fee, mandated by the 78th Texas Legislature, generated more than $300,000 for legal aid in the 2003-2004 fiscal year.

Jim Sales, chairman of the Texas Access to Justice Commission, set forth several initiatives the Commission plans to undertake to improve the legal aid delivery system in Texas, including the implementation of a statewide endowment campaign to raise $20 million over the next five years. Additionally, Sales discussed the development of a corporate strategy to involve in-house counsel in legal aid activities.

“Lawyers hold the keys to the courthouse,” Sales said in his testimony to the Court. “The issue of legal services is a societal problem, but as lawyers, we must take a leadership role.”

The Court has held this type of hearing only once before—in 2000. Based on that hearing, the Court created the Texas Access to Justice Commission to coordinate the delivery of legal services at a statewide level.

The Commission has developed several programs aimed at increasing the availability of legal aid. Such measures include the Student Loan Repayment Assistance Program, TexasLawHelp.org and, as a joint project with the Texas Equal Access to Justice Foundation, the Justice for All Texans public awareness campaign.

Several other organizations testified at the hearing, including Helaine Barnett, president of the Legal Services Corporation; Kelly Frels, president of the State Bar of Texas; and Jim Harrington, executive director of the Texas Civil Rights Project.

Each reiterated the point made by several attendees that legal aid has made great progress since the last Court hearing, but there is still a long way to go.

The Court will evaluate testimony made at the four-hour hearing and will make recommendations for the future of legal aid.

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