1. Baseline: The Realities of Civil Legal Aid
Donny mackenzie

2. The Justice Gap
7 in 10 low-income Americans say a civil legal problem has significantly affected their lives
86% of the civil legal problems reported by low-income Americans last year received inadequate or no legal help
Low-income Americans seek professional legal help for only 20% of the civil legal problems they face.
More than 60 million Americans have family incomes below 125% of the Federal Poverty Level.
Just 1/10,000th of our $4.4 trillion federal budget is allocated for legal services for the poor
2017 Justice Gap Report, LSC

3. The Justice Gap
When confronted with a civil legal problem, 30% of low-income Americans give and seek no legal redress
Only 14% of the persons who reported having civil legal issues during the past year obtained legal help in addressing them.
2017 Justice Gap Report, LSC

4. LSC 2015 Annual Report
62.5/1.8M =
2.9%

5. 1/10,000
VS.
1/6

6. “I will never reject, from any consideration personal to myself, the cause of the defenseless or oppressed, or delay anyone’s cause for lucre or malice.”
Florida
Population
20,500,000
Poverty
4,175,270 LSC eligible
Lawyers to people
1:205
Legal Aid Lawyers
409
Ratio:
1: 8,802
Aspirations
20 hours or $350
Mandatory reporting
Standing committee
Circuit court committees
Reality
2.2%

7. The Justice Gap
Renters in Colorado who lacked legal representation were evicted 68% of the time from private housing. Meanwhile, those represented by counsel were evicted only 6% of the time.
80% of divorce cases in Florida have at least one self-represented litigant.
In many courts, 90% of parties in restraining order matters are unrepresented.

8. Barriers and challenges

9. Low-income Americans cannot afford $350/hour
Language and cultural barriers
Transitory populations
Fear (immigrants, migrant workers, domestic violence, children, elderly)
Ignorance of rights
Lack of societal infrastructure

10. Trends in Legal Aid Funding
National – 50 states

11. “The first duty of society is justice.”
- Alexander Hamilton

12. “Equal justice under law is not merely a caption on the facade of the Supreme Court building, it is perhaps the most inspiring ideal of our society. It is one of the ends for which our entire legal system exists...it is fundamental that justice should be the same, in substance and availability, without regard to economic status.”
- Lewis Powell, Jr.,
U.S. Supreme Court Justice

13. “Without equal access to the law, the system not only robs the poor of their only protection, but it places in the hands of their oppressors the most powerful and ruthless weapon ever created.”
- Reginald Heber Smith, Justice and the Poor (1919)

14. “There can be no equal justice where the kind of trial a man gets depends on the amount of money he has.”
- U.S. Supreme Court Justice Hugo Black (1964)

15. “But more than anything else, we have learned that legal assistance for the poor, when properly provided, is one of the most constructive ways to help them help themselves.”
- President Richard Nixon, 1974

16. What’s the alternative?

20. Where do we go from here? Collaboration Economies of scale Technology
Societal and political investment
Legislation and rule changes
Different delivery model
A unified voice

21. Justice Matters. For Everyone.
In 1981, the Foundation implemented the nation’s first Interest on Trust Accounts program (commonly referred to as IOTA). Today, all 50 states and the District of Columbia operate programs modeled on Florida's--26 of which are mandatory. Nationwide, the chief beneficiary of IOTA funds is free civil legal assistance for the poor.
We all contribute to IOTA, but what does it really do?
Let me explain how IOTA really works. Client trust deposits that are determined by the attorney or law firm to be too small an amount or expected to be held for too short a time are pooled into interest-bearing accounts in participating banks and savings and loan associations throughout the State. The interest generated from these accounts is sent to The Florida Bar Foundation to be used for charitable purposes under guidelines set by the Florida Supreme Court and the Internal Revenue Service.
With the advent of the global recession, the U.S. Federal Reserve instituted a monetary policy that has held the Federal funds rate near zero for several years. This has had a devastating impact on revenue from Florida’s Interest on Trust Accounts Program, the Foundation’s primary source of revenue.
The Foundation board allocates IOTA funds annually.
Let’s discuss what the funds support in more detail.
For Everyone.

22. Thank you

23. Lack of Funding: Florida
In 1981, the Foundation implemented the nation’s first Interest on Trust Accounts program (commonly referred to as IOTA). Today, all 50 states and the District of Columbia operate programs modeled on Florida's--26 of which are mandatory. Nationwide, the chief beneficiary of IOTA funds is free civil legal assistance for the poor.
We all contribute to IOTA, but what does it really do?
Let me explain how IOTA really works. Client trust deposits that are determined by the attorney or law firm to be too small an amount or expected to be held for too short a time are pooled into interest-bearing accounts in participating banks and savings and loan associations throughout the State. The interest generated from these accounts is sent to The Florida Bar Foundation to be used for charitable purposes under guidelines set by the Florida Supreme Court and the Internal Revenue Service.
With the advent of the global recession, the U.S. Federal Reserve instituted a monetary policy that has held the Federal funds rate near zero for several years. This has had a devastating impact on revenue from Florida’s Interest on Trust Accounts Program, the Foundation’s primary source of revenue.
The Foundation board allocates IOTA funds annually.
Let’s discuss what the funds support in more detail.