Supreme Court Report - December 2024 by Texas Access to Justice Commission

Supreme Court Appointments

Harriet Miers, Chair** Locke Lord

Pablo Javier Almaguer Texas RioGrande Legal Aid

Thomas S. Leatherbury Vinson & Elkins LLP

Sandra L. Phillips* Toyota

Terry O. Tottenham** Norton Rose Fulbright US LLP

State Bar of Texas Appointments

Dr. Clen Burton* Blinn College District

Krisi Kastl Kastl Law, PC

Judge Penny A. Roberts* Tom Green County, Retired

Ex-Oﬃcio Members

James Sullivan

For the Oﬃce of the Governor

Texas Access to Justice Commission 2024 Membership

Roland K. Johnson, Vice-Chair** Harris, Finley & Bogle, PC

Judge Nicholas Chu Probate Court No. 2

David McAtee** AT&T

Hilary L. Preston* 55th Civil District Court

Gen. Alfred Valenzuela US Army, Retired

Justice Brett Busby Supreme Court of Texas Liaison

Judge Roy B. Ferguson** 394th Judicial District Court

Judge Latosha Lewis Payne 55th Civil District Court

Brad Toben** Baylor Law

Chair Emeritus

Harry M. Reasoner Vinson & Elkins LLP

* new appointment

** executive committee

Diana Gomez* Chamberlain Hrdlicka

Karen Nicholson Texas Legal Services Center

Marshall Sales Hennan Culp, PLLC

Hon. Judith Zaﬃrini

For the Oﬃce of the Lieutenant Governor

Lisa Hobbs Kuhn Hobbs PLLC

Rep. Gene Wu For the Speaker of the House

This Report contains a description of the main activities undertaken by the Texas Access to Justice Commission (also referred to as “the Commission”) for the period December 1, 2023, to November 30, 2024. As usual, the work of the Commission described in this Report is often done in conjunction with other entities and individuals as speciﬁed. Further, the Commission continues to work to bring together the stakeholders in the Texas access to justice community to further access to justice for the State’s most impoverished and challenged Texans. As part of the ongoing strategic planning efforts of the Commission, the Commission is examining its role in access to justice activities in our State to ensure as much as possible the Commission is fulﬁlling its role as the “umbrella” organization ordered by the Supreme Court when the Commission was created.

The Commission also attempts to coordinate with national organizations to learn from their work where appropriate and contribute to efforts encouraging increased access to justice in the Nation. The Commission now meets six times a year, four meetings conducted in person (with remote participation available if necessary) and two conducted remotely.

I. NEWEST EFFORTS

A. Strategic Planning

The Texas Access to Justice Commission has continued its strategic planning process, which began in late 2023 with the help of two highly regarded consultants, Bruce Bower and John Tull. Informed by a framework created by the National Center for State Courts (NCSC), Mr. Tull and Mr. Bower have been assisting the Texas Access to Justice Commission (1) to identify the most critical needs that the Commission with its partner institutions has the capacity to affect and (2) to develop strategies that the Commission can undertake to address those needs. Throughout this year, the Commission has been able to see the great value of having Mr. Tull and Mr. Bower involved in the planning process. Mr. Tull brings to his work for the Commission a great breadth of national experience as well as his experience of having assisted recently in the development of a strategic plan for the Access to Justice Foundation. Mr. Bower brings a lifetime of experience in access to justice on the ground in Texas, including serving as Deputy Director of the Texas Legal Services Center He has been honored for his contributions and has received the Emily C. Jones Lifetime Achievement Award.

In February, Mr. Tull and Mr. Bower produced a report setting out what they learned from an intensive fact-finding and research process which involved approximately 60 interviews and a survey of 292 individuals active in and familiar with access to justice activities and needs in Texas. After discussion with the full Commission, a new report was produced in March reflecting the Commission’s discussion and clarifying some of the analysis. Copies of these reports are attached as Exhibits A and B. These reports led to the formation of six working groups to address key initiatives identified by the strategic planners. Additionally, the following four themes were identified to be discussed within all the working groups: technology, law school partnerships, communications and outreach, and client involvement. Exhibit C contains a list of members for each group.

A brief overview of each of the working groups’ focus and leadership is provided below:

1. Increasing the availability of lawyers for representation: The “Increasing Lawyers” Working Group has 27 members, chaired by Pablo Javier Almaguer. Mr. Almaguer previously served as the ﬁrst legal aid lawyer to Chair the Board of the State Bar of Texas and serves currently as part of the senior management of Texas RioGrande Legal Aid. Three subgroups are discussing materials and working on the development of recommendations: (1) Incentives and Resources (co - chaired by Pablo Javier Almaguer and Katie Valle); (2) Permanent Presence / Creating a Culture of Pro Bono (co - chaired by Matias Eduardo Garcia and Judge Nicholas Chu); and (3) Low-Fee Law Firms & Unbundling (co - chaired by Marty Orozco and Marshall Sales).

2. Increasing access to courts for low-income litigants: The “Court Access” Working Group has 13 members and is chaired by Senior Judge (and former Commission interim Executive Director) the Honorable Lora Livingston and Tarrant County District Court Judge the Honorable Melody Wilkinson. Three subgroups have been formed for close study of topics deemed crucial by the Working Group: language access; access for persons with disabilities, including assistive technology; and remote proceedings. Each subgroup has been meeting regularly to work on providing written recommendations and doing research related to each topic under consideration by the Working Group.

3. Improving the viability of self-help remedies: The “Self-Help” Working Group has 14 members, chaired by Roland Johnson, a former President of the State Bar of Texas and current Treasurer of the Texas Access to Justice Foundation and Vice-Chair of the Commission. Three subgroups are currently having discussions and reviewing materials related to their subject matters for the creation of recommendations concerning: (1) selfhelp study, (2) court navigators, (3) judicial education, and (4) limited scope representation.

4. Addressing the challenge of rural access and “legal deserts”: The “Rural Access” Working Group has 17 members, chaired by the Honorable Roy Ferguson, a member of the Executive Committee of the Commission. The group has created a list of 16 initiatives for consideration and are having continued discussions of the initiatives

5. Increasing resources available to support access to justice efforts: The “Resources” Working Group has 14 members, chaired by Harriet Miers and the Commission’s Executive Committee. The group is examining a list of 13 initiatives for potential consideration by the Commission.

6. Addressing structural and operational needs of the Commission to improve its effectiveness: The “Structure and Operations” Working Group’s membership consists of the Commission’s Executive Committee. The Executive Committee consistently examines its roles and needed actions consistent with the Order of the Supreme Court, and it will be reviewing structure and operations issues for the Commission.

The Working Groups will aim to complete their recommendations by the end of the year for initial consideration by the Commission and then consideration by the Strategic Planning Committee in January 2025. Final consideration of a proposed Strategic Plan with the input from the Strategic Planning Committee by the Commission is scheduled for the February 2025 meeting of the Commission. One or more Working Groups may require additional time to present their

recommendations. The Commission leadership deems the quality of the strategic plan more important than employing rigid deadlines on the Working Groups, the Strategic Planning Committee, or the Commission itself as they work with broad topics to complete their important work to provide the most meaningful ﬁnal Strategic Plan

Drafts of the Strategic Plan will be produced by the consultants John Tull and Bruce Bower based on the feedback from the Commission and from the Strategic Planning Committee.

B. Access to Legal Services Working Group

When the Commission received the Supreme Court of Texas’s October 2022 request to examine existing court rules and propose modifications that would allow (1) qualified paraprofessionals to provide limited legal services to low-income Texans and (2) non-attorneys to have economic interests in entities that provide legal services to low-income Texans while preserving professional independence, the Commission immediately formed the Access to Legal Services Working Group and embarked on an in-depth, yearlong study of these issues. The working group solicited feedback from 132 civil justice stakeholders, including attorneys, judges, law school staff, paralegals, nonprofit leaders, and individuals from the State Bar of Texas. The group reviewed research, discussion, and recommendations from national organizations addressing regulatory reform, including the Conference of Chief Justices, the American Bar Association, and the Institute for the Advancement of the American Legal System. Throughout the process, over 175 individuals contributed to the process and there were 39 meetings over the course of eight months to examine the multitude of materials available, hear from experts, and determine how to respond to the Supreme Court’s request.

This thorough examination of the topics led to the Commission’s Final Report and Recommendations, which was provided to the Supreme Court of Texas. Commission representatives have been available since issuance of its report to meet with groups in and outside of Texas to explain the work done by the Commission to produce and to address the contents of the report.

The Supreme Court of Texas has since issued its August 6, 2024 Order “Preliminary Approval of Rules Governing Licensed Paraprofessionals and License Court-Access Assistants,” which provided a period for comment until November 1, 2024 and an expected date for the proposed rules of December 1, 2024. The Supreme Court of Texas then issued an Order on November 4, 2024 putting the effective date on hold, allowing more time for the Court to consider the comments to the proposed rules.

Below is a list of some of the speaking engagements and public comments in which the Commission and the Commission’s Supreme Court Liaison Justice Busby have participated this year:

• January 2024 TexasBar Blog Post “Texas Access to Justice Commission takes action on working group report,” Lowell Brown.

• July 2024 Local Bar Leaders Conference Presentation “Paraprofessionals & TAJF Moonshot Project,” Lisa Bowlin Hobbs, April Faith-Slaker, Sean Jackson (Disability Rights Texas)

• September 2024 Legal Luminaries Podcast, Justice Brett Busby, April Faith-Slaker, Dominga Titus

• September 2024 Multijurisdictional Limited License Roundtable Presentation “A Texas Case Study,” Justice Brett Busby, Lisa Bowlin Hobbs, Kennon L. Wooten

• October 2024 Texas Advanced Paralegals Seminar presentation “The Justice Gap: Proposal for Licensed Non-Lawyers to Provide Limited Legal Services,” Roland K. Johnson

• October 2024 Texas House Judiciary & Civil Jurisprudence Committee interim hearing: TAJC submitted a public comment in support of the proposed modiﬁcations allowing paraprofessionals to provide limited legal services. Exhibit D contains the Commission’s public comment to the Committee on Judiciary & Civil Jurisprudence of the Texas House.

• October 2024 Houston Paralegals Association Texas Paralegal Day Celebration Presentation: Sarah Mae Jennings, Dominga Titus.

Additionally, the Chair of the Commission and others have engaged with the media or groups around the country seeking information about the original proposals for the use of paraprofessionals, including meetings with the NYS Permanent Commission on Access to Justice’s Working Group Expanding Legal Roles.

C. Executive Committee Activities

The Executive Committee, together with Ms. Faith-Slaker, has continued its focus on the Commission’s staffing. Following the hire of a new Executive Director in 2023, the Commission created and ﬁlled a Deputy Executive Director Position. Sarah Mae Jennings currently holds this position. She comes to the Commission with an impressive background which includes policy and legislative work, in addition to direct representation and management of pro bono projects. Most recently, she worked as the Policy Director and interim Co -Executive Director at the Texas Fair Defense Project. She is also an Adjunct Professor at the University of Texas School of Law. Exhibit E contains Ms. Jennings’ resume.

In addition to receiving directions from the Supreme Court of Texas concerning the Commission’s role to enhance access to justice, the Executive Committee performs decision making as needed between Commission meetings, meets and confers with the Executive Director and her designated staff as necessary, and is involved in strategic planning, managing the budget process and working with committees on various assignments. It also, as appropriate, leads efforts to increase ﬁnancial resources for access to justice in Texas and pro bono service by Texas lawyers.

II. CAPACITY BUILDING EFFORTS

A. Law School Collaborations

The Law School Advisory Committee is chaired by Former Dean Bradley Toben of Baylor Law School and Thomas S. Leatherbury of Southern Methodist University Dedman School of Law.

Access to Justice Internship Program (“ATJIP”)

The Commission’s mission of increasing access to justice by allowing law students to intern with legal aid programs and serve low-income Texans is perpetuated by its year-round Access to Justice Internship program. The Access to Justice Internship Program (“ATJIP”) provides a $2,500 stipend to law students who commit to work 200-hours at a civil legal aid organization during either the fall or the spring semester, and a $5,000 stipend is provided to law students who participate during the summer and commit to working 400-hours with a civil legal aid program.

The 2024 ATJIP provided funding for 11 law students total: 2 in the Spring program, 7 in the summer program, and 2 in the Fall program. Details of the selected students and legal aid partners are included below. ATJIP interns must submit a 1000-word essay at the end of their internship. Exhibit F contains sample essays by Interns.

Pro Bono Spring Break

The Commission once again collaborated with the State Bar of Texas to offer its annual Pro Bono Spring Break program. This year the event was a hybrid event, which included in-person and virtual placement opportunities over a two -week period for which “spring break” was scheduled for the participating Texas law schools. One law school observed spring break March 4-8 (Baylor Law School), and nine law schools observed spring break March 11-15 (SMU Dedman School of Law, South Texas college of Law, St. Mary’s University School of Law, UNT Dallas College of Law, Texas A&M School of Law, Texas Tech University School of Law, Thurgood Marshall School of Law, University of Houston Law Center, University of Texas School of Law). The Commission’s strong partnership with legal aid organizations made it possible to offer over thirty different host program

locations across the state. Partner programs included:

Advocate Legal Senior Center

· American Gateways

Austin Bar Foundation Veteran’s Assistance Program

· Boat People SOS

· Catholic Charities-Dallas

· Dallas Volunteer Attorney Program

· Diocesan Migrant & Refugee Services

· Disability Rights Texas

· Earl Carl Institute for Legal and Social Policy, Inc.

· Human Rights Initiative of North Texas

· Houston Volunteer Lawyers

· Legal Aid of NorthWest Texas

· Lone Star Legal Aid

· San Antonio Legal Services Association

· St. Frances Cabrini Center for Immigrant Legal Assistance

· Texas Advocacy Project

· Texas Legal Services Center

· Texas RioGrande Legal Aid

Nearly all Texas law schools were represented by the 44 law students who were selected to participate. Below are selected student excerpts:

“In addition to improving and learning new practical legal skills, the Pro Bono Spring Break experience served as a poignant reminder of the importance of giving back to communities in need. By providing pro bono legal services to underserved populations, I not only contributed to the advancement of justice but also reaffirmed my commitment to pursuing a career path rooted in public interest law. The opportunity to support needy and underrepresented communities underscored the inherent value of legal advocacy in promoting social equity and fairness.”

Khadija Alibhai, Texas A&M School of Law

PBSB Placement with Advocate Legal Senior Center

“I enjoyed my week at Legal Aid of Northwest Texas in the family law division and hope to continue volunteering in the future! I gained a new perspective and understanding of both family law and my Dallas community…I have made plans to come back to Legal Aid of Northwest Texas this summer and cannot wait to continue learning from the amazing attorneys in this office and to grow, both as an advocate and a person.”

Matilda Gajardo, SMU Dedman School of Law

PBSB Placement with Legal Aid of NorthWest Texas

“Throughout my internship, I was continuously inspired by the dedication and passion of the attorneys and advocates at TAP. Their deep commitment to serving survivors of family violence and

human trafficking was evident in every aspect of their work. I am appreciative of their time taken in mentoring me to become a better law student and better future attorney…I am grateful for the opportunity to have been part of such a dedicated and impactful organization, and I am conﬁdent that the skills and experiences I gained during my internship will strengthen my skills as an advocate moving forward.”

Richard C. Caldwell, St. Mary’s University School of Law

PSPB Placement with Texas Advocacy Project

B. Legal Training Program

Twenty-nine legal aid attorneys representing twelve different legal aid organizations in ten different cities attended the bi-annual Texas Trial Academy at the University of Texas School of Law from June 8-11, 2024. The three- day intensive course highlights trial advocacy skills presented by faculty of the prestigious American College of Trial Lawyers. The training is beneﬁcial for attorneys that practice in any area of law.

Reagan Brown, of Norton Rose Fulbright in Houston, served as course director for the twelfth time and recruited twenty fellows from the American College of Trial Lawyers to volunteer as faculty. The fellows conducted demonstrations of trial skills in plenary sessions and served as instructors by observing and critiquing the Trial Academy “students” as they performed trial advocacy skills while completing all phases of the trial process using a hypothetical case ﬁle in small-group workshops.

In previous years, legal aid lawyers attending the training said it was one of the best litigation training sessions they had attended. This year was no different. Trial Academy students shared they particularly appreciated the feedback from the faculty and shared the critiques were valuable to improving their litigation skills.

C. Veterans Committee

The Veterans Committee is co - chaired by Terry Tottenham and retired Major General Alfred Valenzuela. Their efforts this year have been most impressive. Major General Valenzuela’s presentation as the featured speaker at the Gala this year was heralded as most meaningful and one of the best we have had.

The Committee has been working in cooperation with the Tunnel to Towers Foundation, which has renovated a hotel located in the Houston area to house homeless veterans, to establish legal clinics. These clinics, staffed by Norton Rose Fulbright Jaworski and Lone Star Legal Aid, are now being held regularly, providing on-site services to veterans residing at the facility.

The Committee has also begun laying the groundwork for the “Take One Campaign,” a campaign that will encourage lawyers to take one veteran’s case per year in that lawyer’s specialty area. This effort is being promoted by State Bar of Texas President Steve Benesh and President-Elect Santos

Vargas, as they speak to lawyers around Texas. This effort was also promoted by Mr. Tottenham at the 2024 Local Bar Leaders Conference. It is hoped that this Campaign will result in a statewide referral list to which veterans’ cases can be assigned on an as-needed basis.

III. POLICY INITIATIVES

A. Legislative Initiatives

Tom Leatherbury, Alistair Dawson, and the Honorable Ken Wise co - chair the Legislative Committee. This fall, the Legislative Committee co - chairs met with TAJC staff to begin to prepare for the upcoming 89th Regular Legislative Session in Texas and 2025 ABA Days in Washington, DC. Further meetings to discuss these activities will be set, including involvement from Commission Executive Committee members, the members of the Legislative Committee, and staff leadership. The Commission also works closely in these efforts with counsel and the State Bar to ensure compliance with applicable laws.

ABA Days 2024

Members of the Legislative Committee, other lawyers, and Judges participated in the 2024 ABA Days in Washington, hosted by the American Bar Association. Access to justice depends on adequate funding for the provision of legal services to those living in poverty. The ABA event allows state access to justice advocates the opportunity to meet with their Congressional representatives to discuss the role of the Federal government in the provision of legal services across the United States and in Texas. The meetings are meant to stress the importance of providing legal help when it is direly needed. Also important is the message of the paramount importance of the Legal Services Corporation (LSC) in supporting access to justice in Texas as the largest funder of civil legal services in the nation and a tremendous source of information. Currently the LSC funding is $560 million. LSC has also received $20 million of supplemental funding for disaster relief, responding to severe needs arising from hurricanes, ﬂooding, wildﬁres, and other extreme weather events. The report of TAJF in Appendix 1 provides details on LSC funding in Texas.

89th Regular Legislative Agenda

The Legislative Committee co - chairs worked with TAJC staff to develop a proposed legislative agenda for the 89th Regular Session in Texas. Four legislative proposals were submitted to the State Bar of Texas in advance of its August 28th deadline for review to ensure that the four proposals comply with McDonald and Keller. These proposals included two language access bills and two record clearing bills to close the access to justice gap in Texas. The State Bar of Texas approved all 4 proposals The Legislative Committee will soon review and discuss these proposals, including with the Executive Committee and ultimately the Commission

Interim Hearings

The State of Texas Judiciary & Civil Jurisprudence Committee had two interim hearings on September 17, 2024 and October 2, 2024. On October 2, 2024, the Committee reviewed proposed modiﬁcations allowing paraprofessionals to provide limited legal services. In advance of the hearing, the Texas Access to Justice Commission submitted a public comment in support of the proposed modiﬁcations allowing paraprofessionals to provide limited legal services. At the hearing, the committee heard invited testimony only (please note the recording is available online at https://www.house.texas.gov/videos/20829). On the subject of paraprofessionals, there were two panels: (1) Justice Brett Busby and Commissioner and Working Group Co -Chair Lisa Hobbs, and (2) David Fritsche (Texas Apartment Association) and Steve Bresnen.

The Commission this year is particularly excited about the fact that the Commission’s Ex Officio member from the Senate, the Honorable Judith Zaffirini, is now Dean of the Senate as mentioned above. Senator Zaffirini’s record of service is historic, and we are most fortunate to have her serving with us on the Commission.

IV. AWARDS AND RECOGNITION

One way to raise awareness of the legal needs of low-income Texans and to strengthen the justice system is by honoring those who contribute to these efforts. The Texas Access to Justice Commission plays a key role in identifying and recognizing individuals and organizations who advance the system of justice to better serve those who cannot afford legal services.

The Honorable Latosha Lewis Payne, Presiding Judge of the 55th Civil District Court in Houston, continues to lead this work as Chair of the Awards Committee for the Access to Justice Commission. Below, you will find descriptions of the recent honorees whose achievements are making a meaningful impact.

A. Corporate Counsel Pro Bono Award

The Corporate Counsel Pro Bono Award was created to recognize outstanding corporate counsel attorneys who provide pro bono legal services for low-income Texans and promote pro bono culture within the corporate framework. The award is open to any individual corporate counsel or in-house attorney in Texas and is presented annually at the State Bar Annual Meeting in June.

The 2024 ATJ Corporate Counsel Pro Bono award was presented to Dan Andrews. Dan Andrews, a litigation expert for USAA, has volunteered consistently with San Antonio Legal Services Association (“SALSA”). He has been a staple at the monthly Veterans Legal Advice Clinics SALSA hosts and regularly makes himself available for other clinics. Over the past several years, he has provided signiﬁcant legal assistance to over 30 clients. Additionally, he works hard to expand his areas of expertise, committing signiﬁcant time to learning the

areas of law that impact the clients most. His dedication to providing the highest level of legal service to SALSA clients is highly commendable.

B. Deborah G. Hankinson Award

The Deborah G. Hankinson Awards honor local bar organizations and young lawyer organizations who demonstrate a commitment to access to justice in their communities, and who raise ﬁnancial support for legal service providers on a local and statewide basis. There are three separate divisions for local bar associations: Division I is for those with a membership of 500 or fewer attorneys, Division II is for those with 501 – 1,999 members, and Division III is for those with 2,000 or more members. There is also an award for Young Lawyer affiliates. These awards are presented at the Local Bar Leaders Conference.

The 2024 Division I award, for the second year in a row, was given to the Jefferson County Bar Association (“JCBA”). The JCBA’s impact on its community is impressive. First and foremost, the JCBA provides services in ﬁve different counties: Jefferson, Hardin, Orange, Liberty, and Chambers. This represents a population of slightly over half a million people. The largest of their efforts is a dedicated Pro Bono program, which is exceedingly rare outside of densely populated urban areas. Their 41 volunteer attorneys closed 42 cases and opened an additional 41 in the last year. They operate veterans clinics throughout the year (having transitioned back to in-person clinics this past year), having helped 27 veterans with 143 hours of legal work.

The 2024 Division III award winner was the Dallas Bar Association, which is comprised of almost eleven thousand attorneys. The Dallas Bar Association operates several access to justice efforts. One of their biggest programs addressing access to justice issues is the Dallas Volunteer Attorney Program, a joint effort between the Dallas Bar Association and Legal Aid of NorthWest Texas. The Dallas Bar Association also operates a legal line to help match community members with qualiﬁed lawyers capable of handling their cases. The Dallas Bar Association has excelled at fundraising efforts for access to justice. The Equal Access to Justice Campaign brought in $1.4 million in contributions last year to fund the Dallas Volunteer Attorney Program’s operations. On top of that, they host numerous fundraisers each year to garner funds for various access to justice programs they operate.

No nominees were received for the Division II 2024 Hankinson Award or the Young Lawyer Affiliate 2024 Hankinson Award.

C. Law School Commitment to Service Award

The Law School Commitment to Service Award honors a Texas law school that has carried forward one of the ﬁnest traditions of the legal profession by actively educating its students about access to justice issues. This award is presented at the New Lawyer Induction Ceremony.

The 2024 recipient of the Law School Commitment to Service Award was St. Mary’s University School of Law. St. Mary’s is dedicated to fostering public service, advocating for the underserved and engaging students with communities facing poverty. By making new connections and strengthening old partnerships, its Pro Bono Program offered its law students nearly 75 additional pro bono opportunities during the 2023-2024 academic year compared to the prior year. Due to this growth, St. Mary’s law students recorded over 7,000 hours of substantive legal pro bono work, a 16% increase from the prior academic year. From its Day of Service orientation event to its service graduation requirement. St. Mary’s engages its students in hands on public service projects and cultivates a service- oriented culture among its students and staff. St. Mary’s has also adapted and innovated to meet changing needs of the community and student population; one example of such an innovation is its creation of a fully online evening program, which now also includes online offerings from its Pro Bono Program.

D. Law Student Pro Bono Award

The Law Student Pro Bono Award recognizes a student or recent graduate whose pro bono work has made a signiﬁcant impact on the community and reﬂects a passion for advocating on behalf of underserved populations, substantial performance of pro bono service, and involvement in public service- oriented law student groups. The award is presented at the New Lawyer Induction Ceremony.

The 2024 recipient of the Law Student Pro Bono Award was Emma Jane Hopper, from the University of Texas School of Law. Ms. Hopper has devoted considerable time to starting new projects and expanding existing ones for law students interested in careers in probate law. As a 1L, she launched a series of Wills Clinics, leading her to serve as a 2023-2024 Pro Bono Scholar. After interning at the Travis County Probate Court, she collaborated with the Court Visitor Office to launch a pro bono project where law student volunteers are appointed by the Court to complete ﬁve court visitor reports each semester. She also assumed responsibility for an existing supported decision-making project and expanded its work to cover broader alternatives to guardianship. Ms. Hopper founded the student organization “Probate, Guardianship Law, Estates, Trusts Society.”

E.

Emily C. Jones Lifetime Achievement Award

The Emily C. Jones Lifetime Achievement Award reﬂects the highest honor given for a career dedicated to supporting legal services for poor Texans. This award, named for the ﬁrst Executive Director of the Commission, recognizes an outstanding individual whose extraordinary spirit and demonstrated commitment to legal services has improved our society and inspired others.

The 2024 recipient of the Emily C. Jones Lifetime Achievement Award was Harry M. Reasoner. Mr. Reasoner graduated from the University of Texas School of Law in 1962,

clerked for luminaries like Judge Charles E. Clark and Justice Thurgood Marshall, and joined Vinson & Elkins in 1964, where he served until retiring in 2023. His achievements and awards are too many to name here so a few are named. He served as his ﬁrm’s managing partner from 1992 to 2001. He is a Distinguished Alumnus of both Rice University and the University of Texas. He is a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers. The American Lawyer gave him a Lifetime Achievement Award. His community service is vast also: he served on the Texas Access to Justice Commission for ﬁfteen years, twelve of those as its Chair, and spearheaded initiatives for underserved communities. During his tenure, the Commission developed Supreme-Court approved forms for pro se litigants, like the Transfer on Death Deed, ensuring Texans had access to the justice system and that wealth was correctly and affordably passed between generations.

F. Harry M. Reasoner Justice for All Award

The Harry M. Reasoner Justice for All Award is named after Texas legal icon and Texas Access to Justice Commission Chair Emeritus, Harry M. Reasoner. This award is given to a Texas attorney, in good standing, who offers exemplary pro bono legal services to lowincome Texans, demonstrates dedication and commitment to providing pro bono civil legal services for the poor, and promotes a culture of pro bono within the Bar. This award is presented at the annual Champions of Justice Gala Beneﬁting Veterans.

The 2024 recipient of the Harry M. Reasoner Justice for All Award was Elizabeth S. Pagel. Ms. Pagel has devoted her time and expertise to serving those in need throughout her career. With an extensive caseload of pro bono family law cases, she has contributed countless hours to help her neighbors access the justice system. Her involvement in the Houston Volunteer Lawyers' Equal Access to Justice Champions underscores her dedication to advancing legal services in Harris County. Ms. Pagel also helps encourage a service culture by motivating her fellow lawyers to provide pro bono services, sharing her expertise, and offering guidance. Recognizing the challenges in ﬁnding pro bono representation for family law cases, she volunteers as co-counsel on particularly challenging ones, providing much-needed support.

G. James B. Sales Boots on the Ground Award

The James B. Sales Boots on the Ground Award is given to a legal services program attorney or a pro bono attorney who is an exemplary advocate and gives selﬂessly of their time and talent to provide legal help to those with no voice. This award is presented annually at the Champions of Justice Gala Beneﬁting Veterans.

The 2024 recipient of the James B. Sales Boots on the Ground Award was John McDaniel Torti. Mr. Torti is a legal advocate with Lone Star Legal Aid who has consistently demonstrated a commitment to public service and dedication to securing justice for society's most vulnerable members. With an almost four- decade career, Mr. Torti has proven his proﬁciency in an array of legal issues, earning the esteem of his peers and community. Since joining Lone Star Legal Aid, Mr. Torti has been at the forefront of providing legal assistance in an array of practice areas covering nearly every aspect of the civil legal

system and taking on some of the most challenging cases brought to Lone Star Legal Aid. His expertise spans federal and state courts, administrative proceedings, and community outreach initiatives, reﬂecting a unique blend of legal skills and advocacy. Mr. Torti’s contributions go beyond the courtroom. He mentors younger attorneys and engages in community outreach efforts, offering guidance on complex procedural matters or supporting colleagues in need. His generosity and leadership will set an example for generations in the legal aid community.

H. Star of Justice Award

The Star of Justice Award recognizes individuals who have done exceptional work on behalf of legal services to the poor and who improve access to justice for all Texans. Recipients of the award have gone above and beyond the call of duty in their work and have advanced the access to justice movement.

The 2024 recipient of the Star of Justice Award was Senator Judith Zaffirini. Senator Zaffirini's upbringing in Laredo exposed her to marginalized populations and shaped her commitment to social justice, propelling her into a civil service career. Elected in 1987 to represent District 21, she was the ﬁrst Hispanic female elected to that chamber and is now the highest-ranking member and Dean of the Texas Senate. She is the ﬁrst woman to hold that position. Her perfect voting and attendance records highlight her commitment to public service. Her achievements and awards are too many to name so a few are named here. She is an award-winning Communication Specialist. She holds B.S., M.A., and PhD degrees from the University of Texas at Austin. She also has been named as a Distinguished Alumna of the University of Texas. She also is an Outstanding Alumna of the Moody College of Communications. The Webb County Courthouse bears her name.

Senator Zaffirini's appointment to the Texas Access to Justice Commission in 2017 underscored her dedication to improving Texans’ lives. Advocating for initiatives to bridge the justice gap, she has supported the expansion of legal aid services statewide. She sponsored or co -sponsored bills to help Texans access the courts, including bills that safeguarded crime victims’ compensation eligibility and defrayed court costs associated with interpreters. Beyond her legislative endeavors, Senator Zaffirini has engaged in community outreach and educational initiatives, raising awareness about access to justice. She has participated in forums, workshops, and conferences that address inherent barriers to legal assistance and empower individuals to assert their rights. Her legacy as an advocate for access to justice in Texas continues to inspire meaningful change across the state.

I. The Chief Justice Nathan L. Hecht Access to Justice Leadership Award

The Chief Justice Nathan L. Hecht Access to Justice Leadership Award is given to honor an individual who has demonstrated through personal characteristics of perseverance, fortitude, compassion, and courage, the ability to convince others of the necessity of an American justice system that affords meaningful access to justice for all, from the wealthy

to the poorest; through effective and tireless efforts, the ability to draw others to support greater meaningful access to justice for all and to champion themselves the cause of access to justice, as a righteous cause; and through skillful and reasoned advocacy, the ability to increase resources dedicated to ensuring access to the justice system and progress in the removal of barriers to all Americans achieving access to our justice system when needed.

The inaugural award was presented to Nathan L. Hecht, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Texas. Chief Justice Hecht has been elected to the Court seven times, ﬁrst in 1988 and then in 2014 and 2020 as Chief Justice. He is the longest-serving member of the Court in Texas history and the longest-tenured Texas judge in active service. He previously served on the Texas Court of Appeals and the District Court in Dallas. Before taking the bench, he was a partner in the law ﬁrm of Locke Purnell Boren Laney & Neely in Dallas; a law clerk for Roger Robb, U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, District of Columbia Circuit; and a Lieutenant in the U.S. Navy Reserve Judge Advocate General Corps. He is a past president of the national Conference of Chief Justices, serving twice in that position; a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences; a Life Member of the American Law Institute, serving as a member of its Board; and a member of the Texas Philosophical Society.

Throughout his career, he has made his exemplary mark on access to justice, not only in Texas but nationally. He has been a leader of the Supreme Court’s efforts to ensure that the poor have basic legal services. He has diligently worked to secure congressional and legislative support for legal aid to low-income American, for example, for low-income veterans and their families, victims of domestic abuse, families in jeopardy of losing their homes.

V. DEVELOPMENT AND COMMUNICATIONS

A. Development and Fundraising Efforts

Justice for All Campaign

The Justice for All Campaign encourages attorneys to enhance access to justice through ﬁnancial contributions beyond their annual dues. Each year, lawyers are asked to voluntarily add a contribution to their annual dues statement, with a suggested amount of $150 or any other amount of their choosing. Exhibits G and H are copies of solicitation letters. From September 1, 2023 to August 31, 2024, the Justice for All Campaign raised $1,580,354.91. An end-of-year appeal soliciting further donations is scheduled before the close of 2024.

Pro Bono Contributions

The Commission considers it important to measure and track trends in pro bono legal services provided by Texas attorneys. The Commission therefore supports a biennial survey of pro bono services, conducted by the State Bar of Texas. The most recent survey, distributed in 2023, showed that Texas lawyers provided pro bono legal services valued at over $21 million throughout the year. This survey also asked attorneys to report on their ﬁnancial contributions, ﬁnding that 8% of the surveyed attorneys indicated that they had directly contributed to legal services for the poor in the past year, with an average amount of $1,048.

Champions of Justice Society

The Commission established the Champions of Justice Society in 2012 for individuals who wish to show their strong support for access to justice in Texas. Membership levels are as follows:

Guardian $1,000 (per year for ﬁve years)

Hero $ 1,000

Defender $ 500-$999

Advocate $ 250-$499

Between June 1, 2023 and October 1, 2024, there were 1,121 Society members. Champion of Justice Society members are recognized yearly at the ATJ Reception held during the State Bar of Texas Annual Meeting. This year, Justice Brett Busby congratulated all the Champion of Justice Society members who were in attendance at the reception in Dallas. The reception was well attended, and Justice Busby was joined by his colleagues on the Texas Supreme Court at the celebration. See Exhibit I for the list of Guardian, Hero and Defender Society members.

Champions of Justice Gala Beneﬁtting Veterans

The Commission honored veterans throughout the state during its annual gala on Thursday, April 25, 2024 at the AT&T Center in Austin, TX. The event raised $567,600, the proceeds of which will be distributed by the Texas Access to Justice Foundation to legal aid programs providing civil legal services to low-income Texas Veterans.

Harry M. Reasoner, Chair Emeritus of the Texas Access to Justice Commission, chaired the Gala Committee. Gala co - chairs included prominent Texas attorneys who donated their time and talents and the support of their organizations for the 2024 event: Van H. Beckwith, Halliburton; Jerry Clements, Locke Lord LLP; Erin Nealy Cox, Kirkland & Ellis, LLP; Monica Karuturi, CenterPoint Energy, Inc.; David R. McAtee II, AT&T Inc.; Ross R. Moody, The Moody Foundation; Stephen C. Mount, H-E-B; Hilary L. Preston, Vinson & Elkins LLP; Sandra Phillips Rogers, Toyota; Hon. Dale Wainwright, Greenberg Traurig, LLP; and Carlos M. Zaffirini, Jr., Audrey & Carlos Zaffirini, Jr. Family Foundation.

Texas Supreme Court Justice Brett Busby, the Court’s liaison to the Texas Access to Justice Commission, served as the master of ceremonies for the evening.

This year’s “Macey and Harry Reasoner Access to Justice Lecture Series” featured Major General Alfred Valenzuela, who served in the United States Army for 33 years. The General is highly decorated for Heroism and Valor and holds the two highest peacetime awards: the Distinguished Defense and Army Service medals. He remains active in retirement, having created a Charter Leadership Academy on the West Side of San Antonio and having served as the Interim President/CEO for the San Antonio Housing Authority and Executive Director of the Bexar County Housing Authority. He spoke about the critical importance of access to justice for veterans.

Justice Busby presented the 2024 James B. Sales Boots on the Ground Award to John McDaniel Torti; the 2024 Harry M. Reasoner Justice for All Award to Elizabeth S. Pagel; the 2024 Emily C. Jones Lifetime Achievement Award to Harry M. Reasoner; and the 2024 Star of Justice Award to Senator Judith Zaffirini.

Justice Busby presented the 2024 James B. Sales Boots on the Ground Award, the 2024 Harry M. Reasoner Justice for All Award, and the 2024 Emily C. Jones Lifetime Achievement Award. Please see Section IV of this report for details regarding the awardees.

Additionally, Interim Director of the Commission, the Honorable Lora Livingston, received a Proclamation from the Supreme Court of Texas recognizing her exemplary service as Interim Director and her remarkable contributions to her profession and community.

B. Communications and Networking

The Commission has broadened and refined its communication and outreach efforts with the public and the national access-to-justice community, aiming to educate and gain insights on access-to-justice issues in Texas. Part of the effort to expand its communications involved the hiring in 2024 of a project coordinator with a background in social media and public relations.

The Commission’s website (www.texasatj.org) remains its primary digital outreach platform, with the news page providing updates on Commission activities, including meetings and, recently, the work of the Working Group. The site also features essential information on topics like policy initiatives, resources for pro se litigants, access to the Texas Transfer toolkit and other standardized forms, and ways to support access to justice efforts in Texas. Additionally, the website offers phone and email contacts for inquiries and assistance from Commission staff.

The Commission maintains an active presence on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter/X, and Instagram. In 2023, it used targeted social media campaigns to raise awareness of legislative efforts, highlight programs and events on its annual calendar, and recognize award recipients. Posts about the Access to Justice Internship Program and the passage of SB380 were particularly well-received. The Commission’s social media following grew across all platforms in 2024.

Finally, Commission staff participate in various national conferences and meetings, including the National Legal Aid and Defender Association Annual Conference, the Equal Justice Conference, the Self Represented Litigants Network Conference, and the American Bar Association National Meeting of State Access to Justice Commission Chairs. Additionally, they join a monthly Access to

Justice Commission staff call hosted by the American Bar Association as well as regular calls with the Department of Justice’s Office for Access to Justice. These gatherings provide valuable opportunities for the Commission to learn from access-to -justice initiatives in other jurisdictions and to share its work with the national community.

VI. CONCLUSION

The Commission is excited to continue working on many of the above projects and explore new initiatives to serve low-income Texans. These projects are all possible through the collaboration and partnership of access to justice stakeholders throughout the State who have contributed to the success of the above projects by attending meetings, participating in conversations, and serving on working groups. These collaborators include, but are not limited to, representatives from:

· The Supreme Court of Texas

· The State Bar of Texas

The Access to Justice Foundation

· The Office of Court Administration

· The Texas Bar Foundation

· Texas Legal Services Center

· Legal Aid of NorthWest Texas

· Lone Star Legal Aid

· Texas RioGrande Legal Aid

The Commission expresses its gratitude for the constant support and assistance it receives from its Liaison, Justice Brett Busby.

The Commission is also particularly grateful for the invaluable leadership of Chief Justice Nathan L. Hecht, whose signiﬁcant contributions to access to justice are felt not only in Texas, but across the nation. His vision and commitment to these issues have left an indelible mark on the access to justice community, and he has inspired generations of civil justice advocates to step up and help close the justice gap. As his service on the Court comes to a close at the end of this year, we note that the access to justice community is better, stronger, and more effective because of his leadership. He has been a role model and an inspiration to us all, we are deeply indebted to him, and we thank him from the bottom of our hearts for all he has done.

TEXAS ACCESS TO JUSTICE COMMISSION

STRATEGIC PLANNING

FACT-FINDING AND RESEARCH REPORT AND RECOMMENDATIONS

FEBRUARY 22, 2024

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The goal of the Texas Access to Justice Commission’s strategic planning is to achieve the highest level of access to justice for low-income individuals and families in Texas. To help with the strategic planning process, the Commission engaged the help of two consultants, John Tull and Bruce Bower, who are the authors of this report.

As a first step, the Commission undertook a fact-finding and research effort to identify elements of the access to justice system that it can improve on its own or with its partners. This report reflects input from 292 responses to a survey conducted of individuals active in and familiar with access to justice activities and needs in Texas. It also reflects insights gained from the interview by the consultants of 59 very knowledgeable individuals regarding the Commission and access to justice issues in the state.

The Texas Supreme Court created the Commission in 2001, directing it to be “the umbrella organization for all efforts to expand access to justice” in the state and to serve “as a coordinator to assist … in developing strategic alliances to effectively move ideas into action.” The Commission has a history of successful endeavors since its creation by the Texas Supreme Court in 2001. Despite those accomplishments, however, the Commission has not achieved being the umbrella organization for access to justice efforts in Texas. The Commission is not as widely known as might be expected in the access to justice landscape in Texas, nor is it viewed by some as fully familiar with the work and the challenges of the legal aid organizations that form the core of service to low-income clients.

The Commission’s role more closely aligns with it being the “coordinator … [of] strategic alliances to move ideas into action.” The Access to Justice Commission works most with the Texas Access to Justice Foundation, the State Bar of Texas, and the Texas Legal Services Center in considering access to justice issues. It receives strong support from the Supreme Court of Texas. The Texas Bar Foundation also invests in access to justice initiatives and programs.

The Commission has strong financial support from the leadership of the State Bar and is housed in the Bar with the Legal Access Department. It could form stronger ties with components of the Bar including the Poverty Law Section, the Computer Technology Section, and the Young Lawyers Association. Its relationship with the Family Law

section has been strained over the years but has improved recently. Some initiatives suggested in the interviews may form a basis for closer ties.

This planning process offers an opportunity for the Commission to strengthen its ties with the Foundation and to clarify the most beneficial role for each. They have a history of successful partnership efforts in the past. This planning process also offers an opportunity and a challenge for the Commission to forge new partnerships with other interests that have not heretofore been widely active in access to justice efforts in Texas.

This strategic planning process affords an opportunity for the Commission to capitalize on its operational strengths and to address some of its challenges that are discussed in this report.

Potential Strategic Initiatives

The report presents nine broad strategic initiatives that it may be appropriate for the Commission to tackle through this strategic planning process. The report does not recommend one initiative over another but does offer insights gained from the survey and interviews. The report leaves to a later stage in the planning process the development of specific strategies to accomplish the initiatives that the Commission decides to pursue.

Increased availability of lawyers for representation. The report notes that both the survey and the interviews raised the inherent limitations of self-help remedies and urges strategies that would increase the availability of lawyers for representation. That is consistent with the Supreme Court Order creating the Commission that explicitly favored efforts to increase the availability of lawyers for full representation over self-help. The report discusses several strategies to accomplish that:

• Increased pro bono recruitment, including through large law firms, corporate counsel departments, the Family Law Section, and other Sections of the State Bar;

• Fee shifting in family law matters pursuant to relevant Texas statutes;

• Limited right to counsel initiatives, where possible; and

• Support for low-fee law firms and increased use of discrete task or unbundled representation.

Fundraising. Several fundraising initiatives are discussed, built around the compelling update to the Justice Gap to the effect that 92% of low-income persons and families who need legal help cannot get it. The report suggests:

• Engaging large corporations, wealthy individuals, and the plaintiffs’ bar;

• Undertaking a concerted campaign to increase bar dues check offs and/or revise its structure;

• Working to increase cy pres awards for funding legal aid services; and

• Tapping into unused county law library funds.

Communication and outreach. The report notes the recurring theme of the need for increased and improved communication on the part of the Commission. It cites three areas of potential focus:

• Broad communication about the role and activities of the Commission;

• Improved communication between the Commission and legal service providers; and

• Outreach to other institutions and interests to bring them into the access to justice fold in Texas, including

o outreach to interests already aligned with access to justice efforts in the state, and

o outreach to interests not yet aligned with access to justice efforts, to enlist their engagement.

Access to the courts. Several dimensions of the need to improve access to the courts are highlighted in the report:

• In concert with the Office of Court Administration, continuation of the Commission’s efforts to address language access needs, including access for deaf persons;

• Further support for the continuation and expansion of remote proceedings, the use of which has reportedly fallen off considerably to the detriment of low-income litigants in both rural and urban areas, if they lack childcare and transportation, and are unable to take time off work; and

• Support for development of plain language in court documents.

Rural access and “legal deserts.” The nationwide and Texas crisis resulting from the lack of lawyers in many rural areas was highlighted by many persons interviewed and ranked in the survey as the fourth most important issue for the Commission to address. Several possible responses are discussed in the report:

• The role of law schools in supporting and encouraging graduates to work in rural areas;

• The use of technology to allow legal aid programs as well as urban and semiurban private law firms to expand their practice to rural areas;

• The use of medical-legal partnerships in rural public health facilities;

• Widened use of remote proceedings for litigants in rural areas; and

• Support for uniform procedures and forms.

Law schools. Law school deans and clinical professors who were interviewed expressed strong support for the Commission playing a convening and coordinating role among the 10 Texas law schools. The report focuses on several areas of potential engagement by the Commission:

• Law school pro bono, which is heralded as a significant means to instill in law students an appreciation for a lawyer’s responsibility for access to justice;

• Law school clinics, which are viewed by some as the most effective law school teaching tool, but also the most expensive;

• Internships and externships, which have potential in the placement of law students in rural areas, as well as other public-interest activities;

• Convening and coordinating an effort to develop an access to justice curriculum for use by all ten law schools to encourage knowledge of and commitment to access to justice by law graduates.

Client involvement. There was a strong interest among clients and client leaders interviewed in reviving a formerly strong tradition of client trainings and organizational meetings to support:

• Effective participation of client board members on providers’ boards of directors;

• Effective engagement of client councils in the support of programs; and

• Possible development of a clients’ Bill of Rights.

Technology. Technology is discussed in the report as a potential focus for the Commission’s planning efforts. It involved two separate issues:

• Support for technology for use by legal aid providers to support their work and to reach out to clients, including consideration of the potential uses and risks of AI;

• Focus on the challenge of the digital divide and how to reach out to persons who are unable to engage in computer-based access strategies, because of a lack of broadband, lack of computers and intimidation by technology, particularly among older persons.

Structural and operational issues. The report notes that many of the structural and operational issues discussed at its outset may be addressed naturally in the conduct of the strategic planning effort. It notes, however, that there may be some value in directly tackling some of the issues related to the mission, vision and operation of the Commission, perhaps in a retreat. Among the issues discussed are:

• A possible renewal and updating of the Supreme Court’s order;

• The financial eligibility level of the target population for the Commission’s work;

• The makeup of the Commission and a possible committee structure;

• Relationship with the State Bar of Texas; and

• Orientation of new members.

BACKGROUND AND INTRODUCTION

Objectives of the planning

The Texas Access to Justice Commission has undertaken a strategic planning process, the overarching goal of which is to further the highest level of access to justice achievable for low-income individuals and families in Texas. The planning approach is designed to identify the most critical needs that the Commission with its partner institutions has the capacity to affect and to develop strategies that the Commission can undertake to address those needs.

Fact-finding and research

The first stage of the process has been to identify the components of an access to justice system that knowledgeable individuals identify as needing attention and that are susceptible to strategies by the Commission to address on its own or with its partners. The fact-finding and research have involved two steps. First, participants in the access to justice effort in Texas were surveyed to solicit their views regarding which elements of a fully effective access to justice system are important for the Commission to tackle. 1 There were 291 responses to the survey, which was distributed to state and local bar leaders, judges, staff of legal aid programs, law schools, social service providers, public defenders, client leaders and leaders of key access to justice institutions in Texas.

Following completion of the survey, the consultants interviewed 59 persons who are familiar with access to justice issues in Texas and who would have a perspective regarding potential strategic planning initiatives undertaken by the Commission.

Structure of the report

This report begins with a brief review of successful initiatives of the Commission over the years to offer perspective on areas where it has excelled in the past. It then addresses structural and organic questions that were identified in the course of fact-finding and research. It examines the responsibilities assigned to the Commission by the Texas Supreme Court and discusses areas where fact-finding and research indicate that the Commission has succeeded and areas where it has fallen short in accomplishing the Court’s charge. It considers other organizational strengths and challenges that might be drawn on or corrected in the strategic planning process.

1 The components were drawn from the Justice for All criteria developed by the National Center for State Courts to define a fully functioning statewide access to justice system. JFA Guidance Materials | Justice for All (ncsc.org)

The report then discusses potential broad areas of focus for strategic planning and offers insights suggested by interviewees and comments to the survey. It does not suggest a full strategic approach to any of the possible initiatives since those will be developed in the next stage of the planning process. It is anticipated that the Strategic Planning Committee will review those initiatives in more depth and will recommend to the full Commission those it should undertake in the planning process.

SUCCESSFUL UNDERTAKINGS OF THE COMMISSION

Since its inception, the Texas Access to Justice Commission has successfully undertaken many initiatives that have furthered access to justice in the state.

• Most recently in 2023, at the request of the Supreme Court, the Commission developed and approved recommendations for licensed paralegals to provide representation in limited areas of practice and considered the appropriate scope of practice for paralegals in family law, housing and evictions, probate and estates, and consumer debt. It also developed, though did not approve a recommendation to the Supreme Court to allow non-attorneys to have an economic interest in entities that provide legal services to low-income Texans.

• Recently, the Commission engaged in filing fairness project in concert with Stanford Law School. The project was designed to increase access to justice by simplifying court processes and enlisting the use of technology.

• The Commission has long championed the rights of veterans through a Veterans Committee that is composed of members who are very experienced and knowledgeable about veterans issues.

• The Commission has also, in concert with the staff of the State Bar’s Legal Access Department, supported pro bono. It offers the Corporate Counsel Pro Bono Award, sponsors the Pro Bono Spring Break and recently sponsored a virtual pro bono summit.

• The Commission has promoted law school collaborations through the Access to Justice Internship Program and Pro Bono Spring Break.

• The Commission has supported the development of forms in numerous aspects of family law, such as divorce, custody, visitation, child support, paternity, legal separation, and authorization agreements for nonparent adult caregivers. Forms have also been developed in areas of landlord-tenant, probate, and protective orders. The Commission developed a “Texas Transfer Toolkit” for transferring a homestead upon death without having to file probate.

• The Commission has worked to increase federal funding for legal aid services to lowincome Texans through participation in ABA Days and pursued efforts to increase

state level funding for basic civil legal services. It sponsors the Champions of Justice Gala which raises significant funds for legal aid services for low-income Texas Veterans and supports the Champions of Justice Society as well as an annual Justice for All Campaign.

• The Commission participated, with the Texas Access to Justice Foundation, in bulk purchasing of basic hardware and software for all legal aid programs and has supported various technology tools over the years. 2

• The Commission studied and made recommendations regarding remote hearings, language access, and provisions for individuals unable to pay court costs.

• The Commission has honored support for access to justice through a series of awards 3

• The Commission, in partnership with the American College of Trial Lawyers and the National Institute for Trial Advocacy, sponsors a training academy each year for attorneys working in legal aid offices or other non-profit legal services organizations.

• The Legal Access Department with which it shares staff organizes the annual Poverty Law Conference, which draws legal aid advocates from across the state.

• The Commission successfully supported legislation in 2023 that exempts parties from having to pay the costs of an interpreter if they file a Rule 145 statement of inability to pay court costs.

• Over the years, Texas has, unfortunately, been the target of numerous natural disasters, including successive hurricanes, fires and flooding. Legal aid providers, supported by the Commission, the Foundation and the State Bar of Texas have been exemplary in cooperatively addressing the legal and other support needs of victims of those tragedies.

STRUCTURAL AND OPERATIONAL QUESTIONS

Supreme Court Expectations of the Commission

Leadership role

The Commission was created in 2001 following a statewide planning process that began in 1999 and involved the Supreme Court, the State Bar of Texas, the Texas Equal Access

2 See, for example, Resources Archive - Texas ATJ Tech Center

3 The Corporate Counsel Pro Bono Award, the Deborah G. Hankinson Award for local bar associations, the Law School Commitment to Service Award, the Law Student Pro Bono Award, the Emily C. Jones Lifetime Achievement award, the Harry Reasoner Justice for All Award, and the James B. Sales Boots on the Ground Award.

to Justice Foundation, the Texas Bar Foundation and the state’s legal aid providers. The Court’s order laid out a significant and central role for the Commission in furthering access to justice in Texas. It called for the Commission to be “the umbrella organization for all efforts to expand access to justice …in Texas.” The order contemplates “leadership that is accepted by the various stakeholder organizations committed to achieving full access, and empowered to take action….”

The order also clearly contemplated that the Commission would be action oriented and would work in partnership with others to serve “…as a coordinator to assist… in developing strategic alliances to effectively move ideas into action.” Further, the Court lamented the “inadequate funding and well-intentioned but uncoordinated efforts” that thwart “a fully integrated civil legal-services delivery.”

The fact-finding and research survey and interviews were not designed to evaluate the Commission. Nevertheless, they do provide some insight into the degree to which the Commission has achieved the vision set out for it by the Supreme Court in 2001. While the Commission has had notable successes and is generally well thought of, it is not viewed as “the umbrella organization for all efforts to expand access to justice …in Texas.” This results from a general lack of awareness of the Commission by many and a perceived lack of knowledge on its part about the legal aid organizations that provide services to low-income people in Texas.

The survey and interviews both indicated that the Commission is not well known by many engaged in access to justice efforts in the state.

• One comment to the survey by a respondent working in a legal aid organization observed: “I only see a small amount of relevant info regarding your organization …. I do see the entire justice system though and no one is available to try to understand and implement necessary but unpopular solutions for the broken system ”

• Another said: “When I read the report of the work of the Commission, I do not think that it is making significant progress in the areas outlined above. Further, the Commission is supposed to be the "umbrella" organization in the state and I don't see the Commission working with other legal aid or pro bono providers to enhance access to justice.”

• Another said: “I do not know how to rate you on many of these questions. Perhaps this is on me for not knowing all that you do. Do you have a social media presence?

• Yet another said: “I do not recall receiving any reports from the Texas Access to Justice Commission.”

• And similarly: “I don't know enough of what the Commission does.”

• A respondent from a social service organization, put it succinctly: “This organization is not well known.”

Some interviewees and survey respondents also confused the Texas Access to Justice Commission with the Texas Access to Justice Foundation. One comment to the survey

made this clear: “I am more aware of Texas Access to Justice Foundation, but I do not know how TAJC and TAJF relate nor where they differ.” The same confusion was demonstrated in some of the interviews. Greater familiarity with the Foundation among staff of legal aid is not surprising, since it is a major funder.

Not every comment in the survey expressed a lack of appreciation for the work of the Commission. One person who works for a legal aid organization commented: “I see the Texas Access to Justice Commission as an entity that has statewide knowledge and reach. While legal aid serving organizations like ours work on the frontlines, the Commission can gather information and work to address the systemic issues and help disseminate information to the legal community and the community at large about the local organizations providing services.” Another respondent from a legal aid organization, who self-identified as being very familiar with the work of the Commission, said simply: “Excellent at working to reduce barriers.”

With regard to Commission members’ knowledge of what is happening on the ground with legal aid providers, the interviews encountered a similar lack of awareness. Both Commissioners and persons in field programs acknowledged that it would be beneficial for Commissioners to be more aware of what field programs do and of the challenges they and their client communities face. One person observed that there is “no real way to report to the Commission what we do.” A related concern was expressed about the need for the Commission to be more familiar with what legal aid organizations cannot do because of federal and state restrictions. Some current and former Commissioners also lamented the general unfamiliarity with program operations and challenges. One Commissioner observed: “When I look at who is at the table, I just don’t see people who are actually doing the work.” Commissioners noted the benefit of recent presentations to the Commission by legal aid staff on aspects of their work.

The mutual lack of awareness of the Commission’s work, on the one hand, and of the efforts and challenges of the legal aid providers, on the other, is a challenge At a minimum, it limits the Commission’s ability to “identify and assess current and future needs for access to justice” and “monitor the effectiveness of the statewide system and services provided” as charged by the 2001 Supreme Court order.

It is important to note that the survey and interviews found no inimical feelings about the Commission. The observations regarding a mutual lack of knowledge of the Commission’s and field programs’ work points to a communication issue, not an underlying criticism of what each does. Improving communications is one potential strategic initiative that is described later in this report. 4

4 See the discussion of communication and outreach at p. 19.

Specific charges given to the Commission by the Supreme Court.

The 2001 Supreme Court Order set forth eight specific responsibilities of the newly formed commission:

“The Texas Access to Justice Commission will:

• identify and assess current and future needs for access to justice in civil matters by low-income Texans;

• develop and publish a strategic plan for statewide delivery of civil legal services to low-income Texans;

• foster the development of a statewide integrated civil legal-services delivery system;

• work to increase resources and funding for access to justice in civil matters and to ensure that the resources and funding are applied to the areas of greatest need;

• work to maximize the wise and efficient use of available resources, including the development of local, regional, and statewide coordination systems and systems that encourage the coordination or sharing of resources or funding;

• develop and implement initiatives designed to expand civil access to justice;

• work to reduce barriers to the justice system by addressing existing and proposed court rules, procedures, and policies that negatively affect access to justice for low-income Texans; and

• monitor the effectiveness of the statewide system and services provided and periodically evaluate the progress made by the Commission in fulfilling the civil legal needs of low-income Texans.”

Two suggestions were made during the interviews that pertain to these assigned responsibilities. The first was that the Commission should formally evaluate the degree to which it has accomplished these charges. This fact-finding and research stage of strategic planning was not designed as an evaluation, although it did identify some successes and failures related to these charges. The Commission has not, for example, undertaken a formal needs assessment to “identify and assess current and future needs for access to justice in civil matters by low-income Texans.” Nor has it developed and published a “strategic plan for the statewide delivery of civil legal services to low-income Texans.” The responsibility to “monitor the effectiveness of the statewide system and services provided” has largely fallen to the Texas Access to Justice Foundation in the course of its assuring proper expenditure and use of its funds in accordance with its adopted standards.

The second suggestion, which flows from this cursory review of the eight Supreme Court charges, is to consider whether the Supreme Court’s order should be renewed and updated. This suggestion is consistent with similar considerations made in 2021 by Commissioners considering “A Strategic Vision and Action Plan.” 5

5 See the discussion below at p. 31.

Strategic relationships

A conclusion that might be drawn from what has evolved in Texas regarding the role of the Commission and other institutional players is that a projected role for it as the “umbrella organization” and accepted leader is not likely, nor is it ideal. A somewhat different vision is suggested by the provision in the Supreme Court order that calls for the Commission to be “…a coordinator” with a goal of “…developing strategic alliances to effectively move ideas into action.” That is closer to what has evolved in the state since the Commission’s inception. It has three critical relationships that are key to its work. It is noteworthy that all three – the Supreme Court, the State Bar of Texas, and the Texas Access to Justice Foundation – are specifically identified on its webpage.

• The Supreme Court

There is widespread recognition of the strong relationship between the Supreme Court and the Access to Justice Commission. Many persons interviewed identified it as the most important strength of the Commission. The relationship is grounded in the unflagging commitment of the Court to access to justice. The Chief Justice is recognized nationally as a champion for access to justice and that commitment and the Court’s translates to firm support for the Commission and for funding for access to justice initiatives, including support for veterans and victims of sexual assault.

The strong trust that the Supreme Court has in the Commission is evidenced by its October 2022 request that the Commission develop recommendations for allowing nonattorney professionals to provide limited legal services directly to low-income Texans and for non-attorneys to have an economic interest in entities that provide legal services to low-income Texans.

• The Texas Access to Justice Foundation

The Commission’s partnership with the Texas Access to Justice Foundation has been effective over the years and stands to be strengthened further by the strategic planning process. There is an opportunity to clarify the most propitious role played by each organization and the interrelationship between the two.

The Foundation is described by many as the entity responsible for raising and dispensing money for access to justice. The Commission, in turn, is described as the policy organization, charged with responsibility to identify policy needs and to advocate for them. In fact, the demarcation is not sharp. The Commission does raise funds, for instance, with the annual Gala for which it takes principal responsibility. Moreover, as

suggested later in this report, the Commission may well have inroads to fundraising from corporations and foundations that may grow out of this strategic planning process. 6

Similarly, the Foundation has been exemplary in using its credibility with programs and other institutions to initiate programs that have significant policy implications. An example is its funding of kiosks to support participation by technologically challenged litigants in remote hearings.

This strategic planning process may lead the Commission to pursue a number of strategic goals in whose outcome the Foundation has a strong interest and a likely role helping to accomplish. Cordial, supportive relationships among the leadership and other key persons associated with each organization portend a strengthening of the partnership and a clarification of the most beneficial role played by each.

• The State Bar of Texas

The State Bar of Texas has housed the Access to Justice Commission and financed its operations, since its creation by the Supreme Court in 2001. The leadership of the State Bar, including successive Presidents, have consistently supported the Commission. The Commission shares staff and an Executive Director with the Legal Access Department of the Bar

The relationship with the overall Bar Association is complicated. Some knowledgeable observers suggested the potential benefit of eliminating the distinction between employees of the State Bar’s Legal Access Department and the Commission, both of which are led and managed by the same Executive Director.

There are areas where there has been conflict with components of the Bar as well as missed opportunities for alliances. The historic opposition of the Family Law Section of the State Bar to the Commission’s initiatives to support underrepresented litigants in family law cases is well documented. Some interviewees expressed the view that the relationship is less challenged, particularly with the involvement of members of the Section in the recent work of the Commission developing recommendations regarding licensed paraprofessionals. Others, however, expressed the view that the relationship is still contentious and that a concerted effort needs to be undertaken to address it.

A strong suggestion was made during our interviews that the Commission should focus more resolutely on increasing the availability of lawyers, particularly through pro bono initiatives, rather than on self-help remedies. 7 The focus on self-help remedies was seen by some family law lawyers as threatening to undermine the economic viability of their firms.

6 See the discussion of fundraising at p. 18.

7 Potential initiatives to accomplish this are discussed later in this report at p. 15.

• New strategic partnerships

This strategic planning process offers an opportunity for the Commission to increase its strategic relationships with other institutions.

• It has already begun to reach out to Texas’s ten law schools. The interviews identified numerous potential initiatives involving the cooperative efforts of the Commission and the state’s law schools. 8

• Three groups in the State Bar of Texas were also identified in the interviews as having significant common interest with the Commission: The Poverty Law Section, the Computer and Technology Section and the Texas Young Lawyers Association. 9

• Two seniors groups also share possibly overlapping interests: the state and local area agencies on aging and the Texas Silver-Haired Legislature. 10

• Another area where the strategic planning process points toward the potential for new strategic relationships is with large corporations, including their corporate counsel offices. 11

Operation of the Commission

The survey and interviews identified some areas where, as part of its strategic planning effort, the Commission may want to consider operational and structural changes. 12

One theme involved a criticism that Commission meetings have not struck the right balance between receiving reports from partners and discussing the information and possible actions to be taken. Several interviewees expressed that they felt too much time has been spent on reports in the meetings. Comments to the survey reflected a similar concern, with one noting: “The Commission devotes extensive meeting time to hearing reports from partners. Being well-informed, however, does not equal action.” Another suggested: “The Commission should be action-oriented. Reports from partners should be submitted in writing and limited to five minutes, unless there is a justifiable reason to extend that time.”

8 Potential strategic initiatives involving the law schools are discussed below at p. 25

9 The potential for new alliances, including with these bar sections is discussed below at p. 21.

10 Ibid.

11 Potential strategic initiatives involving corporations and corporate counsel are discussed below at pp. 19 and 16

12 A full discussion of a potential approach to addressing these issues in strategic planning can be found below at p. 30.

naturally toward greater substantive and action focused discussion in the course of this planning process, both as the Commission decides where and how to focus its future work and as it receives and acts on progress reports regarding the strategic plan. It will be important to monitor the degree to which Commissioners feel it has struck the right balance and that it continues to receive necessary information from his partners while also maintaining an action focus.

Another theme reflected a view that, while the Commission has many committed, highly intelligent and engaged members, it does not have sufficient diversity of outlook or opinion. Some suggested a robust committee structure that invites participation from a broad spectrum of persons with professional, geographic, institutional, and personal diversity. Others suggested that if the Supreme Court Order is revisited and updated, consideration may be given to reevaluating the membership of the Commission.

A third theme was that there is a greater need for orientation and deliberate on-boarding of new Commission members. Members who do not have day-to-day experience with access to justice issues may bring a diversity of outlook, orientation. It is critical, however, to bring them up to speed, so they do not have to spend the first several meetings “figuring out what is going on,” as one Commissioner put it.

POTENTIAL STRATEGIC INITIATIVES

Increased availability of lawyers for representation

It is notable that the Supreme Court Order that created the Commission specifically found that “poor people in Texas are underrepresented in that they receive limited advice … when they would in fact be better served by full representation….” In contrast, the website of the Texas Access to Justice Commission lists one of its four areas of efforts to increase access to justice to be “Expanding efforts to assist self-represented litigants.” Both interviews and the survey, in contrast, reflected the importance of increasing the availability of lawyers for representation, rather than more self-help. Several strong comments to the survey spoke to this issue:

• A legal aid advocate observed: “Study after study shows that litigants without counsel are at a severe disadvantage in every type of legal matter. This necessarily means that those who cannot afford counsel and are relegated to ‘selfhelp’ are largely doomed to fail. TAJC, indeed, Texas should lead the way in a right to counsel for everyone. If it is important enough for someone to litigate, then each side should have a trained, licensed advocate otherwise, it isn't justice.”

• A judge responding to the survey commented: “I work with many pro se litigants. They rarely understand what is happening in court. They do not know how to represent themselves in court. …. Pro se litigants do not know how to behave, get in exhibits, when to talk, how to ask questions, or even that they need to present "evidence" not conjecture. They are also confused about what relief they want.”

• Another judge observed: “There is inherent conflict between working to minimize the percentage of unrepresented poor litigants …[by providing representation] and working to improve the ability of self-represented people to feel they are effectively representing themselves…. …The former is far more important for improving access to justice.”

• A leader in a legal aid organization commented: “ While I realize that ‘right to counsel’ is probably cost prohibitive …, [j]ustice cannot prevail in this system until the playing field is truly level, and as long as pro se litigants exist that field will continue to be unfair.”

• A legal aid advocate said: “Low-income communities need adequately-funded, full-service legal assistance from real, professionally-specialized advocates, more than inexpensive limited-service measures like hotlines/kiosks etc. and short-term volunteer pro bono attorneys.”

The importance of representation by a lawyer in lieu of support through self-help materials was also emphasized by one of the persons interviewed, who noted that in 70% of the cases where tenants were represented, they avoided the eviction. In contrast, most unrepresented defendants were unsuccessful in protecting their home. Debt claim cases were identified as another area where it makes a demonstrable difference to have a lawyer negotiating for the defendant.

These concerns are part of a larger debate regarding changes in the practice of law generally. In many courts, a large percentage of litigants are unrepresented on both sides of the matter. A concern was expressed in the interviews that although self-help materials are targeted for low-income litigants, they have become a tool used by many, including some who arguably could afford a lawyer. One person interviewed observed that many persons using the forms, particularly if they involve division of property, pensions, custody and child support, do not arrive at an equitable result. Sometimes, it is because of a difference in the power relationship in a marriage, where the dominant partner, often the husband, dictates what goes in the forms to the other party’s detriment. Other times, it is because the parties do not understand subtle legal issues, such as those affecting pensions and property.

A variety of ways were suggested to increase the availability of legal representation in both family and other matters. The first, of course, is to increase funding for legal aid, so more lawyers can be hired. Strategies to accomplish that are discussed as a separate initiative in this report. 13 Recent data regarding the growing justice gap confirm, however, that there is unlikely in the foreseeable future to be adequate funding to pay all the lawyers necessary to fill the need.

A second approach is to increase pro bono substantially. Several other possible initiatives were also suggested during the fact-finding and research: a) substantially increased use of fee shifting statutes; b) experimentation with right to counsel; c) support for sustainable, low-fee law firms; and d) increased use of discrete task or unbundled representation. Each is discussed below.

13 Strategies to increase funding are discussed at p. 18.

Increased pro bono. Earnest efforts to increase the availability of pro bono legal help will continue to be an essential ingredient of efforts to increase access to justice in Texas. Strong support was voiced in both the survey and in the interviews for striving to increase pro bono. One comment to the survey stated: “Expanding Support for Pro Bono Assistance is and should be a priority as there are not enough service providers to offer services to the number of individuals who require services.” Another suggested: “Requiring a minimum number of hours of pro bono service per attorney to keep their license in good standing should be added as an annual criterion similar to CLE hour requirements.” Another suggested a less controversial approach: “…perhaps include a talk at every CLE event concerning the need to provide legal assistance and help for underserved populations - many attorneys know about this but many others simply don't think about it because they don't cross paths with the people who need these services.”

The greatest need for lawyers is in the family law area, the area with the greatest amount of controversy regarding self-help materials. Several persons interviewed thought that it would be fruitful for the Commission to engage the Family Law Division in a joint challenge to help solve the problem of the lack of lawyers by exploring how to increase its lawyers’ pro bono involvement.

Several other ideas for increasing pro bono engagement in Texas were suggested by persons interviewed. One idea would be to recruit well-known lawyers with recognized expertise in fields such as family or tax law or wills and estates to serve as mentors for young lawyers who have agreed to take pro bono cases. Thoughtful use of technology could make such mentorship available outside of larger cities which house the larger law firms.

Another suggestion is to convene a meeting of pro bono counsel from large law firms to share information about what they do and what is successful. Not only might such an effort share best practices, but it might enlist a collective commitment to addressing the justice gap.

A similar idea is to convene corporate counsel to discuss the justice gap and to enlist their support in undertaking pro bono projects to respond. Notably, the website of the national Association of Corporate Counsel (ACC.COM) has 30 pages of links related to pro bono efforts by corporate counsel. There are models nationally of corporate counsel departments adopting a project, such as bankruptcies (Merck & Co. in Union County, New Jersey) and food stamp eligibility (Ford Motor Company in Detroit, Michigan).

Fee shifting. An idea that emerged during the interviews is to encourage through publicity and judicial education a wide use of Texas’ code provisions that permit a court in family law proceedings to order the party with greater resources to pay the attorney fees for the other party, if that party is unable to afford an attorney. The Family Code

authorizes both temporary orders 14 and final orders 15 directing payment of attorney’s fees by one party to the other. The same is true in child custody matters. 16

There is not a culture in Texas of using these fee shifting statutes to increase the availability of private lawyers to provide representation. Nevertheless, there are other states where it is common practice, and its impact is palpable. There are many factors in Texas that might inhibit the widespread application of the statute in cases where it might be used. It would take thoughtful strategies to engage the Supreme Court, members of the bar, trial judges, and judicial educators to encourage a wider use of this potential tool to increase representation. It is an area where the Commission could engage with the Family Law Section of the State Bar to consider the concept and whether it would be beneficial to encourage its wider use.

It should be noted as well that Texas has a provision that allows a county judge to “appoint counsel to represent a party who makes an affidavit that he is too poor to employ counsel.” 17 Similarly, “A district judge may appoint counsel to attend to the cause of a party who makes an affidavit that he is too poor to employ counsel to attend to the cause 18 Such representation is unreimbursed, so presumably is likely to be ordered by a judge only in exceptional circumstances. Nevertheless, these provisions may be used to appoint counsel in cases where a low-income party faces substantial risk, if unrepresented.

In addition to these statutory provisions, a Texas statute authorizes the appointment of counsel in eviction appeals in certain circumstances, including were the party “has perfected the appeal on a paupers affidavit.” The appointed attorney is to serve pro bono “from a list provided by pro bono legal services program.” 19

14 Tex. Fam. Code Ann. §6.502. TEMPORARY INJUNCTION AND OTHER TEMPORARY ORDERS. “(a) While a suit for dissolution of a marriage is pending and on the motion of a party or on the court's own motion after notice and hearing, the court may render an appropriate order, …(4) ordering payment of reasonable attorney's fees and expenses.”

15 Tex. Fam. Code Ann. § 6.708. COSTS; ATTORNEY'S FEES AND EXPENSES. “(c) In a suit for dissolution of a marriage, the court may award reasonable attorney's fees and expenses.”

16 Tex. Fam. Code Ann. § 106.002. ATTORNEY'S FEES AND EXPENSES. “(a) In a suit under this title, the court may render judgment for reasonable attorney's fees and expenses and order the judgment and post judgment interest to be paid directly to an attorney.

(b)A judgment for attorney's fees and expenses may be enforced in the attorney's name by any means available for the enforcement of a judgment for debt.”

17 Tex. Gov’t Code Ann. § 26.049.

18 Tex. Gov’t Code Ann. § 24.016.

19 Tex. Gov’t Code Ann. § 25.0020.

Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERAP) funds were used to create “an innovative ‘right to counsel’ initiative in JP eviction courts.… [T]his concept should be expanded statewide. It has been beneficial to both tenants and landlords.”

As part of an initiative to explore and implement ways to increase the availability of lawyers for full representation, the Commission may find it fruitful to examine where civil right to counsel initiatives have succeeded in other states. 20

Low-fee law firms and increased use of discrete task or unbundled representation. There are other initiatives that the Commission might consider to encourage the increased availability of lawyers available to represent low-income persons in family law and other matters. The State Bar of Texas currently supports the Texas Opportunity & Justice Incubator (txoji.com) which seeks to “fill that gap between the citizens’ need for justice and our profession’s need for employment opportunity—in brief, to meet the need for justice with the need for opportunity.” Its mission is to “Expand access to justice by supporting Texas lawyers who are building sustainable law practices serving low income and modest-income Texans.” The model uses technology, alternative fee arrangements and other options “beyond the traditional billable hours.”

A related inquiry would examine the viability of increased discrete task (unbundled) representation as a feature of a practice that seeks to serve low-income and modest income clients. Nationally, there are firms and legal aid programs that regularly offer representation for discrete tasks, agreeing with the client in which parts of a matter the attorney will directly represent the client and for which parts the client will be responsible, with the support and help of the attorney. The Texas State Law Library describes this as a “concept [that] is fairly new in Texas, so there are not many resources yet.” 21

The viability of discrete tasks representation depends on its acceptability under court rules, the expectations of judges in the courtroom and the clarity of expectations between the client and the attorney.

Fundraising

In the survey conducted as part of this process, “Working to increase public and private funding for legal aid for low-income persons” was the initiative that was deemed to be the most important for the Commission to take on in the planning process. There was a recognition among many interviewees that although raising monies is a primary responsibility of the Texas Access to Justice Foundation, this is an area where the Commission on its own or in concert with the Foundation may have an important role. In addition to its current resource development efforts, several ideas were suggested.

20 See, About | Civil Right to Counsel | NCCRC.

21 General Information - Limited Scope Representation - Guides at Texas State Law Library.

One such initiative would be to reach out to large corporations to enlist their support for addressing the Justice Gap, which shows that 92% of low-income Texans with a legal problem do not have any help addressing it. One interviewee suggested Texas create its own “Leadership Council,” akin to the national group of business interests brought together by the Legal Services Corporation.

Another initiative that was suggested more than once is to undertake a serious campaign to increase the percentage of attorneys who participate in the bar dues check off to support legal aid. The percentage is very low and a joint campaign with the Access to Justice Foundation could be undertaken to educate lawyers about the shocking 92% justice gap and the relatively painless way they could contribute to addressing it. The means by which dues are collected electronically that as a practical matter inhibits lawyers opting for the dues check off needs to be redesigned.

Similarly, some suggested reaching out to a wider audience (like hedge fund billionaires) to explain the Justice Gap and enlist their financial support. The idea was suggested of enlisting a, perhaps unlikely, champion who is a well-known personage.

It was also suggested that more could be done to enlist support from private attorneys. It might be fruitful, for example, to cultivate more support from the plaintiffs’ bar, which is a generally wealthy group of attorneys.

Court-approved cy pres awards are a further potential source of funding. Notably, TexasLawHelp was originally funded by a cy pres award requested by the Texas Equal Justice Programs. 22 There is expertise on the Commission in relation to a landmark Texas cy pres case. 23

Finally, it was noted that an untapped source of money are unspent County Law Library funds that may be spent in certain circumstances to assist in the representation of lowincome people. 24

Communication and outreach

The need for improved communication was a recurring theme in the interviews and survey comments. Improved communication was suggested in three discrete, though interrelated areas. The first is better communication generally about the role and activities of the Commission. The second is communication between the Commission and legal aid providers regarding the role and operation of both. This is related to the need for better general communication, but implicates more specific issues regarding potential areas of focus for the Commission and ways it can be aware of the needs of service providers and can support them. The third area involves outreach to other

22 Northrup v. Southwestern Bell Telephone Company, 72 S.W.3d 16, 22 (Tex. App. – Corpus Christi 2002, pet. dism’d).

23 See, Highland Homes Ltd. v. State of Texas, 448 S.W.3d 403 (Tex. 2014).

24 Tex. Loc. Gov’t Code Ann. § 323.023.

institutions and interests to bring them into the fold of those who care about and support access to justice.

Broad communication about the role and activities of the Commission. The authority of the Commission is largely hortatory. It seeks change on a variety of fronts that improves access to justice in Texas, but it has little direct authority to cause the change to happen. Its success, therefore, significantly depends on the degree to which it is widely seen as an honest and competent broker regarding access to justice issues. The less well it is known, the less effective it can be encouraging change. It is particularly important that it be recognized by the decision-makers that will affect the access to justice landscape on a statewide and a local level.

As a part of this strategic planning effort, the Commission may wish to examine ways to ensure an effective communication strategy. That generally involves a deliberate consideration of the intended outcome of the message, the target audiences and messages appropriate for them, the appropriate medium to deliver the messages and the preferred messengers. 25

Improved communication between the Commission and service providers. Earlier this report outlined the challenge of the mutual lack of knowledge of each other by the Commission and by service providers, and the need for a greater flow of information between each. 26 Some of the strategic initiatives outlined in this report may provide a vehicle for an increase in such information, by involvement of persons from field programs, other than the project directors, in the work groups that develop the strategic initiatives.

In addition, other strategies were mentioned during the interviews.

• One idea is for the Commission periodically to hold its meetings in different parts of the state and schedule visits to local service providers.

• Another is to have staff from service providers offer presentations regarding their work and to invite discussion from the Commission regarding the issues involved. 27

• A third is to involve staff of service providers in the working committees of the Commission.

• A fourth approach might be to include members of the Commission in a part or all of a site visit conducted by the Access to Justice Foundation of its grantees.

• A fifth might be for the Commission to be provided with data that is not confidential or otherwise sensitive and is gathered by the Foundation from its grantees.

25 See e.g., How-Tos | Voices for Civil Justice.

26 See the discussion above at p. 8.

27 This has happened recently, and was heralded in the interviews as having been very useful.

• A sixth strategy is discussed elsewhere in this report, which is to establish a more formal and ongoing relationship with the Poverty Law Section of the State Bar of Texas, which is comprised significantly of legal aid staff lawyers. 28

Outreach to other institutions and interests to bring them into the access to justice fold in Texas. Such an initiative may involve two types of outreach. The first is to institutions that already have a potential connection with access to justice efforts in Texas, but which are not necessarily in sync with the Commission. The second is to institutions and interests that are not connected with access to justice, but whose involvement may be beneficial.

Outreach to interests already aligned with access to justice efforts. As noted above, there are two sections of the State Bar of Texas that would seem to have a common interest with the Access to Justice Commission. These are the Poverty Law Section and the Computer and Technology Section. 29 The former is made up principally of legal aid staff attorneys and addresses issues that are germane to them. Its interests, therefore, would appear to be on all fours with important areas of focus of the Commission.

The intersection with the Computer and Technology Section may be more attenuated, but the importance of technology to access to justice is clear, as evidenced by a later discussion in this report. 30 The Section has reached out to the legal aid community by making its recent CLE program available cost-free to legal aid staff. The program addressed the latest developments in artificial intelligence in the practice of law, remote hearings, and tech tips, all relevant to legal aid lawyers.

Relations with the Family Law Section are more complicated, but as recent developments have shown can be more in sync than they have been in the past. Members of the Family Law Section participated in the Commission’s Legal Services Working Group, which at the request of the Supreme Court considered proposed rules easing the participation of paralegals in the representation of clients without direct supervision of an attorney. That participation was beneficial in shaping the recommendation that was formally recommended by the Commission to the high Court, and that had the tacit support of the Family Law Section. As suggested earlier in this report, support of the Family Law Section might fruitfully be sought in pursuit of the increase of pro bono lawyers in the representation of clients was matrimonial issues. 31

The Texas Young Lawyers association was also mentioned several times during the interviews as being a potential partner with the Commission. It was described as

28 See the discussion at p. 21

29 See the discussion of outreach above at p. 21.

30 See the discussion of technology below at p. 28.

31 See the discussion above at p. 16.

particularly effective in addressing issues that are within areas of concern of the Commission.

Outreach to interests not yet aligned with access to justice efforts. Another area of potential focus of the Commission in its strategic planning initiatives is to reach out to other interests, which have not been intimately involved in the pursuit of access to justice, but have potential significant support to offer. Outreach, which was begun to law schools, has already pointed to significantly valuable participation by them in the effort, as discussed elsewhere in this report. 32

The same trajectory may be possible through outreach to other interests. The Texas Department of Aging and Disability Services has a legal services developer whose responsibility is to provide leadership in the development of legal services for persons sixty years or older. The Texas Silver-Haired Legislature is authorized by the Texas legislature to develop legislative recommendations related to the needs of seniors.

Elsewhere, this report discusses outreach to large corporations in Texas for fundraising 33 and the engagement with corporate counsel to increase pro bono efforts. 34 Those efforts may be undertaken as a part of a general outreach effort to increase the engagement of those interests in support of access to justice in other important ways.

Access to courts

Language access. In the planning survey, language access and access for persons with a disability were identified as the second and third most important areas for the Commission to address. There is an intersection between language access and the need for interpreters for hearing-impaired litigants. Their importance was highlighted both as an access to justice and as a courtroom-efficiency issue.

The Commission has long worked to address language access challenges in the courts. It successfully supported legislation in 2023 that exempts parties from having to pay the costs of an interpreter if they file a Rule 145 statement of inability to pay court costs.

Although the efforts in 2023 were successful, much work remains to be done to assure that certified interpreters are available in every county in response to the state’s legislative mandate. Advocates supporting the access rights of persons with limited English proficiency or who are hearing-impaired report that it is a county-by-county process, since the Texas court system is not unified. The challenge is exacerbated by the shortage of certified interpreters and the multiplicity of languages extant in many of Texas’s urban areas, notably in Houston. One thoughtful observer suggested that strategic efforts should be undertaken first in counties with a high level of need like Harris County or in the Valley.

32 See the discussion below at p. 25

33 See the discussion above at p. 19.

34 See the discussion above at p. 16.

The Office of Court Administration (OCA) has a Language Access Department that offers resources and information to assist courts in using interpreters effectively. It also runs the Texas Court Remote Interpreter Services that provides free Spanish language interpreter services by telephone or videoconferencing in short non-evidentiary hearings. OCA is also charged with monitoring the expenses of each county in providing certified interpreters. OCA appears to be a natural ally of the Commission to work with others to address the issue.

Remote proceedings. Other issues associated with access to the courts were highlighted in the planning survey. Support for the expansion and effective use of remote proceedings was identified as the tenth most important issue for the Commission to address in the planning process. In spite of compelling evidence of the dramatic impact of remote hearings on access to the courts for litigants, many judges – even in rural areas –were reported to have gone back to requiring in-person appearances in all proceedings and all matters. Dramatic evidence from Texas and other states during the pandemic demonstrates unequivocally that the need to obtain childcare, transportation, and to take off work prevents many litigants from appearing in civil, or even in criminal matters. Given what is known about the striking impact of remote proceedings on increasing access to the courts, the Commission’s continued support of their continuation and expansion appears warranted.

Plain Language. The need for plain language in court documents also implicates meaningful access to the courts. It was noted in the survey that many low-income individuals do not read above sixth grade level. Given the fact that many low-income persons are unrepresented in court matters involving family law, evictions and debt, there is increasing national attention to have court documents written in plain language. 35 The planning survey ranked “Supporting the conversion of court documents into “plain language” as the 15th out of 30th most-important initiative for the Commission to address in planning.

Rural access / “legal deserts”

A challenge confronting the many rural counties in Texas is the lack of lawyers to meet general legal needs, let alone those of low-income persons. A 2018 report of the State Bar of Texas found that 67 of Texas’s 245 counties have five lawyers or fewer, of which 17 counties have just one lawyer and six have no lawyers at all. Respondents to the survey conducted as part of this planning process ranked “Supporting the capacity of the system to meet the needs of rural Texas, including ‘legal deserts’” as the fourth most important issue for the Commission to address in its planning efforts. This is a problem that is national in scope and has garnered significant attention nationally. 36

35 See National Center for State Courts discussion of the importance of plain language at Plain Language | NCSC.

36 Legal Deserts: A Multi-State Perspective on Rural Access to Justice by Lisa R. Pruitt, Amanda L. Kool, Lauren Sudeall, Michele Statz, Danielle M. Conway, Hannah Haksgaard :: SSRN The Colorado Access to Justice Commission recently obtained a $650,000 two-year federal grant to tackle the challenge.

Law schools. There was a recognition among law school personnel who were interviewed of the potential impact law schools might have on the problem, although it is seen as being well beyond the reach of fellowships, externships and summer placements to solve. St. Mary’s College of law has recently developed the first ABA accredited online law school in the country. Many of its students require online access because of living a distance from the cities in Texas that have law schools, including more remote rural areas. The online law school has just recently opened, so its impact remains to be seen. It is possible, however, that it will result in some lawyers from rural areas remaining in their communities, mitigating the lack of lawyers there.

Technology. Technology is seen as one important tool to bring legal resources to remote counties with few or no legal resources. It was noted, however, that areas that qualify as legal deserts often have limited web access with low bandwidth and limited availability of computers. 37

Medical-legal partnerships. Medical-legal partnerships to deploy legal assistance to address the social determinants of health have increasingly been employed nationally and in Texas. Given the rural expertise of the Texas A&M School of Public Health and given the legal expertise of the Texas A&M School of Law, the Commission could explore whether a synergy could be developed to address the lack of access to justice in legal deserts by means of medical-legal partnerships in rural health clinics.

Remote proceedings Texas was the epicenter of demonstrating the value of remote hearings as making court access available in rural areas, where requiring in-person participation has been shown to eliminate a high percentage of litigants from appearing. In spite of this, however, it was reported that many judges have gone back to requiring inperson appearances for most or all of their proceedings. 38

Uniform forms and procedures Another factor inhibiting the availability of legal representation in rural areas is the lack of uniform forms and procedures across the state. A law firm that may wish to locate in an urban or semi urban area and represent clients across multiple rural counties, including those that qualify as a legal desert, finds it difficult to do so because of the plethora of different forms and procedures in each county. Notwithstanding the impact, many report the strong resistance to the development of uniform forms and procedures that might facilitate access in rural areas. The fact that Texas does not have a unified court system exacerbates the challenge of developing uniformity that might facilitate the use of technology to support more rural practice. It is an area in which the Commission might work with others, including the Office of Court Administration, to encourage meaningful change.

37 Challenges associated with the digital divide are discussed below at p. 29

38 Remote hearings are discussed above at p. 23.

comment to it make clear, “a court cannot reject forms approved by the Supreme Court or organizations that report to the Supreme Court.” Astute, incremental use of Rule 10 could lessen the difficulty posed by variances among counties regarding forms and procedures. Over time, some counties may appreciate new forms and procedures being developed for them, rather than having to create their own

Law schools

A majority of the Texas law school deans and a representative group of clinical professors were interviewed as part of the fact-finding and research stage of strategic planning. There was general recognition that while the Commission has not historically been an important player with the law schools, recently its presence has been felt. For some time, the Commission has offered two awards that honor law schools and law students. 39 There was general recognition among the persons interviewed that the Commission can have a more assertive role convening the law schools and coordinating initiatives that will benefit access to justice in the state.

Texas has 10 law schools, which are very different from each other in their approach to education, the makeup of their student bodies, how potential employers view them and how well they are funded. There is universal agreement among them, however, that an important responsibility of legal education is to impart an appreciation for access to justice and for the professional obligations that lawyers have to society, including their pro bono responsibilities.

Until Covid, the law school deans did not meet and, although all describe their relationships as cordial, they did not know each other well. The pandemic led to more frequent zoom meetings to address issues associated with the bar exam. More recently, at the invitation of Harriet Miers, the Commission’s Chair, the law school deans and others have participated in online meetings. The connections which have been made through those meetings will support future strategies involving the law schools if the Commission decides to pursue them.

Access to justice curriculum. There was wide agreement among the law school interviewees that a possible project for the Commission in concert with law schools would be to support and coordinate the development of an access to justice module that could be used by all ten of the law schools. The module would “fit nicely” into the law schools’ requirement for ABA Accreditation that they “provide substantial opportunities to students for the development of professional identity.” The ABA Standard 303(b) encourages reflection by law students on “what it means to be a lawyer and the special obligation lawyers have for their clients and society.”

39 The Law School Commitment to Service Award “honors a Texas law school for exemplary efforts in promoting pro bono service and educating their students about the many barriers in our justice system for low-income Texans.” The Commission’s Law Student Pro Bono Award recognizes “a Texas law student whose strong commitment to pro bono serves as an exemplar to other students and has a tangible impact on their community.”

The law school deans and clinical professors who were interviewed noted that different law schools might use such a module differently, and, therefore, it would be most useful if it were “plug-and-play” that would have versatile uses. For example, such a module might be used in orientation for clinical practice, in first-year orientation, or as part of a full-blown poverty law curriculum. Among other things, such a curriculum piece could address the nature of poverty, the justice gap, and the commonality and cascading impact of legal problems that affect the poor.

The development of such a curriculum module might also lead some of the law schools to develop a fuller curriculum on poverty law or access to justice. It is an area that seems ideal for the Commission to function as a convenor and coordinator working with the law schools.

Pro Bono. Several law school activities directly support access to justice. The first is the offering of pro bono opportunities for law students. Five of the law schools, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, St. Mary’s Law School, UNT Dallas College of Law, and SMU have a mandatory requirement and the others encourage it. In 1996, SMU became the first law school in Texas to establish a pro bono requirement for graduation. Students are reported to frequently exceed the mandatory requirement as they become engaged in the work that is involved. One pro bono program described the law school pro bono requirement as having had a “tidal impact” on the program’s ability to recruit pro bono lawyers.

The University of Texas asks students to sign the voluntary Pro Bono Pledge to provide 50 hours of pro bono work prior to graduation. Baylor Law, in its third year Student Award Ceremony, specifically recognizes students as Pro Bono Honors for 50 to 99 hours of pro bono, Pro Bono Champions for over 100 hours, and Public Interest Fellows for over 200 hours of pro bono work.

Several ways were identified that the Commission can support pro bono efforts at the state’s law schools. One person interviewed opined that the schools have done a poor job of sharing what they do with their Pro Bono projects. It may be one area where the Commission in its convening role can improve the quality of pro bono efforts in all the schools by orchestrating the sharing of successful policies and practices. It may also identify local pro bono opportunities for law school students that serve low-income communities in Texas.

Legal Clinics. All of the law schools offer an opportunity for their students to participate in a legal clinic as a part of their legal education. Some clinics are aimed at serving lowincome persons, like landlord-tenant, family law, consumer protection, immigration and veterans rights. Several have innocence clinics. Other clinics offer experience in transactional law such as business formation, patents, trademarks and copyrights. UNT Dallas College of Law operates two Community Learning Centers in low-income neighborhoods in conjunction with Legal Aid of Northwest Texas. They provide services in landlord-tenant, family law, child support, child custody, immigration and wills and probate.

Many felt that clinics are the most effective hands-on way to educate law students and that participating in them can have a lifelong impact on their commitment to public service work. They are a challenge, however, in that they are the most expensive way to educate. One professor can educate eight to ten students in a clinic, while many more can be taught in a seminar or lecture. Law schools with a large endowment can absorb such costs more easily than less well-funded ones, which have to pay more directly from tuition.

Several approaches were identified by which the Commission might assist in increasing the availability of clinics. Since the higher cost of clinics results from the supervisory responsibilities of the professor, one idea suggested was having large law firms “adopt” a clinic and provide supervision for the law school clinicians. In other states, there have been examples of a legal aid program sponsoring a clinic.

There was also discussion of the potential benefit of the Commission seeking a change in the court rule regarding clinical practice.

Internships and externships. Law schools also provide their students with opportunities to be placed in legal aid offices, government law offices, public defenders and other places where they gain hands-on experience, and can be exposed to access to justice issues. Paid externships were noted as a way to place law students in rural areas with the hope that some might find rural practice attractive upon graduation. 40

Client involvement

Clients and client leaders were interviewed and were asked to complete the planning survey as a part of the fact-finding and research stage of this planning process. A common theme in those interviews was a perceived lack of clarity about the role of client councils and clients on providers’ boards of directors. In the past, there have been robust trainings and organizational meetings of client council and client board members locally and statewide, but those have fallen off in recent years, in part due to the pandemic. The goal of having members of the client community on boards of directors is to ensure that as the board sets policies and oversees the operation of the program, it is aware of the perceptions and needs of low-income persons being served.

The trainings that were held served the purpose of supporting client leaders in their leadership role and educating them about the possibilities and limitations of the law in resolving issues experienced by low-income individuals, families, and communities. The trainings also empowered clients to be community advocates for support for legal aid. In the past, clients have been successfully enlisted to testify before the legislature regarding the importance of legal aid funding. Client leaders can also be a source of information about new and emerging issues affecting low-income communities that might be addressed by a legal aid organization.

40 See the discussion of legal deserts at p. 23.

The interviews suggested that as trainings have fallen off, client board members have often served as liaisons between members of the client community seeking assistance and the legal aid programs from which they seek help. The role may be useful in helping some potential clients better understand how to seek services and, in the event, they are turned away, the reason they are not being helped. The role, however, does not fully serve the leadership expectations and opportunities of having fully engaged client board members.

There was a strong interest on the part of client leaders who were interviewed in restoring the tradition of client trainings and organizational meetings. Such trainings could address items such as the role of a board member, financial oversight, how to read and use statistical reports regarding casework of the program, the role of client councils, and how to communicate and connect with organizations serving the low-income community.

One suggestion proffered during the interviews was for the Commission, with the participation of clients and perhaps in concert with the Foundation, to develop and adopt a Clients’ Bill of Rights.

Technology

Another area for a potential initiative to be undertaken as a part of the strategic planning process is technology. The fact-finding and research efforts in this process identified two important themes. The first is the inherent value of technology in supporting the work of legal aid providers and their effective interaction with communities they serve. The second is the challenge of the digital divide that inhibits the participation of a significant segment of the low-income population, as technology becomes a more integral part of service delivery and court operations.

Supporting the effective use of technology in access to justice. The Texas Access to Justice Commission has had a rich history supporting the effective use of technology by legal aid providers in Texas. In the past, it solicited the support of the IT sections of major law firms in the state to do an inventory of technological capacity among the legal aid programs. It then partnered with the Texas Access to Justice Foundation, which provided the funds to bring the providers in the state up to date technologically. The sophistication and function of technology has continued to accelerate since that initiative and a similar effort to support and expand the providers’ technological capacity might be in order.

During interviewing, support was expressed for centralized referral and intake portal to lessen the experience of those calling legal aid bouncing from one source of assistance to another. The Foundation was reported to be considering such an undertaking. Effective technology will be required to create and maintain such a system.

Commission to consider in strategic planning. Several interviewees, however, disagreed and considered it important to pay close attention to it. The State Bar of Texas has a task force examining the issue, so a broad inquiry would seem duplicative. Nevertheless, some noted the risks and opportunities that are unique to low-income, unrepresented persons that should be considered.

One comment in the survey painted an ambitious picture. “I appreciate any study into AI and how it can help to solve some basic access to justice issues. It would be wonderful to have an LLM that is ‘trained’ with the statu[t]es of Texas (inclusive of local codes and ordinances) and the rules of each court/jurisdiction. A client could describe their legal issue, and it would assess the level of legal complexity. It could advise them on whether pro se representation is appropriate and/or refer them to a local law library and rules. It could advise them that their issue was more complex and that they need to speak to an attorney and then it could ask some simple income questions, and then it could refer to legal aid/pro bono, a referral service, or a local bar. I know that this is pie in the sky, but that would lift a load off of local legal aid/pro bono organizations and could help us better use our resources.”

A related challenge and opportunity may exist in the courts. Texas was exemplary in the nation during the COVID crisis in adjusting to the need for remote hearings and in supporting the technology to accomplish that. Since the pandemic has eased, however, many courts have gone back entirely to in-person hearings. One comment in the survey focused on the challenge. “Courts need standardized procedures across the state. More importantly, they need to move forward and accommodate to what technology can offer. The insistence in not using technology cripples access to justice and the ability of people to resolve their legal matters without attorneys. People should be able to use Zoom to attend court, they should be able to message and chat with clerks to get questions answered easily.”

Obviously, the resources for technology and policy changes for its use in the courts will come through the Office of Court Administration and the Supreme Court. Nevertheless, the Commission may work with these partners to support the expanded use of technology to increase court access.

Support across the digital divide. The digital divide is a significant challenge in any effort to use technology to increase access to justice. Several comments to the survey emphasized the challenge:

• “Technology is most important on the provider-side of services because low-income clients often struggle with technology and because those that are competent with technology often have poorer quality / reliability connectivity and thus sometimes rely on in-person access to services”.

• “I think areas that emphasize access to courts and legal resources are crucial. I think it's important to keep the digital divide in mind especially when working with seniors”.

• “Not sure about technology as most of the low-income individuals, especially the older adults do not have access to technology or do they understand it. Might be a waste of time.”

• “As you expand technology, be cognizant of digital information accessibility (device and software based) for people with identified and unidentified disabilities.”

The concern with the digital divide led many persons interviewed to emphasize the importance of the kiosks that are funded by the Texas Access to Justice Foundation and being developed by the Texas Legal Services Center. The same sentiment was expressed in comments to the survey:

• “If remote hearings and online resources are to be increased, there must be a way for low-income Texans to have access to the technology to make this happen, and not just at the courthouse. Libraries, community centers, shelters, and other community locations will need to be equipped with technology to connect and conduct online legal business.”

• “A major issue is the access to technology. A lot of the clients that we serve do not have the knowledge to use some of the technology. Also, the lack of access to the technology without the burden of cost. So, the ability to print, fax, scan and copy documents to get them to the court is an issue to a lot of pro se litigants.”

Several options for placement of kiosks or similar capacities were suggested during the interviews. One interesting idea that was widely heralded would involve placement in the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Offices that are administered by Texas A&M University and are located in nearly every county. Those offices were described as being generally receptive to serving their counties in a variety of ways consistent with supporting such technology.

Other areas for possible placement of supported technology included law firms, law schools, bingo halls, senior centers, and barber and beauty shops. It is also noted that in some areas, access to the internet for families has been increased by the existence of tablets and computers provided by school districts.

Structural and operational issues

At the outset, this report discussed several structural and operational issues regarding the Commission. Those included the degree to which it meets the leadership expectations of the Supreme Court, 41 the strengths and challenges with its primary strategic relationships, 42 and some operational issues. 43 Many of the challenges, particularly those involving relationships with other institutions, may be addressed through a robust planning process that undertakes some of the initiatives identified in this report.

41 See the discussion beginning at p. 7.

42 See the discussion beginning at p. 11

43 See the discussion beginning at p. 13.

Some who were interviewed, however, felt that it might be beneficial to engage directly in conversations about the Commission’s mission, vision, and mode of operation. Some felt that the Commission should formally evaluate the degree to which it has accomplished the charges assigned to it by the Supreme Court. There was some sentiment that the time is right to have a retreat. As one Commissioner put it “This is a time to be reflective about the Commission. The more we are integrated and clear about what we are, the better we can make decisions.”

These are not new questions for the Commission. In 2021, members of the Executive Committee considered a “Strategic Vision and Action Plan” that raised some of the same issues that are present today. Among the questions that the group considered was whether the Supreme Court’s Order needs to be renewed and updated. Similarly, the group contemplated the benefit of reevaluating the Commission’s stated mission and whether it fits with the Commission’s activities.

The group also raised the question of the proper target income group for the Commission’s work, the focus of which has been “the poor.” Two questions regarding the target group also surfaced in the recent interviews. The first is what income group constitutes “the poor?” Ambiguity in the definition of indigency was seen as creating tensions among the Commission’ partners. Several comments to the survey suggested that capping eligibility guidelines at 125% of federal poverty, as opposed to 200%, detrimentally limited the Commission’s focus. The question was sometimes raised in terms of a broader question whether the Commission’s purview should include moderateincome as well as low-income persons.

A second set of questions raised by the group in 2021 – which were also raised in the recent interviews – involves whether it is desirable to maintain the current structure. One aspect of the question is whether the composition of the Commission provides a broad enough spectrum of opinion and input. The concern was raised in the context of three perceived needs: 1) the value of more input from hands-on providers of legal services; 2)greater geographic distribution, particularly for a more rural presence; 3) and increased representation from both sides of the aisle in the legislature. Some in the interviews suggested that these needs could be addressed by a more robust Committee structure that involves persons who are not Commissioners and includes a broad spectrum of experience and interests.

Another question raised by some interviewees is whether the Commission should have more institutional independence from the State Bar in light of the limitations imposed by the 5th Circuit Decisions. This question implicates the staffing structure for the Commission and its long-range funding. The staffing and funding questions do not necessarily depend on a greater independence from the Bar, the close connection with which was frequently identified as significant strength of the Commission.

alliances, its historic and current initiatives, the background of current Commissioners, and its staff. An orientation package can be developed irrespective of the degree to which the other structural and operational issues are formally addressed in this strategic planning effort.

CONCLUSION

The purpose of this report is to provide a complete record of the information gathered during the fact-finding and research stage of the Texas Access to Justice Commission’s strategic planning. One important dimension of that information is to offer candid observations about the Commission’s strengths and challenges that will affect the development and implementation of strategic initiatives to improve access to justice in Texas. A second is to present possible areas of focus for the Commission’s next steps. The report does not suggest which initiatives should be undertaken by the Commission –that is for the Commission to decide. Nor does the report suggest the specific strategies that might be developed and implemented to pursue the initiatives. The strategic steps will be developed in the next stage of the process.

TEXAS ACCESS TO JUSTICE COMMISSION

STRATEGIC PLANNING

REVISED FACT-FINDING AND RESEARCH REPORT AND RECOMMENDATIONS

MARCH 19, 2024

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

As a first step, the Commission undertook a fact-finding and research effort to identify elements of the access to justice system that it can improve on its own or with its partners. This report reflects input from 292 responses to a survey conducted of individuals active in and familiar with access to justice activities and needs in Texas. It also reflects insights gained from interviews by the consultants of 59 knowledgeable individuals regarding the Commission and access to justice issues in the state.

A draft report, dated February 22, 2024, was discussed at length by the full Commission on that date. This revised report reflects that discussion, clarifying some of the analysis regarding which there were questions and adding insights and emphasis from the discussion.

The Texas Supreme Court created the Commission in 2001 in an order that identified a need for “leadership that is accepted by the various stakeholder organizations … and empowered to take action to [realize] equal justice for all in Texas.” The order did not define how that leadership should be exercised. It stated the expectation that the Commission would “serve as the umbrella organization for all efforts to expand access to justice” in the state and “as a coordinator to assist … in developing strategic alliances to effectively move ideas into action.”

The fact-finding and research stage of the Commission’s strategic planning effort was not designed as an evaluation. It did, however, provide some insight into how the role of the Commission as the umbrella organization and coordinator has unfolded and how the planning process may further define its most beneficial role.

The Commission has a history of successful endeavors since its creation by the Texas Supreme Court in 2001. In those endeavors, the Commission’s role has most closely aligned with it being the “coordinator … [of] strategic alliances to move ideas into action.” The Access to Justice Commission works closely with the Texas Access to Justice Foundation, the State Bar of Texas, and the Texas Legal Services Center in considering access to justice issues. The Texas Bar Foundation also invests in access to justice initiatives and programs.

The strong support the Commission receives from the Supreme Court of Texas has been key to its success.

The Commission has strong financial support from the leadership of the State Bar of Texas and is housed in the Bar with the Legal Access Department. It could form stronger ties with components of the Bar including the Poverty Law Section, the Computer and Technology Section, and the Young Lawyers Association. Its relationship with the Family Law section has been strained over the years but has improved recently. Some initiatives suggested in the interviews may form a basis for closer ties.

The Commission’s role as the umbrella organization for access to justice efforts in Texas has been less clear. The term “umbrella organization” may imply an oversight responsibility with a broad awareness of all access to justice activities in the state. It also suggests that stakeholders look to the Commission for guidance and insight regarding their contributions to access to justice effort in the state.

If that is the expectation, the conclusions from the fact-finding and research component of this planning process suggest that the Commission needs to engage in a strategy to raise its profile. The Commission is not as widely known as might be expected in the access to justice landscape in Texas. Some persons surveyed and interviewed professed to have little knowledge of the Commission and its work. Moreover, the Commission was reported by some not to be familiar with the work and the challenges of the legal aid organizations that form the core of service to low-income clients. This points to the need for a two-way communication strategy as one possible initiative in the strategic planning process.

This strategic planning process also affords an opportunity for the Commission to capitalize on its operational strengths and to address some of its challenges that are discussed in this report.

Potential Strategic Initiatives

Increased availability of lawyers for representation. The report notes that both the survey and the interviews raised the inherent limitations of self-help. The Supreme Court Order creating the Commission explicitly favored efforts to increase the availability of lawyers for full representation over self-help. The report suggests strategies that would increase

the availability of lawyers for representation and explore if there are ways to increase the viability of self-help strategies:

• Increased pro bono recruitment, including through large law firms, corporate counsel departments, the Family Law Section, and other Sections of the State Bar;

• Fee shifting in family law matters pursuant to relevant Texas statutes;

• Limited right to counsel initiatives, where possible;

• Support for low-fee law firms;

• Increased use of discrete task or unbundled representation;

• Engagement of license paralegals and community justice workers, if approved by the Supreme Court; and

• Increased use of mediation, where appropriate.

• Engaging large corporations, wealthy individuals, and the plaintiffs’ bar;

• Undertaking a concerted campaign to increase bar dues check-offs and to improve the process by which checkoffs are accomplished;

• Working to increase cy pres awards for funding legal aid services; and

• Tapping into unused county law library funds.

Communication and outreach. The report notes the recurring theme of the need for increased and improved communication on the part of the Commission. It cites three areas of potential focus:

• Broad communication about the role and activities of the Commission;

• Improved communication between the Commission and legal service providers; and

• Outreach to other institutions and interests to bring them into the access to justice fold in Texas, including

o outreach to interests already aligned with access to justice efforts in the state, and

o outreach to interests not yet aligned with access to justice efforts, to enlist their engagement.

Access to the courts. Several dimensions of the need to improve access to the courts are highlighted in the report:

• In concert with the Office of Court Administration, continuation of the Commission’s efforts to address language access needs, including access for deaf persons, issues that the survey ranked second and third in importance for the Commission to tackle;

• Further support for the continuation and expansion of remote proceedings, the use of which has reportedly fallen off considerably to the detriment of low-income

litigants in both rural and urban areas, if they lack childcare and transportation, and are unable to take time off work; and

• Support for development of plain language in court documents.

• The role of law schools in supporting and encouraging graduates to work in rural areas;

• The use of technology to allow legal aid programs as well as urban and semi-urban private law firms to expand their practice to rural areas;

• Widened use of remote proceedings for litigants in rural areas;

• The use of medical-legal partnerships in rural public health facilities; and

• Support for uniform procedures and forms.

Law schools Eight law school deans and four clinical professors were interviewed and expressed strong support for the Commission playing a convening and coordinating role among the 10 Texas law schools. The report focuses on several areas of potential engagement by the Commission:

• Convening and coordinating an effort to develop an access to justice curriculum for use by all ten law schools to encourage knowledge of and commitment to access to justice by law graduates;

• Law school pro bono, which is heralded as a significant means to instill in law students an appreciation for a lawyer’s responsibility for access to justice;

• Law school clinics, which are viewed by some as the most effective law school teaching tool, but also the most expensive; and

• Internships and externships, which have potential in the placement of law students in rural areas, as well as other public-interest activities.

Client involvement. There was a strong interest among clients and client leaders interviewed in reviving a formerly strong tradition of client trainings and organizational meetings to support:

• Effective participation of client board members on providers’ boards of directors;

• Effective engagement of client councils in the support of programs; and

• Possible development of a clients’ Bill of Rights.

Technology. Technology is discussed in the report as a potential focus for the Commission’s planning efforts. It involved two separate issues:

• Support for technology for use by legal aid providers to support their work and to reach out to clients, including consideration of the potential uses and risks of AI;

• A possible renewal and updating of the Supreme Court’s order;

• The financial eligibility level of the target population for the Commission’s work;

• The makeup of the Commission and a possible committee structure;

• Relationship with the State Bar of Texas; and

• Orientation of new members.

BACKGROUND AND INTRODUCTION

Objectives of the planning

Fact-finding and research

effective access to justice system are important for the Commission to tackle. 1 There were 292 responses to the survey, which was distributed to state and local bar leaders, judges, staff of legal aid programs, law schools, social service providers, public defenders, client leaders and leaders of key access to justice institutions in Texas.

Structure of the report

SUCCESSFUL UNDERTAKINGS OF THE COMMISSION

Since its inception, the Texas Access to Justice Commission has successfully undertaken many initiatives that have furthered access to justice in the state.

• Recently, the Commission engaged in a filing fairness project in concert with Stanford Law School. The project was designed to increase access to justice by simplifying court processes and enlisting the use of technology.

• The Commission has long championed the rights of veterans through a Veterans Committee that is composed of members who are very experienced and knowledgeable about veterans issues.

• The Commission has also, in concert with the staff of the State Bar’s Legal Access Department, supported pro bono It offers the Corporate Counsel Pro Bono Award, sponsors the Pro Bono Spring Break and recently sponsored a virtual pro bono summit.

• The Commission has promoted law school collaborations through the Access to Justice Internship Program and Pro Bono Spring Break.

• The Commission has worked to increase federal funding for legal aid services to lowincome Texans through participation in ABA Days and pursued efforts to increase state level funding for basic civil legal services. It sponsors the Champions of Justice Gala which raises significant funds for legal aid services for low-income Texas Veterans and supports the Champions of Justice Society as well as an annual Justice for All Campaign.

• The Commission studied and made recommendations regarding remote hearings and provisions for individuals unable to pay court costs and successfully supported legislation to increase access for litigants who speak a language other than English.

• The Commission has honored support for access to justice through a series of awards. 3

2 See, for example, Resources Archive - Texas ATJ Tech Center

Texas Access to Justice Commission Strategic Planning March 19, 2024

and

• The Legal Access Department with which the Commission shares staff organizes the annual Pro Bono Coordinators Retreat, for coordinators of private bar involvement. The Legal Access Division also puts on the Poverty Law Conference, which draws legal aid advocates from across the state. The Pro Bono Coordinators Retreat and the Poverty Law Conference traditionally occur in Austin with the Conference immediately following the Retreat.

STRUCTURAL AND OPERATIONAL QUESTIONS

Supreme Court Expectations of the Commission

The Commission was created in 2001 following a statewide planning process that began in 1999 and involved the Supreme Court, the State Bar of Texas, the Texas Equal Access to Justice Foundation, the Texas Bar Foundation and the state’s legal aid providers. The Court’s order laid out a significant and central role for the Commission in furthering access to justice in Texas. The order noted that the statewide planning process that led to the creation of the Commission had found that “leadership that is accepted by the various stakeholder organizations committed to achieving full access, and empowered to take action is essential to realizing equal justice for all in Texas.” It did not define how that leadership should manifest, but it called for the Commission to be “the umbrella organization for all efforts to expand access to justice … in Texas.” The order also called on the Commission to “serve as a coordinator to assist… in developing strategic alliances to effectively move ideas into action.”

Strategic coordination

The Commission has had notable successes 5 and is generally well thought of. Its most successful role has been in coordinating with others. 6 It has three critical relationships that are key to its work. It is noteworthy that all three – the Supreme Court, the State Bar of

4 See, Texas Disaster Legal Help (simplejustice.org)

5 See the discussion of the Commission's achievements beginning at p. 6

6 There was considerable discussion at the February 22, 2024 meeting regarding what the Supreme Court meant by the terms "umbrella organization" and "coordinator."

Texas Access to Justice Commission

2024

Texas, and the Texas Access to Justice Foundation – are specifically identified on its webpage.

• The Supreme Court

The strong trust that the Supreme Court has in the Commission is evidenced by its October 2022 request that the Commission develop recommendations for allowing non-attorney professionals to provide limited legal services directly to low-income Texans and for nonattorneys to have an economic interest in entities that provide legal services to low-income Texans.

• The Texas Access to Justice Foundation

Similarly, the Foundation has been exemplary in using its credibility with programs and other institutions to initiate programs that have significant policy implications. An example is its funding of kiosks to support participation in remote hearings by technologically challenged litigants.

7 See the discussion of fundraising at p. 18.

This strategic planning process may lead the Commission to pursue several strategic goals in whose outcome the Foundation has a strong interest and a likely role helping to accomplish. Cordial, supportive relationships among the leadership and other key persons associated with each organization portend a strengthening of the partnership and a clarification of the most beneficial role played by each.

• The State Bar of Texas

The relationship with the State Bar of Texas is complicated. There are areas where there has been conflict with components of the Bar as well as missed opportunities for alliances. The historic opposition of the Family Law Section of the State Bar to the Commission’s initiatives to support underrepresented litigants in family law cases is well documented. Some interviewees expressed the view that the relationship has improved, particularly with the involvement of members of the Section in the recent work of the Commission to develop recommendations regarding licensed paraprofessionals. Others, however, expressed the view that the relationship is still contentious and that a concerted effort needs to be undertaken to address it.

A strong suggestion was made during our interviews that the Commission should focus more resolutely on increasing the availability of lawyers, particularly through pro bono initiatives, rather than on self-help remedies. 8 The focus on self-help remedies was seen by some family law lawyers as threatening to undermine the economic viability of their firms.

• New strategic partnerships

This strategic planning process offers an opportunity for the Commission to increase its strategic relationships with other institutions.

• It has already reached out to Texas’s ten law schools. The interviews identified numerous potential initiatives involving the cooperative efforts of the Commission and the state’s law schools. Law school deans who were interviewed commonly embraced the idea of the Commission as a coordinator and convenor to support their engagement in access to justice efforts. 9

• Three groups in the State Bar of Texas were also identified in the interviews as having significant common interest with the Commission: The Poverty Law

8 Potential initiatives to accomplish this are discussed later in this report at p. 15.

9 Potential strategic initiatives involving the law schools are discussed below at p. 25.

Section, the Computer and Technology Section and the Texas Young Lawyers Association. 10

• Two seniors’ groups also share possibly overlapping interests: the state and local area agencies on aging and the Texas Silver-Haired Legislature, which is authorized by the Texas legislature to develop legislative recommendations related to the needs of seniors. 11

• Another area where the strategic planning process may seek new strategic relationships is with large corporations, including their corporate counsel offices. 12

Leadership role as the umbrella organization.

While the Commission has successfully carried out a coordinating role and is poised to expand that role, its role as “the umbrella organization for all efforts to expand access to justice in civil matters in Texas” is less clear. While the work of the Commission is known by many in the access to justice community, a significant minority are relatively unfamiliar with it. 13 More importantly, it is not perceived as being familiar with the work and challenges of the legal aid service providers.

The survey and interviews both reflected the lack of familiarity with the Commission’s work by some engaged in access to justice efforts in the state.

• Another said: “I do not know how to rate you on many of these questions. Perhaps this is on me for not knowing all that you do Do you have a social media presence?”

• Yet another said: “I do not recall receiving any reports from the Texas Access to Justice Commission.”

10 The potential for new alliances, including with these bar components is discussed below at p. 21

11 See the discussion at p. 22

12 Potential strategic initiatives involving corporations and corporate counsel are discussed below at pp. 19 and 16.

13 More than two thirds of the survey respondents self-identified either as “Very familiar with all its work” (18.56%) or “Familiar with some but not all that it does” (49.48%). But a third ranged from “Only know[ing] generally what it does” (19.93%) to “Know[ing] the Commission exists but not what it does” (6.87%) to “Hav[ing] not heard of the Commission” (5.15%). More than 25% of the respondents who work for a legal aid provider expressed little familiarity with the Commission.

Texas Access to Justice Commission Strategic Planning March 19, 2024 Revised Fact-Finding and Research Report – For Discussion Only Page 11

• And similarly: “I don't know enough of what the Commission does.”

• A respondent from a social service organization, put it succinctly: “This organization is not well known.”

Some interviewees and survey respondents also confused the Texas Access to Justice Commission with the Texas Access to Justice Foundation. One comment to the survey made this clear: “I am more aware of Texas Access to Justice Foundation, but I do not know how TAJC and TAJF relate nor where they differ.” The same confusion was demonstrated in some of the interviews. Greater familiarity with the Foundation among staff of legal aid is not surprising, since it is a major funder.

Not every comment in the survey expressed a lack of appreciation for the work of the Commission. One person who works for a legal aid organization commented: “I see the Texas Access to Justice Commission as an entity that has statewide knowledge and reach. While legal aid serving organizations like ours work on the frontlines, the Commission can gather information and work to address the systemic issues and help disseminate information to the legal community and the community at large about the local organizations providing services ” Another respondent from a legal aid organization, who self-identified as being very familiar with the work of the Commission, said simply: “Excellent at working to reduce barriers.”

With regard to Commission members’ knowledge of what is happening on the ground with legal aid providers, the interviews encountered a similar perceived lack of awareness. Both Commissioners and persons in field programs acknowledged that it would be beneficial for Commissioners to be more aware of what field programs do and of the challenges they and their client communities face. One person observed that there is “no real way to report to the Commission what we do.” A related concern was expressed about the need for the Commission to be more familiar with what legal aid organizations cannot do because of federal and state restrictions. Some current and former Commissioners also lamented the general unfamiliarity with program operations and challenges. One Commissioner observed: “When I look at who is at the table, I just don’t see people who are actually doing the work.” Commissioners noted the benefit of recent presentations to the Commission by legal aid staff on aspects of their work.

The mutual lack of awareness by some of the Commission’s work, on the one hand, and of the efforts and challenges of the legal aid providers, on the other, is a challenge. At a minimum, it limits the Commission’s ability to “identify and assess current and future needs for access to justice” and “monitor the effectiveness of the statewide system and services provided” as charged by the 2001 Supreme Court order.

what each does. Improving communications is one potential strategic initiative that is described later in this report. 14

Specific charges given to the Commission by the Supreme Court.

The 2001 Supreme Court Order set forth eight specific responsibilities of the newly formed commission:

“The Texas Access to Justice Commission will:

• identify and assess current and future needs for access to justice in civil matters by low-income Texans;

• develop and publish a strategic plan for statewide delivery of civil legal services to low-income Texans;

• foster the development of a statewide integrated civil legal-services delivery system;

• work to increase resources and funding for access to justice in civil matters and to ensure that the resources and funding are applied to the areas of greatest need;

• develop and implement initiatives designed to expand civil access to justice;

• work to reduce barriers to the justice system by addressing existing and proposed court rules, procedures, and policies that negatively affect access to justice for low-income Texans; and

• monitor the effectiveness of the statewide system and services provided and periodically evaluate the progress made by the Commission in fulfilling the civil legal needs of low-income Texans.”

Two suggestions were made during the interviews that pertain to these assigned responsibilities. The first was that the Commission should formally evaluate the degree to which it has accomplished these charges. This fact-finding and research stage of strategic planning was not designed as an evaluation, although it did identify some successes and failures related to these charges. The Commission has worked “to increase resources and funding for access to justice in civil matters and to ensure that the resources and funding are applied to the areas of greatest need.” It has also developed and implemented “initiatives designed to expand civil access to justice” and has successfully worked “to reduce barriers to the justice system by addressing existing and proposed court rules, procedures, and policies that negatively affect access to justice for low-income Texans.”

On the other hand, the Commission has not undertaken a formal needs assessment to “identify and assess current and future needs for access to justice in civil matters by low-income Texans.” Nor has it developed and published a “strategic plan for the statewide delivery

14 See the discussion of communication and outreach at p. 22.

of civil legal services to low-income Texans.” The responsibility to “monitor the effectiveness of the statewide system and services provided” has largely fallen to the Texas Access to Justice Foundation in the course of its assuring proper expenditure and use of its funds in accordance with its adopted standards.

Operation of the Commission

The survey and interviews identified some areas where, as part of its strategic planning effort, the Commission may want to consider operational and structural changes. 16

The amount of time devoted to receiving information from partners – which is an important dimension of the Commission’s work – and to reacting to the information and discussing if and how to act in response is a question of balance. That balance may shift naturally toward greater substantive and action focused discussion as a result of this planning process. This may occur both as the Commission decides where and how to focus its future work and as it receives and acts on progress reports regarding the strategic plan. It will be important to monitor the degree to which Commissioners feel it has struck the right balance and that it continues to receive necessary information from his partners while also maintaining an action focus.

15 See the discussion below at p. 31

16 A full discussion of a potential approach to addressing these issues in strategic planning can be found below at p. 30.

POTENTIAL STRATEGIC INITIATIVES

Increased availability of lawyers for representation

It is notable that the Supreme Court Order that created the Commission specifically found that “poor people in Texas are underrepresented in that they receive limited advice … when they would in fact be better served by full representation….” The Commission’s website evokes this ideal: “All litigants should be represented by competent counsel It goes on to note: “Until we can achieve that ideal, however, we must find ways to simplify our system for those who lack the money to hire a lawyer.” 17

The research efforts of this planning process shed some light on the challenging interplay between the obvious value of increasing the availability of lawyers for litigants and the appeal of increasing resources to assist unrepresented litigants. A stark reality is that lawyers are not readily available to provide full representation to low-income and many moderate-income people in need of legal help. In Texas and elsewhere, an increasingly large percentage of litigants are unrepresented on both sides of the matter. 18 As a result, there has been increasing emphasis on support for unrepresented litigants. 19 The survey and interviews conducted as part of this planning process found a strong concern that self-help materials are inherently inadequate to level the playing field for unrepresented litigants where the other party is represented by an attorney.

Several comments to the survey spoke to this issue:

• A legal aid advocate observed: “Study after study shows that litigants without counsel are at a severe disadvantage in every type of legal matter. This necessarily means that those who cannot afford counsel and are relegated to ‘self-help’ are largely doomed to fail. TAJC, indeed, Texas should lead the way in a right to counsel for everyone. If it is important enough for someone to litigate, then each side should have a trained, licensed advocate otherwise, it isn't justice.”

• A judge responding to the survey commented: “I work with many pro se litigants. They rarely understand what is happening in court. They do not know how to represent themselves in court. . Pro se litigants do not know how to behave, get in exhibits, when to talk, how to ask questions, or even that they need to present "evidence" not conjecture. They are also confused about what relief they want.”

17 Pro Se Litigants | Texas Access to Justice Commission (texasatj.org)

18 See, Self-Represented Litigants | NCSC

19 See, for example, the Self-Represented Litigation Network, SRLN.

• A leader in a legal aid organization commented: “While I realize that ‘right to counsel’ is probably cost prohibitive …, [j]ustice cannot prevail in this system until the playing field is truly level, and as long as pro se litigants exist that field will continue to be unfair.”

• A legal aid advocate said: “Low-income communities need adequately-funded, fullservice legal assistance from real, professionally-specialized advocates, more than inexpensive limited-service measures like hotlines/kiosks etc. and short-term volunteer pro bono attorneys.”

The challenge faced by unrepresented litigants was emphasized by one of the judges interviewed, who observed that in 70% of the cases where tenants were represented, they avoided eviction. In contrast, most unrepresented defendants were unsuccessful in protecting their home. Debt claim cases were identified as another area where it makes a demonstrable difference to have a lawyer negotiating for the defendant.

These concerns are part of a larger debate regarding changes in the practice of law generally. 20 A concern was expressed in the interviews that although self-help materials are targeted for low-income litigants, they have become a tool used by many, including some who arguably could afford a lawyer. One person interviewed observed that many persons using the forms, particularly if they involve division of property, pensions, custody and child support, do not arrive at an equitable result. Sometimes, it is because of a difference in the power relationship in a marriage, where the dominant partner, often the husband, dictates what goes in the forms to the other party’s detriment. Other times, it is because the parties do not understand subtle legal issues, such as those affecting pensions and property.

A variety of ways were suggested to increase the availability of legal representation in both family and other matters. The first, of course, is to increase funding for legal aid, so more lawyers can be hired. Strategies to accomplish that are discussed as a separate initiative in this report. 21 Recent data regarding the growing justice gap confirm, however, that there is unlikely in the foreseeable future to be adequate funding to pay for all the lawyers necessary to fill the need.

A second approach is to increase pro bono substantially. Two other possible initiatives were also suggested during the fact-finding and research: a) substantially increased use of fee shifting statutes; and b) experimentation with the right to counsel.

20 See, for example, Richard Susskind, The End of Lawyers? (Oxford University Press, 2008; revised paperback, 2010); and Richard Susskind, Tomorrow's Lawyers: An Introduction to Your Future (Oxford University Press, 2013).

21 Strategies to increase funding are discussed at p. 18.

Other strategies to increase the availability of lawyers might also be explored as vehicles to overcome what some perceive to be the weakness of self-help. Those involve strategies, for example, to encourage wider use of lawyers for limited representation to assist litigants to handle their case with professional help at key stages, while handling the matter on their own when they are able. Two strategies discussed are expansion of support for sustainable, low-fee law firms (incubators) and increased use of discrete task or unbundled representation.

At the request of the Supreme Court, the Commission developed a detailed study and recommendation to permit trained paraprofessionals to provide limited legal services to lowincome clients in defined practice areas. The Supreme Court is considering the recommendation which contemplates licensing paralegals or community justice workers to provide legal representation in family law, probate and estates, and consumer-debt law. If the Supreme Court adopts or modifies the recommendations, the Commission’s strategic planning efforts may consider specific ways that the licensed paralegals or community justice workers might be used to meet the needs discussed in this section.

Finally, a planning initiative to explore ways to address the problem of the lack of representation and the perceived limitation of self-help materials may develop plans to increase the use of mediation in appropriate areas.

Each of these strategies is discussed below.

The greatest need for lawyers is in the family law area, the area with the greatest amount of controversy regarding self-help materials. Several persons interviewed thought that it would be fruitful for the Commission to engage the Family Law Section in a joint challenge to help solve the problem of the lack of lawyers by exploring how to increase its lawyers’ pro bono involvement.

Another suggestion is to convene a meeting of pro bono counsel from large law firms to share information about what they do and what is successful. Not only might such an effort

share best practices, but it might enlist a collective commitment to addressing the justice gap.

Fee shifting. An idea that emerged during the interviews is to encourage wide use of Texas’ code provisions that permit a court in family law proceedings to order the party with greater resources to pay the attorney fees for the other party, if that party is unable to afford an attorney. The Family Code authorizes both temporary orders 22 and final orders 23 directing payment of attorney’s fees by one party to the other. The same is true in child custody matters. 24

There is not a culture in Texas of using these fee shifting statutes to increase the availability of private lawyers to provide representation. Nevertheless, there are other states where it is common practice, and its impact is palpable There are many factors in Texas that might inhibit the widespread application of the statute in cases where it might be used. It would take thoughtful strategies to engage the Supreme Court, members of the bar, trial judges, and judicial educators to encourage a wider use of this potential tool to increase representation. It is an area where the Commission could engage with the Family Law Section of the State Bar to consider the concept and whether it would be beneficial to encourage its wider use.

It should be noted as well that Texas has a provision that allows a county judge to “appoint counsel to represent a party who makes an affidavit that he is too poor to employ counsel.” 25 Similarly, “A district judge may appoint counsel to attend to the cause of a party who makes an affidavit that he is too poor to employ counsel to attend to the cause. 26 Such representation is unreimbursed, so presumably is likely to be ordered by a judge only in

22 Tex. Fam. Code Ann. §6.502. TEMPORARY INJUNCTION AND OTHER TEMPORARY ORDERS. “(a) While a suit for dissolution of a marriage is pending and on the motion of a party or on the court's own motion after notice and hearing, the court may render an appropriate order, …(4) ordering payment of reasonable attorney's fees and expenses.”

23 Tex. Fam. Code Ann. § 6.708. COSTS; ATTORNEY'S FEES AND EXPENSES. “(c) In a suit for dissolution of a marriage, the court may award reasonable attorney's fees and expenses.”

24 Tex. Fam. Code Ann. § 106.002. ATTORNEY'S FEES AND EXPENSES. “(a) In a suit under this title, the court may render judgment for reasonable attorney's fees and expenses and order the judgment and post judgment interest to be paid directly to an attorney.

(b)A judgment for attorney's fees and expenses may be enforced in the attorney's name by any means available for the enforcement of a judgment for debt.”

25 Tex. Gov’t Code Ann. § 26.049.

26 Tex. Gov’t Code Ann. § 24.016.

exceptional circumstances. Nevertheless, these provisions may be used to appoint counsel in cases where a low-income party faces substantial risk, if unrepresented.

Right to counsel. Some states have adopted a policy of providing attorneys for all indigent parties in matters where a substantial right is at stake. Texas has a right to counsel in cases involving termination of parental rights. Some states have adopted a right to counsel in evictions. A comment to the survey pointed out that in Harris County, Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERAP) funds were used to create “an innovative ‘right to counsel’ initiative in JP eviction courts.… [T]his concept should be expanded statewide. It has been beneficial to both tenants and landlords ” A JP court created a program, which was described in the interviews, through which all indigent defendants in eviction matters were entitled to representation provided through local pro bono programs that agree to support the plan.

Low-fee law firms. Another initiative that the Commission might consider is to encourage law firms that are designed to provide representation to clients on a low fee or sliding scale basis. The State Bar of Texas currently supports the Texas Opportunity & Justice Incubator (txoji.com) which seeks to “fill that gap between the citizens’ need for justice and our profession’s need for employment opportunity in brief, to meet the need for justice with the need for opportunity ” Its mission is to “Expand access to justice by supporting Texas lawyers who are building sustainable law practices serving low income and modest-income Texans.” The model uses technology, alternative fee arrangements and other options “beyond the traditional billable hours.” So-called incubator models have gained national attention in recent years and the lessons learned may provide valuable supportive guidance for an expanded effort in Texas. 29

Increased use of discrete task or unbundled representation. A related inquiry would examine the viability of increased discrete task (unbundled) representation as a feature of a practice that seeks to serve low-income and modest income clients. A pro bono initiative might be built around a plan that offers the volunteer attorneys a means to provide assistance for a limited purpose. Nationally, there are firms and legal aid programs that

27 Tex. Gov’t Code Ann. § 25.0020

28 Washington State, for example, has created an eviction defense program under which every indigent tenant subject to eviction has a right to counsel. Eviction Defense Programs | OCLA (wa.gov) See also, About | Civil Right to Counsel | NCCRC.

29 See, Legal Incubators (americanbar.org)

regularly offer representation for discrete tasks, agreeing with the client in which parts of a matter the attorney will directly represent the client and for which parts the client will be responsible, with the support and help of the attorney. The Texas State Law Library describes this as a “concept [that] is fairly new in Texas, so there are not many resources yet.” 30

Limited license paraprofessionals. The Supreme Court has only recently received the recommendations of the Commission regarding the possibility of permitting trained and licensed paraprofessionals or community justice workers to provide representation in discrete areas of family law, probate and estates and consumer-debt. The area with the greatest unmet need is family law. If the court acts on the Commission’s recommendations, the Commission, as part of its planning process, may explore ways for the newly created class of legal workers to be used to address the needs in this area.

Mediation. Texas law strongly supports alternative dispute resolution (ADR), including mediation. The Civil Practice and Remedies Code states: “It is the policy of this state to encourage the peaceable resolution of disputes, with special consideration to disputes involving the parent-child relationship, including the mediation of issues involving conservatorship, possession, and support of children, and the early settlement of pending litigation through voluntary settlement procedures.” 31

Mediation services are generally available in larger communities. 32 Every Texas law school is in a county that is served by a public-facing dispute resolution center. The Texas Rural Mediation Services reportedly provides mediation services statewide in a wide array of civil matters.

A skilled mediator can help address power imbalances and can spot and attempt to address various exploitative behaviors of the kind noted earlier in this report. 33 When used in cases in which there has been disclosure of information as required by or sought under the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure, mediation from an expert mediator of a public mediation service may result in a just outcome. Courts have the authority to refer a matter to mediation and may be encouraged, through judicial training, to do so when an apparent

30 General Information - Limited Scope Representation - Guides at Texas State Law Library

31 Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code Ann. §154.002. The courts addressed by Texas’ policy of support for alternative dispute resolution include the appellate, district, constitutional county, statutory county, family law, probate, municipal, and justice of the peace courts. Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code Ann. §154.001(1).

32 The Texas State Law Library maintains information about numerous public-facing dispute resolution services. See Dispute Resolution Centers - Legal Assistance Organizations - Guides at Texas State Law Library at https://guides.sll.texas.gov/legal-assistance-organizations (last updated Feb. 22, 2024, 3:57 PM).

33 See the discussion on p. 16.

uncontested divorce appears to be leading to an unjust or exploitive result. 34 A matter may be referred for mediation by a court or at the request of a party at various points in the procedure, including pretrial conference. 35

Exploration of the possibility of expanded use of mediation might also encourage consideration of mediation by legal aid programs as a way of dealing with contested family law matters, including those with contested custody issues. There are a variety of online CLE programs on the use of mediation that are available free of charge to staff lawyers of the five largest legal aid programs in Texas. 36 The hundreds of online CLE classes span fifty-three (53) practice areas, including ADR.

There may also be opportunities to offer participation in representation of low-income parties in mediation as a pro bono service by corporate counsel and attorneys in large law firms, by supervised law students, and by other pro bono members of the legal profession. Given the use of metrics for determining child support obligations, and given known formulas for valuing pensions, real property, vehicles, and other assets, and given the availability of disclosures under the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure, there may also be a role for pro bono counsel to serve as providers of second opinions, before a mediation agreement is signed. That would be an extra precaution against advantage taking prejudicing the less powerful participant in mediation. The mediation agreement is also subject to review by the court.

Fundraising

In the survey conducted as part of this process, “Working to increase public and private funding for legal aid for low-income persons” was the initiative that was deemed to be the most important for the Commission to take on in the planning process. There was a recognition among many interviewees that although raising monies is a primary responsibility of the Texas Access to Justice Foundation, this is an area where the Commission on its own or in concert with the Foundation has an important role. In addition to its current resource development efforts, several ideas were suggested.

34 Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code Ann. §154.021.

35 See, Tex. R. Civ. P. 166(o).

36 Disability Rights Texas, Legal Aid of NorthWest Texas, Lone Star Legal Aid, Texas Legal Services Center, and Texas RioGrande Legal Aid.

Texas Access to Justice Commission

Foundation could be undertaken to educate lawyers about the shocking 92% justice gap and the relatively painless way they could contribute to addressing it. The means by which dues are collected electronically that as a practical matter inhibits lawyers opting for the dues check off needs to be redesigned.

Court-approved cy pres awards are a further potential source of funding. Notably, TexasLawHelp was originally funded by a cy pres award requested by the Texas equal justice programs. 37 There is expertise on the Commission in relation to a landmark Texas cy pres case. 38 The Supreme Court Advisory Committee is considering a change to Rule 42 of the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure. In the February 22, 2024 meeting where the original version of this report was considered, the Commission approved a motion to recommend that Rule 42 to be revised to require that cy pres awards be given to the Texas Access to Justice Foundation for distribution to its grantees.

Finally, it was noted that an untapped source of money are unspent County Law Library funds that may be spent in certain circumstances to assist in the representation of lowincome people.

Communication and outreach

The need for improved communication was a recurring theme in the interviews and survey comments. Improved communication was suggested in three discrete, though interrelated areas. The first is better communication generally about the role and activities of the Commission. The second is communication between the Commission and legal aid providers regarding the role and operation of both. The third area involves outreach to other institutions and interests to bring them into the fold of those who care about and support access to justice.

37 Northrup v. Southwestern Bell Telephone Company, 72 S.W.3d 16, 22 (Tex. App. – Corpus Christi 2002, pet. dism’d).

38 See, Highland Homes Ltd. v. State of Texas, 448 S.W.3d 403 (Tex. 2014).

39 Tex. Loc. Gov’t Code Ann. § 323.023.

Texas Access to Justice Commission

effective it can be encouraging change. It is particularly important that it be recognized by the decision-makers that will affect the access to justice landscape on a statewide and a local level.

Improved communication between the Commission and service providers. Earlier this report outlined the need for a greater flow of information between the Commission and the legal aid service providers 41 Some of the strategic initiatives outlined in this report may provide a vehicle for an increase in such information through the involvement of a variety of field program personnel in the working groups that develop the strategic initiatives.

In addition, other strategies were mentioned during the interviews.

• One idea is for the Commission periodically to hold its meetings in different parts of the state and schedule visits to local service providers.

• Another is to have staff from service providers offer presentations regarding their work and to invite discussion from the Commission regarding the issues involved. 42

• A third is to involve staff of service providers in the working committees of the Commission.

• A fourth approach might be to include members of the Commission in a part or all of a site visit conducted by the Access to Justice Foundation of its grantees.

• A fifth strategy, discussed in the following subsection, is to establish a more formal and ongoing relationship with the Poverty Law Section of the State Bar of Texas, which is comprised significantly of legal aid staff lawyers.

• A sixth approach might be for the Commission to be provided with data gathered by the Texas Access to Justice Foundation from its grantees. The Foundation, through the “Self-Assessment Report” (“SAR”), annually collects client-anonymous data regarding the activities of its grantees. The SAR contains information about the subject matter of cases closed during the prior calendar year by each grantee, the level of services provided, and how many cases were closed per county. It also reports how many volunteer attorneys closed cases for the program. In the past, the Foundation has collected data tracking the reasons that limited representation cases were closed without extended services. The SAR also tracks the language capabilities of the grantees. At a minimum, the commission might benefit from a summary of the services being delivered statewide and county-by-county.

40 See e.g., How-Tos | Voices for Civil Justice.

41 See the discussion above at p. 8.

42 This has happened recently, and was heralded in the interviews as having been very useful.

Texas Access to Justice Commission

2024

A related strategy that was suggested in the interviews and raise as well in the February 22, 2024 Commission meeting is to undertake a statewide legal needs assessment. Such an effort would involve communication about the work of the service providers and the changes that might be appropriate to address unmet needs that are identified.

Outreach to interests already aligned with access to justice efforts. As noted above, there are two sections of the State Bar of Texas that would seem to have a common interest with the Access to Justice Commission. These are the Poverty Law Section and the Computer and Technology Section. The former is made up principally of legal aid staff attorneys and addresses issues that are germane to them. Its interests, therefore, would appear to be on all fours with important areas of focus of the Commission.

The intersection with the Computer and Technology Section may be more attenuated, but the importance of technology to access to justice is clear, as evidenced by a later discussion in this report. 43 The Section has reached out to the legal aid community by making its recent CLE program available cost-free to legal aid staff. The program addressed the latest developments in artificial intelligence in the practice of law, remote hearings, and tech tips, all relevant to legal aid lawyers.

The Texas Young Lawyers association was also mentioned several times during the interviews as being a potential partner with the Commission. It was described as particularly effective in addressing issues that are within areas of concern of the Commission. There is an annual meeting of local bar leaders and it was remarked that that annual meeting would be a good event for the Commission to attend and be visible.

43 See the discussion of technology below at p. 28.

44 See the discussion above at p. 16.

The same trajectory may be possible through outreach to other interests. The Texas Health and Human Services Commission has a legal services developer whose responsibility is to provide leadership in the development of legal services for persons sixty years or older. The Texas Silver-Haired Legislature is authorized by the Texas legislature to develop legislative recommendations related to the needs of seniors.

Elsewhere, this report discusses outreach to large corporations in Texas for fundraising 46 and the engagement with corporate counsel to increase pro bono efforts. 47 Those efforts may be undertaken as a part of a general outreach effort to increase the engagement of those interests in broads support of access to justice.

Access to courts

45 See the discussion below at p. 25

46 See the discussion above at p. 19.

47 See the discussion above at p. 16.

services by telephone or videoconferencing in short non-evidentiary hearings. OCA is also charged with monitoring the expenses of each county in providing certified interpreters. OCA appears to be a natural ally of the Commission to work with others to address the issue.

Remote proceedings. Other issues associated with access to the courts were highlighted in the planning survey. Support for the expansion and effective use of remote proceedings was identified as the tenth most important issue for the Commission to address in the planning process. In spite of compelling evidence of the dramatic impact of remote hearings on access to the courts for litigants, many judges – even in rural areas – were reported to have gone back to requiring in-person appearances in all proceedings and all matters. Dramatic evidence from Texas and other states during the pandemic demonstrates unequivocally that the need to obtain childcare, transportation, and to take off work prevents many litigants from appearing in civil, or even in criminal matters. Given what is known about the striking impact of remote proceedings on increasing access to the courts, the Commission’s continued support of their continuation and expansion appears warranted.

Plain Language. The need for plain language in court documents also implicates meaningful access to the courts. It was noted in the survey that many low-income individuals do not read above sixth grade level. Given the fact that many low-income persons are unrepresented in court matters involving family law, evictions and debt, there is increasing national attention to have court documents written in plain language. 48 The planning survey ranked “Supporting the conversion of court documents into “plain language” as the 15th out of 30th most-important initiative for the Commission to address in planning.

Rural access / “legal deserts”

A challenge confronting the many rural counties in Texas is the lack of lawyers to meet general legal needs, let alone those of low-income persons. A 2018 report of the State Bar of Texas found that 67 of Texas’s 245 counties have five lawyers or fewer, of which 17 counties have just one lawyer and six have no lawyers at all. Respondents to the survey conducted as part of this planning process ranked “Supporting the capacity of the system to meet the needs of rural Texas, including ‘legal deserts’” as the fourth most important issue for the Commission to address in its planning efforts. It is a problem that is national in scope and has garnered significant attention. 49

48 See National Center for State Courts discussion of the importance of plain language at Plain Language | NCSC.

49 Legal Deserts: A Multi-State Perspective on Rural Access to Justice by Lisa R. Pruitt, Amanda L. Kool, Lauren Sudeall, Michele Statz, Danielle M. Conway, Hannah Haksgaard :: SSRN The Colorado Access to Justice Commission recently obtained a $650,000 two-year federal grant to tackle the challenge.

rural areas that are distant from the cities in Texas that have law schools. The online law school has just recently opened, so its impact remains to be seen. It is possible, however, that it will result in some lawyers from rural areas remaining in their communities, mitigating the lack of lawyers there.

Medical-legal partnerships. Medical-legal partnerships to deploy legal assistance to address the social determinants of health have increasingly been employed nationally and in Texas. Given the rural expertise of the Texas A&M School of Public Health and the legal expertise of the Texas A&M School of Law, the Commission could explore whether a synergy could be developed to address the lack of access to justice in legal deserts by means of medical-legal partnerships in rural health clinics.

Remote proceedings. Texas was the epicenter of demonstrating the value of remote hearings as making court access available in rural areas, where requiring in-person participation has been shown to eliminate a high percentage of litigants from appearing. In spite of this, however, it was reported that many judges have gone back to requiring in-person appearances for most or all of their proceedings. 51

Uniform forms and procedures. Another factor inhibiting the availability of legal representation in rural areas is the lack of uniform forms and procedures across the state. A law firm that may wish to locate in an urban or semi-urban area and represent clients across multiple rural counties, including those that qualify as a legal desert, finds it difficult to do so because of the plethora of different forms and procedures in each county. Notwithstanding the impact, many report the strong resistance to the development of uniform forms and procedures that might facilitate access in rural areas. The fact that Texas does not have a unified court system exacerbates the challenge of developing uniformity that might facilitate the use of technology to support more rural practice. It is an area in which the Commission might work with others, including the Office of Court Administration, to encourage meaningful change.

Texas Rule of Judicial Administration 10 may afford the Commission an opportunity to work with the Office of Court Administration to increase the consistency of rules, forms, and standing orders among the counties of Texas. Paragraph (g) of that Rule, and the comment to it make clear, “a court cannot reject forms approved by the Supreme Court or organizations that report to the Supreme Court.” Astute, incremental use of Rule 10 could lessen the difficulty posed by variances among counties regarding forms and procedures. Over time, some counties may appreciate new forms and procedures being developed for them, rather than having to create and maintain their own

50 Challenges associated with the digital divide are discussed below at p. 29

51 Remote hearings are discussed above at p. 23.

Law schools

A majority of the Texas law school deans and a representative group of clinical professors were interviewed as part of the fact-finding and research stage of strategic planning. There was general recognition that while the Commission has not historically been an important player with the law schools, recently its presence has been felt. For some time, the Commission has offered two awards that honor law schools and law students. 52 There was general recognition among the persons interviewed that the Commission can have a more assertive role convening the law schools and coordinating initiatives that will benefit access to justice in the state.

Until Covid, the law school deans did not meet and, although all describe their relationships as cordial, they did not know each other well. The pandemic led to more frequent Zoom meetings to address issues associated with the bar exam. More recently, at the invitation of Harriet Miers, the Commission’s Chair, the law school deans, and others have participated in online meetings. The connections which have been made through those meetings will support future strategies involving the law schools if the Commission decides to pursue them.

The law school deans and clinical professors who were interviewed noted that different law schools might use such a module differently. It would be most useful, therefore, if it were “plug-and-play” that would have versatile uses. For example, such a module might be used in orientation for clinical practice, in first-year orientation, or as part of a fullblown poverty law curriculum. Among other things, such a curriculum piece could address the nature of poverty, the justice gap, and the commonality and cascading impact of legal problems that affect the poor, and the means by which lawyers can respond to the need.

52 The Law School Commitment to Service Award “honors a Texas law school for exemplary efforts in promoting pro bono service and educating their students about the many barriers in our justice system for low-income Texans.” The Commission’s Law Student Pro Bono Award recognizes “a Texas law student whose strong commitment to pro bono serves as an exemplar to other students and has a tangible impact on their community.”

Pro Bono. Several law school activities directly support access to justice. The first is the offering of pro bono opportunities for law students. Five of the law schools, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, St. Mary’s Law School, UNT Dallas College of Law, and SMU have a mandatory requirement and the others encourage it. In 1996, SMU became the first law school in Texas to establish a pro bono requirement for graduation. Students are reported to frequently exceed the mandatory requirement as they become engaged in the work. One pro bono program described the law school pro bono requirement as having had a “tidal impact” on the program’s ability to recruit pro bono lawyers.

Legal Clinics. All of the law schools offer an opportunity for their students to participate in a legal clinic as a part of their legal education. Some clinics are aimed at serving lowincome persons, like landlord-tenant, family law, consumer protection, immigration and veterans rights. Several have innocence clinics. Other clinics offer experience in transactional law such as business formation, patents, trademarks and copyrights. The UNT Dallas College of Law operates two Community Learning Centers in low-income neighborhoods in conjunction with Legal Aid of Northwest Texas. They provide services in landlord-tenant, family law, child support, child custody, immigration and wills and probate.

clinic and provide supervision for the law school clinicians. In other states, there have been examples of a legal aid program sponsoring a clinic.

There was also discussion of the potential benefit of the Commission seeking a change in the court rule regarding clinical practice.

Client involvement

The trainings that were held served the purpose of supporting client leaders in their leadership role and educating them about the possibilities and limitations of the law in resolving issues experienced by low-income individuals, families, and communities The trainings also empowered clients to be community advocates for support for legal aid. In the past, clients have been successfully enlisted to testify before the legislature regarding the importance of legal aid funding. Client leaders can also be a source of information about new and emerging issues affecting low-income communities that might be addressed by legal aid organizations.

53 See the discussion of legal deserts at p. 23. ***

reports regarding casework of the program, the role of client councils, and how to communicate and connect with organizations serving the low-income community.

One suggestion proffered during the interviews was for the Commission, with the participation of clients and perhaps in concert with the Foundation, to develop and adopt a Clients’ Bill of Rights.

Technology

A related area for investigation involves the potential impact, risks, and opportunity associated with AI. The survey’s responses rated “Examining the potential use of artificial intelligence to facilitate access and problem-solving” last in importance for the Commission to consider in strategic planning. Several interviewees, however, disagreed and considered it important to pay close attention to it. The State Bar of Texas has a task force examining the issue, so a broad inquiry would seem duplicative. Nevertheless, some noted the risks and opportunities that are unique to low-income, unrepresented persons that should be considered.

One comment in the survey painted an ambitious picture. “I appreciate any study into AI and how it can help to solve some basic access to justice issues It would be wonderful to have an LLM that is ‘trained’ with the statu[t]es of Texas (inclusive of local codes and ordinances) and the rules of each court/jurisdiction. A client could describe their legal issue, and it would assess the level of legal complexity. It could advise them on whether pro se representation is appropriate and/or refer them to a local law library and rules. It

could advise them that their issue was more complex and that they need to speak to an attorney and then it could ask some simple income questions, and then it could refer to legal aid/pro bono, a referral service, or a local bar. I know that this is pie in the sky, but that would lift a load off of local legal aid/pro bono organizations and could help us better use our resources.”

With the coordination of the Commission, the annual Poverty Law Conference could have a session to update attendees on recent developments in technology, and the Computer and Technology Section could assist with or present that session.

Support across the digital divide, including in remote rural areas and legal deserts. Technology is often touted as a tool to expand access to legal services for persons who have difficulty accessing it, including in remote legal areas and “legal deserts.” 54 Texas has been at the cutting edge of making online services available through TexasLawHelp which provides guidance, including instructions, checklists and court forms across a variety of legal issues. 55 TexasLawHelp also offers persons who qualify an opportunity to chat live with a law student, paralegal or volunteer attorney. 56 The Texas Legal Services Center with support from the Texas Access to Justice Foundation is developing a network of kiosks to allow persons without a computer to attend a virtual court hearing or video meeting, as well as to get information about legal problems and get legal help. 57

The survey and interviews noted the “digital divide” is a significant challenge in any effort to use technology to increase access to justice. Several comments to the survey emphasized this challenge:

54 See the discussion of legal deserts at p. 24

55 See, Frontpage | Texas Law Help.

56 See, Ask a Question | Texas Law Help.

57 See, Virtual Court Kiosks | TLSC.

• “I think areas that emphasize access to courts and legal resources are crucial. I think it's important to keep the digital divide in mind especially when working with seniors”.

• “Not sure about technology as most of the low-income individuals, especially the older adults do not have access to technology or do they understand it. Might be a waste of time.”

• “As you expand technology, be cognizant of digital information accessibility (device and software based) for people with identified and unidentified disabilities.”

Structural and operational issues

At the outset, this report discussed several structural and operational issues regarding the Commission. Those included the degree to which it meets the leadership expectations of

the Supreme Court, 58 the strengths and challenges with its primary strategic relationships, 59 and some operational issues. 60 Many of the challenges, particularly those involving relationships with other institutions, may be addressed through a robust planning process that undertakes some of the initiatives identified in this report.

A second set of questions raised by the group in 2021 – which were also raised in the recent interviews – involves whether it is desirable to maintain the current structure. One aspect of the question is whether the composition of the Commission provides a broad enough spectrum of opinion and input. The concern was raised in the context of three perceived needs: 1) the value of more input from hands-on providers of legal services; 2) greater geographic distribution, particularly for a more rural presence; 3) and increased representation from both sides of the aisle in the legislature. Some in the interviews suggested that these needs could be addressed by a more robust Committee structure that involves persons who are not Commissioners and includes a broad spectrum of experience and interests. Rural judges were identified in the February 22, 2024 discussion as a group that it would be particularly beneficial to have input with the Commission.

58 See the discussion beginning at p. 7.

59 See the discussion beginning at p. 11

60 See the discussion beginning at p. 13.

One operational need identified in the interviews is the development of a better means of orienting and on-boarding new Commissioners. It was suggested that it would be very helpful to have a three-ring binder with materials that explain the role of the Commission. Such a binder could include the Supreme Court Order, its mission and vision, its strategic alliances, its historic and current initiatives, the background of current Commissioners, and its staff. An orientation package can be developed irrespective of the degree to which the other structural and operational issues are formally addressed in this strategic planning effort.

CONCLUSION

The purpose of this report is to provide a complete record of the information gathered during the fact-finding and research stage of the Texas Access to Justice Commission’s strategic planning. One important dimension of that information is to offer candid observations about the Commission’s strengths and challenges that will affect the development and implementation of strategic initiatives to improve access to justice in Texas. A second is to present possible areas of focus for the Commission’s next steps. The report does not suggest which initiatives should be undertaken by the Commission – that is for the Commission to decide. Nor does the report delineate the specific strategies that might be developed and implemented to pursue the initiatives. The ideas presented in this report are designed to suggest potential strategic approaches to each initiative. The specific strategic steps will be developed in the next stage of the process.

The goal of the meeting of the Strategic Planning Committee on March 19, 2024 is to agree on which strategic initiatives should be recommended to the Commission for its adoption as its April meeting. Upon adoption by the Commission, working groups will be recruited to develop specific strategies to accomplish the agree-upon initiatives. The working groups will be asked to determine:

• The objective for the initiative (What will be different for access to justice in Texas if the initiative is successful?);

• The action steps to be taken to accomplish the objective;

• Who will be responsible for each action step;

• The timetable for their achievement; and

• How success in accomplishing the objective will be measured.

The working groups will present their recommendations to the Strategic Planning Committee in August. The Strategic Planning Committee may ask some of the working groups

to revise or further develop their report and recommendations, if the objectives, strategic steps, assignment of responsibilities, timetable, and means to measure success are not clear.

The working group’s reports will be considered by the full Commission in its October meeting. Based on the Commission’s discussion in its October meeting, a final strategic plan will be developed in the month of November with a clear delineation of objectives, action steps and by whom, timetable and means to measure success for each initiative. The strategic plan will be considered and adopted by the Commission in its December meeting.

Strategic Planning Working Group Membership List

Court Access Working Group

Judge Lora Livingston Co -Chair

Judge Melody Wilkinson Co -Chair

Justice Gina Benavides Member

Lia Davis Member

Sylvia Dominguez-Santillan Member

Megan LaVoie Member

Judge Latosha Payne Member

Judge Penny Roberts Member

Lucia Romano Member

James Sullivan Member

Ester Torres Member

Edna Yang Yang Member

Ofelia Zapata Member

Self Help Working Group

Roland Johnson Chair

Patsy Aleman Member

Michael Curran Member

Jan Enders Member

Mallory Freitag-Hejja Member

Sharon Grady Member

Julian Honor Member

Professor Jeana Lungwitz Member

Karen Miller Member

Debra Mitchell-Ibe Member

Eloise Peterson Member

Gabriel Sanchez Sanchez Member

Amy Small Member

Maria Thomas- Jones Member

Rural Access Working Group

Judge Roy Ferguson Chair

Dean Robert Ahdieh Member

Juanita Beason

Member

Kevin Deitz Member

George Elliot Member

Luz Herrera Member

Eden Klein Member

Yvette Lugo Member

Kate Meals Member

Karen Nicholson Member

Dean Jack Nowlin Member

Erica Richardson Member

Nancy Rodriguez Member

Roosevelt Terry Member

General Valenzuela Member

Keegan Warran Member

Kennon Wooten Member

Greg Zlotnick Member

Resources Working Group

Harriet Miers Chair

Danielle Rushing Behrends Member

Dr. Clen Burton Member

Randy Chapman Member

Michael Charles Danforth Member

Paul Furrh Member

Reginald Hirsch Member

Roland Johnson Member

David McAtee Member

Hilary Preston Member

Sam Prince Member

Dean Brad Toben Member

Betty Torres Member

Terry Tottenham Member

Increasing Lawyers Working Group

Pablo Almaguer Chair

Jonathan J. Bates Member

Amir Befroui Member

Anne Chandler Member

Judge Nicholas Chu Member

Sarah Dingivan Member

Tamara Duncan Member

Matt Garcia Member

Doni Green Member

Alicia Hernandez Member

Tai Anh Ho Member

Shelby Jean Member

Merrit Klapperich Member

Richard Lavallo Member

Thomas Leatherbury Member

William Marple Member

Maria Luisa Mercado Member

Marty Orozco Member

Dean Patricia Roberts Member

Marshall Sales Member

Tom Stutz Member

Cindy Tisdale Member

Dean Brad Toben Member

Terry Tottenham Tottenham Member

Orlesia Tucker Member

Katie Valle Member

Christina Wells Member

Structure and Operations Working Group

Harriet Miers Chair

Judge Roy Ferguson Member

Roland Johnson Member

David McAtee Member

Dean Brad Toben Member

Terry Tottenham Member

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

OF PUBLIC COMMENTS

Submitted to the Committee on Judiciary & Civil Jurisprudence

For Hearing Date: Wednesday, October 2, 2024 9:00 AM

Compiled on: October 2, 2024 1:35 PM

Note: Comments received by the committee reflect only the view of the individual(s) submitting the comment, who retain sole responsibility for the content of the comment. Neither the committee nor the Texas House of Representatives takes a position on the views expressed in any comment. The committee compiles the comments received for informational purposes only and does not exercise any editorial control over comments.

COMMENTS FOR Paraprofessionals Providing Limited Legal Services

Sarah Jennings

Texas Access to Justice Commission

Austin, TX

The Texas Access to Justice Commission strongly supports the proposed modifications allowing paraprofessionals to provide limited legal services for low-income Texans.

Created by the Supreme Court of Texas in 2001, the Access to Justice Commission has worked for the past 20+ years on expanding access to, and enhancing the quality of, justice in civil legal matters for low-income Texans. To close the justice gap, the Commission works on a range of solutions, from increasing resources for legal aid to cultivating pro bono legal services. Despite these efforts and the efforts of civil justice advocates across the state, the justice gap continues to grow. Currently, there is only 1 legal aid lawyer for every 7,000 low-income Texans and recent estimates suggest that 92% of the civil legal needs of this population remain unmet.

When the Commission received the Supreme Court of Texas’s request that it examine existing court rules and propose modifications that would allow qualified paraprofessionals to provide limited legal services to low-income Texans, we immediately embarked on an in-depth, yearlong study of this issue. The Commission studied the nine other states that currently permit paraprofessional practice in some form and solicited feedback from 132 civil justice stakeholders, including attorneys, judges, law school staff, paralegals, nonprofit leaders, and individuals from the State Bar of Texas. We reviewed research, discussion, and recommendations from national organizations addressing regulatory reform, including the Conference of Chief Justices, the American Bar Association, and the Institute for the Advancement of the American Legal System. Throughout the process, over 175 individuals contributed to the process and met 39 times over the course of eight months to pore over the materials and discuss the Supreme Court’s request.

This thorough examination of the topic led to the Commission’s final report and recommendations, which was provided to the Supreme Court of Texas. We do believe that the recommendations strike the balance between innovation and narrow tailoring in specifying for whom, in what cases, and in which courts we concluded paraprofessionals can bridge the justice gap. The Commission’s report and materials from the working group are available online at https://www.texasatj.org/access-legal-servicesworking-group.

The Commission continues to support efforts to provide high quality legal services provided by lawyers; however, traditional legal aid and pro bono are unable to meet the need. The Texas Access to Justice Commission therefore strongly supports the proposed modifications allowing paraprofessionals to provide limited legal services.

SARAH MAE JENNINGS

512.427.1863

WORK EXPERIENCE

TEXAS ACCESS TO JUSTICE COMMISSION & STATE BAR OF TEXAS, AUSTIN, TX

Deputy Executive Director & Legal Access Department Assistant Director, June 2024 – Present

Developing and implementing initiatives designed to expand access to, and enhance the quality of, justice in civil legal matters for low-income Texans. Offering support, training, publications, resource materials, and more to legal services programs and pro bono volunteers in Texas.

TEXAS FAIR DEFENSE PROJECT, AUSTIN, TX

• Policy Director, January 2023 – June 2024

Led organization’s state and local policy work to fight the criminalization of poverty in Texas.

• Interim Co-Executive Director, October 2022 – June 2023

Co-led organization through 9-month transitionary period during search for new Executive Director.

• Pro Bono Program Director, September 2021 – January 2023

Managed statewide pro bono program helping low-income Texans restore their driver’s licenses and clear criminal records.

• Criminal Record Clearing Staff Attorney, August 2020 – August 2021

Successfully petitioned for hundreds of Texans to obtain criminal record clearing relief. Developed and led record clearing trainings for attorneys and law students. Worked with the Clean Slate Texas Coalition advocating to expand eligibility and access to criminal record clearing in Texas.

ORLEANS PUBLIC DEFENDERS, NEW ORLEANS, LA

Staff Attorney / Gideon’s Promise Fellow, Trial Division, September 2018 – June 2020

Zealously defended hundreds of clients against misdemeanor and felony criminal charges in Orleans Parish from arrest through post-conviction.

UNITED STATES PEACE CORPS, CAMEROON

Youth Development Coordinator, September 2011 – November 2013

Served as a youth development agent in a small village by collaborating with local partners to strengthen the capacity of girls and boys to make healthy life decisions, pursue education and training, and ultimately secure a livelihood.

TEACHING EXPERIENCE

UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS SCHOOL OF LAW, AUSTIN, TX

Adjunct Faculty, August 2023 – Present

Co-teaching “Indigent Defense” course at University of Texas School of Law.

TEXAS JUSTICE COURT TRAINING CENTER, AUSTIN, TX

Faculty, September 2021 – Present

Faculty for Texas Justice Court Training Center (TJCTC)’s Core Curriculum for Justice of the Peace Court Judges.

BAR ADMISSIONS

TEXAS STATE BAR, December 2020

LOUISIANA STATE BAR, October 2018 – Inactive

EDUCATION

THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS SCHOOL OF LAW, AUSTIN, TX

Juris Doctor, May 2018

THE UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA, ATHENS, GA

Bachelor of Arts, magna cum laude, in Romance Languages (French and Spanish), May 2011

TRAININGS AND CERTIFICATIONS

LBJ WOMEN’S CAMPAIGN SCHOOL

THE LBJ SCHOOL OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS

November 2024

MANAGEMENT DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM

THE GOVERNOR’S CENTER FOR MANAGEMENT DEVELOPMENT AT THE LBJ SCHOOL OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS

August 2024

UT NONPROFIT MANAGEMENT CERTIFICATE PROGRAM

THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN CENTER FOR PROFESSIONAL EDUCATION

September 2023

MANAGING TO CHANGE THE WORLD

THE MANAGEMENT CENTER

September 2022

AWARDS

TEXAS LAW FELLOWSHIPS EXCELLENCE IN PUBLIC INTEREST

Public Interest Attorney Award Recipient, 2023

WILLIAM WAYNE JUSTICE CENTER FOR PUBLIC INTEREST LAW GRADUATING STUDENT AWARD

Recipient, 2018

TRAVIS COUNTY WOMEN LAWYERS ASSOCIATION MARY PEARL WILLIAMS SCHOLARSHIP

Recipient, 2017 and 2018

WILLIAM WAYNE JUSTICE CENTER FOR PUBLIC INTEREST LAW’S PUBLIC SERVICE SCHOLARSHIP

Recipient, 2017

MEDIA

AUSTIN AMERICAN-STATESMAN, APRIL 2024

NBC NEWS NOW, JANUARY 2024

KERA, JULY 2023

TEXAS OBSERVER, FEBRUARY 2023

SKILLS AND INTERESTS

LANGUAGES: English (Native / Fluent); Spanish (Fluent), French (Fluent)

YOGA: Registered Yoga Teacher through Yoga Alliance after completing 200 Hour Yoga Teacher Training at Black Swan Yoga (Austin, TX) July – August 2023

HIKING: Hiked El Camino de Santiago – El Camino Frances (500 miles across Spain) May-June 2022; now back in the Texas State Parks System

CREATIVE WRITING: Participated in weekly creative writing group 2020–2022, now monthly; previously wrote and performed standup comedy at open mics and paid shows in New Orleans, Austin, Atlanta, and Washington, D.C.

PRIVATE PILOT’S LICENSE: Received July 2009, High Performance Endorsement

Juliet Gillis – University of Texas School of Law ’26

Reflection on My Summer at SAFE

As I entered law school, I was filled with a sense of purpose and ambition. However, by the end of my first year, that initial drive dimmed. Law school had not been the experience I imagined—it felt disconnected from the reasons I wanted to pursue a legal career. I found myself questioning if I was on the right path. However, my experience working at SAFE, a non-profit in Austin, Texas, brought me back to why I wanted to go to law school in the first place. By directly engaging with clients and contributing to advocacy efforts, I witnessed firsthand how the law can create real change, reigniting my passion for guiding clients through complex and often overwhelming situations. This experience reminded me of the powerful role lawyers can play in addressing systemic issues and supporting individuals who are navigating incredibly challenging circumstances.

One of the most rewarding moments of the summer was accompanying a client to court in an advocate role. This experience reminded me of the true power of legal advocacy. I didn’t do anything particularly complicated that day—my role was primarily to be there for emotional support, yet my presence provided the client with reassurance during a difficult time. After the hearing, she turned to me and said, “You’re going to be a wonderful lawyer. You’ve made such a difference for me just by being here.” It was a simple statement, but it validated my reason for pursuing law. It reinforced that my future as a lawyer will be just as much about genuinely listening and being present for my clients as it is about navigating legal procedures and technicalities.

Another impactful experience was attending protective order court with the SAFE legal team, who work closely with the Travis County Attorney's Office. This gave me valuable insight into the protective order process and the complexities survivors face when seeking legal protection. While the system provides necessary safeguards, I saw firsthand how difficult it can be to navigate its rigid structure. The attorneys’ ability to advocate for clients in such a challenging environment highlighted both the importance and the difficulty of working within this legal framework to achieve meaningful outcomes.

In addition to these court experiences, I had the chance to draft legal documents, which gave me a clearer sense of the tangible work lawyers do behind the scenes. Initially, I worried that drafting would feel tedious or mundane, but I found it more rewarding than expected because I was working on tasks that directly helped clients I cared about. One of the most impactful experiences was assisting a client whose friend was experiencing elder abuse by drafting a power of attorney document. While it may seem like a small task in the broader scope of legal work, it showed me how even technical aspects like drafting and documentation can have a profound effect on someone’s life.

A key part of my role at SAFE involved meeting with clients one-on-one to conduct factfinding, helping determine how the legal team could best support them. Frequently, I found myself speaking with individuals over the phone who were seeking information about the process for applying for a protective order. Having the opportunity to guide them through the process and equip them with knowledge felt empowering for me as I was able to put my newfound knowledge into practice, something that I was craving during 1L. I realized that even these initial conversations could offer clients a sense of agency during some of the most challenging moments in their lives.

Additionally, I participated in weekly legal team meetings where we conducted case reviews. These meetings were invaluable, offering a behind-the-scenes look at how legal strategies are developed and refined. I also managed SAFE’s legal email account, which allowed me to be the first point of contact for clients reaching out to the organization. Handling intake forms and filtering through requests deepened my understanding of the variety of legal needs within the community, from immediate protective orders to long-term battles.

One of the most transformative aspects of my time at SAFE was the 40-hour core advocacy training. This training covered how to be an effective advocate for diverse populations, including the Deaf community, the disabled community, people of color, the LGBTQIA+ community, and more. Learning about how violence intersects with these communities and how trauma affects the brain opened my eyes to the many barriers that survivors face when seeking justice. The training emphasized the importance of understanding the lived experiences of clients beyond the legal aspects of their cases. It gave me a foundation to approach each case with not only empathy, but a recognition of the unique challenges faced by each individual.

In addition to the hands-on legal experience, my summer at SAFE also provided me with invaluable networking opportunities. Through these connections, I began to feel truly a part of the public interest world in Austin. The collaborative nature of the nonprofit sector was encouraging, and I was inspired by the commitment and passion of the professionals I met along the way. My supervisor, Nikhita Ved, was a constant source of guidance and inspiration. She not only eased my fears and insecurities at jumping quickly into the legal workforce with no prior experience, but also exemplified how to balance professionalism with empathy and strength. I will always be grateful to her for shaping my experience and reminding me of the kind of lawyer I hope to become.

Throughout the summer, we encountered cases that were not typical, requiring the legal team to be creative in finding solutions. Being part of the team’s problem-solving process was another highlight of my time at SAFE. It was a reminder that while the law provides a framework, each case presents unique challenges that require flexibility, innovation, and collaboration.

My time at SAFE was transformative in ways I could not have anticipated. It reminded me of the reasons I pursued law in the first place and renewed my sense of purpose. I now feel more confident in my desire to pursue my legal career. Most importantly, my summer at SAFE taught me that being a lawyer is not just about legal knowledge—it’s about being present for people in their most vulnerable moments and using the law as a tool to help them reclaim their lives. This experience has set the foundation for the kind of lawyer I want to become, and I will carry these lessons with me throughout the rest of my legal career.

Ashlee Guevara – South Texas College of Law ‘26

Internship Experience with Houston Volunteer Lawyers MLP Program

I began my internship with Houston Volunteer Lawyer excited to learn the intricacies of a medical legal partnership and the aid that can be offered to patients at Texas Children’s Hospital little did I know there was much to learn about community. While the practice of law is often filled with moments of solitude from late night study sessions and early morning wake ups, this summer, as a result of the opportunity given to me by the Texas Access to Justice Commission, reminded me of the resilience of living in community. Every challenge becomes a shared mission and every success, a collective triumph.

8 days into my internship Hurricane Beryl struck the Houston area causing widespread power outages and flooding. Houston Volunteer Lawyers quickly launched into action preparing and sending out resources to those affected while taking care of their own staff and attorneys that remained without power for close to a week. While Houston Volunteer Lawyers worked to maintain open lines of communication with those in the community, they began referring them to outside organizations, such as Lone Star Legal Aid and Texas Legal Services Center, that were specializing in other issues in order to strengthen the relief support they were able to offer to the community.

As the days passed the need for hurricane relief dwindled, we then gathered for an organization meeting. I was pleasantly surprised when the first item on the agenda was to check in with each other. People felt open enough to sharing their struggles with child care, food prep, and tough family dynamics that were further intensified as a result of a stressful situation. I realized that while this was a kind gesture, it was also a necessary one. In order for Houston Volunteers to effectively serve the community, they first needed to be attuned to each other’s strength and challenges. This was one of many experiences that marked my time with Houston Volunteer Lawyers, underscoring how the focus on community empowers both individuals and collective efforts.

As the summer continued, my supervising attorney and I were able to go to Texas Childrens and meet with patients and patient’s families. It was there that I was able to take part in conversations with the social workers at Texas Childrens. They emphasized the importance of the medical legal partnership with Houston Volunteer Lawyers. As young adults are phasing out of services with Texas Childrens, they are often terrified of what the future of their medical care looks like. The alternatives to guardianship documents offer peace of mind to both the patient and the patient’s family. Many families who frequently require services from Texas Children form trust with the staff, nurses, and doctors alike.

Houston Volunteer Lawyers recognizes this unique aspect of patient care and has intentionally designed the partnership to accommodate these relationships. HVL attorneys are present at the hospital two days a week, providing on-site legal consultations to patients that are

currently hospitalized and offering a familiar setting for families who are no longer patients at the hospital but still require legal support. This approach not only makes the legal process more accessible but also demonstrates a deep understanding of the emotional and logistical challenges faced by these families. I saw first hand how thoughtful and coordinated support services with other organizations in the community makes the practice of law more effective and accessible for those who it seeks to serve.

This experience was so personally empowering I began to do research as to the community benefits that such an approach accomplishes. I was reassured in my own experience when I read medical and legal articles boasting about the positive effects that this type of service has on patients, patient families, and even our political community.

I uncovered that MLPs are in a unique position because they are first hand observers to the legal difficulties that those who some of the more vulnerable in a given community are experiencing, at times this is boiled down to only poverty concerns, but if there is a huge intake in patients that are dealing with environmental, governmental, or other struggles they are able to take such information and relay it to lobbyists, representatives, or local politicians. The information the MLPs are gathering are and have led to important historical and societal changes. For example, medical and legal partnerships were early partners and leaders in the fight against discrimination and for equal access to medical treatment for patients with HIV and Aids.

The modern impact MLPs are having is so profound that articles who are concerned about how to measure the positive effect of MLPs beyond patient outcomes, which can be conflated with the actual medical care that the patients are being provided, are beginning to advocate for this type community impact to be a way in which the success of theses programs can be captured. Such measurements are important to optimize and utilize because this is the information that can help garner further financial and national support for these programs to be commonplace in hospitals across the country. The future of MLPs rests on how individual medical legal partnerships ability to adapt in their measurement techniques, funding techniques, and capability to share their insights with other medical legal partnerships across the country. Moreover, the future of MLPs means a more informed future for us all.

This summer has taught me that the strength in community lies in its ability to adapt, support, and empower each other through both everyday challenges and extraordinary circumstances. Showing up not only means having the ability to offer support, but the ability to go to where the support is needed. Furthermore, that support does not have a final destination or address; rather it is a loop of empowerment that aims to land on the doorstep of all. This experience has reinforced my belief in the transformative power of community-centered approaches in addressing complex social and legal needs and touched me personally and professionally as I continue my growth as a future Texas attorney. I sincerely thank the Texas Access to Justice Commission for this opportunity.

The Supreme Court of Texas

February 20, 2024

Dear Texas Lawyer:

We write to thank you for your past consideration of and support for access to justice efforts in Texas. Texas lawyers contributed over $1.6 million dollars to the Justice for All Campaign last year, and over 2.7 million hours of pro bono service in recent years.

Access to justice is a core principle of our profession. The right, and the opportunity, to access legal representation is paramount to an effective justice system. A great challenge for our profession is the lack of legal representation for over five million low-income Texans who cannot afford even basic civil legal services. We hope you agree that the privilege of practicing in Texas carries with it the responsibility to help ensure equal access to “justice for all.” We know that Texas lawyers are equal to this challenge.

This year, when you pay your annual dues, please consider making a voluntary contribution to support access to justice. Both monetary and pro bono contributions help women and children to escape abuse, veterans to receive service-related benefits, and families to avoid homelessness. Representation at the right time can literally save lives and redeem the promise of freedom for individuals, families, and communities across this great State

A $150 contribution will make a tangible difference in providing legal services to lowincome Texans. No amount is too small or too large, and every dollar will be used to provide civil legal services to Texans in need. We appreciate whatever amount you can provide to this worthy cause.

If your firm pays your bar dues and you would like to contribute, please communicate with your firm. You may also contribute directly by logging into your MyBarPage at www.texasbar.com/ATJDonations

Thank you in advance for your willingness to help and for your generosity.

Nathan L. Hecht, Chief Justice

Debra H. Lehrmann, Justice

Jeffrey S. Boyd

_ Jane N. Bland, Justice

Rebeca A. Huddle, Justice

Evan A. Young

From:

To:

Subject:

Date:

CHAIR

Harriet E. Miers

Dallas

SUPREME COURT OF TEXAS

LIAISON

Hon. Brett Busby

Austin COMMISSIONERS

Pablo Javier Almaguer

Edinburg

Hon. Nicholas Chu

Austin

Alistair Dawson

Houston

Joe Escobedo

Edinburg

Hon. Roy B. Ferguson

Alpine

Lisa Hobbs

Austin

Roland K. Johnson

Fort Worth

Krisi Kastl

Dallas

Thomas S. Leatherbury

Dallas

Hon. Michael C. Massengale

Houston

David R. McAtee II

Dallas

Karen Nicholson

Midland

Hon. Latosha Lewis Payne

Houston

Marshall Sales

Austin

Brad Toben

Waco

Terry O. Tottenham

Austin

Maj. Gen. Alfred Valenzuela

San Antonio

Kennon Wooten

Austin

EX-OFFICIO MEMBERS

For the Governor

James Sullivan

Austin

For the Lieutenant Governor

Senator Judith Zaffirini

Laredo

For the Speaker of the House

Representative Gene Wu

Houston

CHAIR EMERITUS

Harry M. Reasoner

Houston

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

April Faith-Slaker

Dear Texas Lawyer:

The Texas Supreme Court has urged every Texas lawyer to support increasing direly needed access to justice for low-income Texans. In its letter to every member of the bar, the Court noted that “access to justice is a core principle of our profession.” The State Bar of Texas encourages our lawyers to help close the justice gap in our State by making a voluntary access to justice contribution as you pay your bar dues. We write also to encourage you to make a voluntary access to justice contribution of $150 or more when you pay your bar dues this year. Your contribution to this statewide effort to help get access to justice for the estimated millions of low-income Texans who cannot afford or get basic civil legal services is a great demonstration of your commitment to the core principles of our profession.

There are several ways to assist our neighbors who cannot afford basic civil legal services. Much is being done by Texas lawyers to help close the justice gap in our State. We recognize and are grateful for the contributions already being made by Texas lawyers. Last year, Texas lawyers contributed over $1.6 million dollars to this effort. In recent years, Texas lawyers have donated over 2.7 million hours in pro bono legal services. Additionally, Texas lawyers have used their best advocacy skills to persuade lawmakers in Washington, D. C. and Austin to support legislation that will enhance access to justice for all. Another important way you can make a difference is by participation in this effort in connection with the payment of your dues to raise funds to open our justice system to more of our low-income Texans who direly need legal help but cannot get it.

To show our strong support for access to justice for all Texans, please make your contribution today however you need to accomplish it, given how your dues are paid. You can also make your access to justice contribution, by logging on to your My Bar page at texasbar.com. If your law firm matches your donation, please indicate that generous matching gift on the donation form. Thank you for all you do to make our Texas justice system one that values equal justice for all!

Honorable Deborah Hankinson, Chair

Texas Access to Justice Foundation

Harriet Miers, Chair

Texas Access to Justice Commission

Texas Access to Justice Commission | 1414 Colorado | Austin, Texas 78701

Report to the Supreme Court of Texas January

– November 2024

The Texas Access to Justice Foundation (TAJF) is the leading funding source for civil legal aid in Texas. Since its inception in 1984, TAJF has granted more than $1.76 billion to nonprofit organizations in Texas to provide free legal services to disadvantaged Texans. Civil legal aid provides access to legal help for people to protect their livelihoods, their health and their families and is a vital component of a fair and equitable legal system.

With TAJF funding, legal aid organizations provide assistance in civil matters to more than 117,000 low-income Texas families each year. Legal aid continues to struggle to meet the demand for services in our large, diverse state. More than five million Texans qualify for legal aid, and Texas has the second-highest number of poor people in the nation. To qualify for legal aid, a person must not earn more than $18,825 per year. A family of four must not earn more than $39,000 per year.

The 35 legal aid programs throughout Texas funded in 2024 by TAJF help disadvantaged Texas with critical civil legal issues impacting their very existence, such as: families fleeing domestic abuse; elderly wrongly denied life-sustaining prescriptions; veterans denied critical medical care, disability, and other benefits; and families evicted from their homes. Additionally in 2024 our grantees have assisted Texans recovering from fires in the Panhandle and the impact of Tropical Storm Beryl. A new grant program has been created for basic civil legal services to eligible children and young people in the child welfare systems and those experiencing mental and physical health challenges in schools and communities, and a continuing grant program is helping those with opioid-use disorders. TAJF is also in the final year of Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERAP) work with the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs (TDHCA) to keep Texans housed.

In addition to awarding grants to non-profit legal aid programs, TAJF supports pro bono programs of local bar associations, law school clinical programs, a law student loan repayment assistance program to attorneys choosing a career in public service law, as well as postgraduate fellowship work through the Equal Justice Works program.

The Texas Access to Justice Foundation is committed to supporting the critical legal aid work in our state and finding additional ways to support these efforts to ensure justice for all.

GRANTS PROVIDED BY TEXAS ACCESS TO JUSTICE FOUNDATION

For grant years 2023-2025, TAJF administers 123 grants totaling approximately $177,864,713 million to 35 nonprofit organizations that provide legal aid. TAJF grantees, providing legal

services from 125 offices throughout Texas, include LSC-funded programs, domestic violence programs and shelters, law school clinics, bar association pro bono programs, and programs advocating on behalf of the elderly, persons with disabilities, the homeless and veterans

Impact and Results from Grantees

TAJF-funded grantees serve Texans who cannot afford private counsel and are in desperate need of legal help. Legal aid grantees of TAJF reach every population group and geographic region of Texas. Below are 2023 statistics, the most current statistics available, on how legal aid provided critical legal help.

• TAJF grantees closed 117,370 cases in 2023 benefiting the lives of approximately 304,874 Texans. Legal aid helped secure for their clients more than 30.4 million in back awards or lump sum settlements and helped win approximately $669,725 in monthly benefits for clients, including Social Security and SSI, child support, pensions, back wages, and unemployment compensation.

• More than 27,200 victims of domestic violence received legal help and protection.

• TAJF grantees assisted more than 12,363 persons experiencing homelessness.

• Approximately 26,703 people with disabilities were able to access a lawyer to help solve a legal problem.

• TAJF funds six law school clinical programs and law students were actively involved in closing 3,309 cases.

• Private attorneys in Texas volunteering legal services pro bono to low-income clients closed approximately 9,000 cases in 2023.

Current TAJF Grant Funding

Grants currently administered by the Texas Access to Justice Foundation for legal aid during the 2023-2025 grant year include:

• $70 million in Basic Civil Legal Services (BCLS) to 18 grantees

• $55,738,017 in Interest on Lawyers’ Trust Account (IOLTA) funds to 34 grantees – which includes $38,311,991 in 19 new additional IOLTA grants to 34 grantees to significantly improve the delivery system of access to justice in Texas.

• $7,973,339 in Legal Aid to Veterans funds to 13 grantees

• $10 million in Legal Aid for Survivors of Sexual Assault (LASSA) funds to 9 grantees

• $19.9 million in Emergency Rental Assistance Program-2 (ERAP-2) Funds to 9 grantees for Housing Stabilization Services and eviction defense legal services from the Texas Department Housing & Community Affairs to 8 grantees for helping tenants seeking housing stability assistance which includes eviction defense.

• $164,282 to 1 grantee to fund the Parent Resource Helpline and $120,000 to fund the Parental Order Legal Line in partnership with the Office of Attorney General

• $5 million in Crime Victims Civil Legal Services (CVCLS) grants to 15 grantees

• $151,220 in emergency assistance grant to support the new legal aid office in Uvalde

• $1,930,438 to fund and support the Virtual Court Access Project to maintain 25 kiosks across the state to increase access to the justice system for low-income people.

• $3.7 million for basic civil legal services for children and young people in child welfare systems and those experiencing mental and physical health challenges in schools and communities to grantees.

• $5 million for basic civil legal services to individuals and families with an opioid use disorder

Legal Aid for Texas Veterans (LAV)

The Supreme Court of Texas received $7 million from the Texas Legislature to fund grants to legal aid programs that provide legal services to veterans and their families for the 2023-2025 biennium. TAJF awarded grants to 13 legal aid programs, law school clinics and bar association pro bono programs that provide civil legal services for low-income Texas veterans.

In addition to Legislative appropriation, proceeds from the annual Champions of Justice Gala for Veterans and funding from TAJF provide these grants to help legal services for veterans. The annual Gala is co-sponsored by the Texas Access to Justice Commission and the State Bar of Texas and has been raising several hundreds of thousands annually.

These grants help Texas veterans and their families with critical civil legal services in areas such as family law, employment, housing, consumer, bankruptcy, and probate, as well as advocacy for disability benefits. In 2023, 6,988 veterans received assistance from TAJF grantees. LAV grantees closed 3,031 cases for veterans and their families, and 5,073 veterans attended 645 veterans’ clinics held throughout the state in 2023-24. Services have benefitted from a return to in-person opportunities to connect with veterans with coordination with the Veterans Administration.

Legal Aid for Survivors of Sexual Assault (LASSA)

For the biennium 2023-2025, the Supreme Court received $10 million from the Texas Legislature for civil legal services for survivors of sexual assault, including human trafficking. The ongoing funding for these grants is obtained through a state fee levied on certain types of sexually oriented businesses. Nine organizations have received LASSA funds to provide a statewide network of access to civil legal services related to victimization, including a statewide hotline. LASSA’s website (LASSATexas.org) connects the statewide collaborative to better serve survivors.

Since the LASSA program’s inception in October 2015, the LASSA network of legal aid providers has closed 28,401 cases for survivors of sexual assault. Many of these cases include protective and restraining orders, housing and employments issues, divorce and child custody issues, and public benefits and assistance to victims. LASSA grantees closed 2,616 cases for survivors of sexual assault from September 1, 2023 – August 31,2024. The hotline that provides coordinated referrals throughout the network has answered 11,219 calls since 2015 Pre-pandemic hotline calls peaked at 2,170, and 2023-24 saw the second highest call volume at 1,630.

Emergency Rental Assistance Program-2 (ERAP-2)

TAJF grantees continue to provide a full range of legal services as appropriate, including legal advice, brief services, and extended litigation services to tenants, negotiating with landlords, and incorporating rental assistance program benefits for those eligible individuals facing imminent eviction actions in justice of the peace courts or on appeal at the county court level. While providers primarily focus on those counties and courts with high incidents of eviction cases and

high levels of poverty, they remain flexible to help in other counties and courts as needed. This eviction assistance project seeks to maintain housing and improve housing stability for all clients. Services have been provided in over 183 counties to date

Since ERAP-2 work began on September 1, 2022, TAJF grantees:

• Closed 22,351 cases on behalf of Texans experiencing housing instability.

• Held 1,718 housing stability clinics.

• Provided information and advised 30,996 households at those clinics.

Family Helplines

Since 2008, the Supreme Court of Texas, the Office of the Attorney General of Texas (OAG), and TAJF have worked together to provide free legal services to help Texas parents better understand the rights and responsibilities created by their parenting orders. Texas Legal Services Center’s (TLSC) Parenting Order Legal Line (POLL) project utilizes family law attorneys to provide limited legal representation to parents to increase their parenting time. During 20232024, TLSC provided brief services or settlement negotiations to resolve parenting conflicts to nearly 3,100 parents.

TAJF also funds a Parent Resource Helpline (PRH) through TLSC where attorneys help interpret the details of the Child Protective Services system in a simple, meaningful way, relevant to the callers’ unique situation. During 2023-2024, the PRH handled nearly 1100 calls and provided legal information and assistance with family court orders to more than 590 Texans. The Supreme Court of Texas Children’s Commission and an anonymous donor help fund this project

Crime Victims Civil Legal Services (CVCLS)

TAJF has administered the Crime Victims Civil Legal Services funds on behalf of the Texas Supreme Court since 2002 to support civil legal services to victims of crime and their immediate family members. TAJF awarded 15 grants totaling $2,477,500 statewide to 14 CVCLS grantees for 2023-2024. The civil legal problems that crime victims often face requiring legal help include physical assault, attempted homicide, domestic violence, sexual assault, human trafficking, and child abuse. For the grant year 2023-2024, legal services were provided by grantees that benefited 10,281 persons across 158 counties

Legal Aid for Children’s Health and Security (LACHS)

The 88th Legislature funded a new request of the Supreme Court of Texas for $3.7 million to provide basic civil legal services to eligible children and young people in the child welfare systems and those experiencing mental and physical health challenges in schools and communities. Applicants for these funds provided data-driven issues related to children’s needs in targeted focus areas in specific locations. The seven grantees provide services in targeted geographic areas in the following focus areas: child welfare, foster youth, education, and access to benefits. The grant period began December 1, 2023, and ends August 31, 2025. Through August 31, 2024, grantees have closed 56 eligible client’s cases and have another 160 cases open while continuing to accept new cases and engaging in extensive outreach.

Opioid Use Disorder Legal Services (OUDLS)

TAJF administers distribution of $5 million appropriated by the 87th Legislature for legal services for indigent persons directly impacted by opioid-use disorders, including children who need basic civil legal services because of opioid-use disorders by a parent, legal guardian, or caretaker. Awards to seven grantees were made in December 2022 to support 15 FTE attorney positions for the grant term beginning January 1, 2023 and ending August 31, 2024 Grantees have finished 3,115 cases funded by the OUDLS grant benefiting 2,738 people.

Civil legal aid attorneys help those affected by opioid addiction with a full range of civil legal problems that can impact housing, jobs, medical care, and families. Legal assistance can address the consequences of opioid addiction and overdose such as child custody issues or unemployment, but also help promote stability, recovery, and independence for those affected. Grantees meet regularly to coordinate efforts to serve this population and connect with collaborative partners to provide services and access to resources and services through their referral guide and their Rise to Recovery hotline and website.

Virtual Court Access Project

With funding from the Texas Access to Justice Foundation, the Texas Legal Services Center (TLSC) launched the Virtual Court Access Project in April 2023. The statewide project is designed to improve low-income Texans’ ability to receive free legal services through deploying 25 accessible, physical virtual court kiosks to communities across the state. The kiosks function as virtual legal aid centers featuring computer stations implemented in high-traffic locations, where Texans can access life-changing community resources like connecting virtually with courts and receiving legal aid services. As of October 2024, the 25 physical kiosks continue to be used by people needing legal services. The physical kiosks have been augmented with five sites, and four more opening soon, through the development of a LaunchPad that converts any computer into a kiosk using innovative software developed for this project.

The project has focused on increasing accessibility and usability of the kiosks and LaunchPad including user testing and redesigns of the user interface. Data collection has improved and is at the forefront nationally. Usage has increased from 99 for October 2023 through April 2024 to 312 for July through September 2024. The project has benefitted from the formation of an Advisory Group to increase collaboration and responsiveness of the project to community needs. The project is supporting three of the Moonshot grants and working with other TAJF grantees to adapt LaunchPad for use at their clinics.

Grantee Assessment Site Visits

TAJF conducted in person grantee site visits and program assessments during this period, engaging in personnel interviews and document reviews. In 2024, TAJF has conducted 10 onsite site grantee assessment monitoring visits, one follow-up compliance visit and another onsite grantee review visit. Grantee assessment visits also include accompanying fiscal desk audit reviews. TAJF continues to ensure grant compliance and performance reviews by its grantees through ongoing communication, such as audio video virtual meetings and updates as well as monthly and quarterly programmatic and financial expenditure reports, annual audit reviews, special program updates, and annual assessment reports, specific requests for information, grantee meetings and webinars for technical assistance.

PROGRAMS and PROJECTS

Texas Student Loan Repayment Assistance Program (SLRAP)

The Texas Access to Justice Commission created the Texas SLRAP in 2003 to assist attorneys who choose to pursue careers in legal aid in Texas. Historically, TAJF has been able to assist all qualifying applicants up to the maximum monthly loan amount of $500 due in large part to the generous support of the State Bar of Texas.

For the 2024-2025 Texas SLRAP year, TAJF has outsourced administration of the Texas SLRAP to Fosterus. This company was created to assist funders and employers by administering taxadvantaged student Loan Repayment Assistance Programs (LRAPs) designed to increase the capacity of public and charitable employers. The staffing required to maintain in-house administration warranted this change and offers access to greater expertise to TAJF and recipients of the program.

The average salary of those currently enrolled in the Texas SLRAP is $70,978. The average total student loan debt is $144,055, and the average monthly SLRAP loan payment for these attorneys is $310.

Equal Justice Works (EJW) Fellowships

TAJF partners with Equal Justice Works to support post-graduate fellows who take an innovative and entrepreneurial approach to addressing critically needed legal services in partnership with their host organizations. TAJF is proud to support five fellows for the two-year term that began in September 2024, and continues to support five fellows from the 2023 class.

The 2024-2026 Fellowship Class, their projects and legal aid organization are:

• Elizabeth Gallaspy, Lone Star Legal Aid, Beaumont; Richard L. Tate Rural Justice Fellow

Provide family law representation and pro se resources to low-income domestic violence survivors and legal education on domestic violence and family law to survivors and young people from rural areas of six Southeast Texas counties

• Michael Argenal, San Antonio Legal Services Association, San Antonio

Provide legal representation in family law matters to low-income service members and veterans in San Antonio.

• Zoe Dobkin, Texas Legal Services Center, Austin; Terry O. Tottenham Veterans Justice Fellow

Provide legal services to veterans to support them gain in their goals toward stability and wellness by creating a Medical-Legal Partnership (MLP) between TLSC and the Austin VA Clinic (AVAC) to meet significant existing legal needs for eviction and foreclosure defense, discharge upgrades, financial security, and familial stability.

• Ana Martinez Equal Justice Center; Austin, Houston, San Antonio; Co-sponsored with SBOT Hispanic Issues Section LAWteria fundraiser

Provide crucial intersectional immigration and employment legal services for immigrant victims of labor violations in Texas, in response to newly available protections for immigrant workers.

• Katherine Dobson, Texas Advocacy Project, Austin; Co-sponsored with Greenberg, Traurig

Develop strong and accessible systems for direct representation of, and self-advocacy for, pro se Texas victims of deepfake pornography and revenge porn; advocate for comprehensive deepfake pornography laws; educate the public about deepfakes, revenge porn, and the legal remedies available for victims of online sexual exploitation.

FUNDING for LEGAL AID

IOLTA Revenue

Revenue from the Interest on Lawyers’ Trust Accounts (IOLTA) program have been exceptional for 2024, with much of the year benefitting from a Federal Funds Target Range at the upper end of 5.50%. We welcome this change as a unique, short-lived opportunity to enhance the basic civil legal services delivery system. While the increased revenue is a welcome relief for the Foundation, as expected, the Federal Open Market Committee has decreased the rate twice and the upper end of the target range is now 4.75%. Based on current projections, IOLTA revenue is expected to decline in 2025 with additional cuts in interest rates.

TAJF continues to promote our Prime Partner program, which includes banks and credit unions that voluntarily pay 75% of the upper end of the Federal Funds Target Rate. There are currently 27 Prime Partner banks. Our Prime Partner banks account for only 17% of the total IOLTA balances but contribute 34% of the IOLTA revenue by voluntarily paying the higher rate.

State Legislative Funding

The legal aid community, through the support of the Supreme Court of Texas nd its partners in access to justice, was fortunate to maintain its general revenue appropriation for basic civil legal services, veteran legal services, and legal aid for survivors of sexual assault in the 88th Texas Legislative Session New general revenue funding was appropriated for basic civil legal services to, or on behalf of, eligible children in the child welfare system or those experiencing mental and physical health challenges in schools and communities

The general revenue funding administered by the Texas Access to Justice Foundation for the biennium 2023-25, includes:

• $20,280,784 for Basic Civil Legal Services (BCLS)

• $7 million for Legal Aid to Veterans (LAV)

•$5 million for Crime Victims Civil Legal Services (CVCLS)

• $10 million for Legal Aid for Survivors of Sexual Assault (LASSA) network

• $3.7 million for basic civil legal services for children and young people in child welfare systems and those experiencing mental and physical health challenges in schools and communities (LACHS)

In addition to general revenue appropriations, TAJF receives state funds through BCLS funds (mandatory Access to Justice Fee assessed to qualifying Texas attorneys, filing fees, "And Justice for All" license plate proceeds, pro hac vice funds and the Chief Justice Pope Act).

Federal Funding – Legal Services Corporation (LSC)

Continuing Resolutions by Congress has maintained level funding for the Legal Services Corporation. The current Continuing Resolution expires on December 20, 2024. The three largest legal aid providers in Texas also receive funds from the LSC. They are Legal Aid of NorthWest Texas, Lone Star Legal Aid and Texas RioGrande Legal Aid. For 2024, these Texas grantees received $45,806,579 in basic field funding for civil legal services.

Partnering with TDHCA for Federal Funds to Keep Texans Housed

TAJF is in its fourth and final year of Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERAP) work with the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs (TDHCA). TDHCA contracted directly with TAJF to disperse $43.8 million in ERAP funding. These funds are on a cost reimbursement basis so funds and services must be delivered before grantees are reimbursed. The first $23.8 million (ERAP-1) was expended in full December 30, 2022, leaving $20 million for ERAP-2 An additional $2.1 million in ERAP-2 funding was awarded to TAJF in April 2024, increasing the total to $22.1 million to continue housing stability work on behalf of lower income Texas tenants until July 31, 2025, or when the funding is fully expended.

The funds are provided through the Emergency Rental Assistance Program from the U.S. Treasury Department, which was authorized under the Consolidated Appropriations Act in 2021. Services provided with ERAP-2 funding mirror ERAP-1 and include eviction defense, help accessing local and state rental assistance where available, and other legal services that keep Texans and their families in stable housing.

TAJF staff has worked diligently with TDHCA to ensure all the original funds are utilized in a timely manner. TAJF has continued to prioritize the opportunities afforded the legal aid community by ERAP funding which has enabled Texas to tackle the housing crisis, increase legal services in Texas, and develop new relationships to benefit low-income communities across Texas, now and in the future.

TDHCA has notified TAJF that there will likely be another traunch of funds that can potentially come to TAJF for distribution in late 2024.

2024 Access to Justice Moonshot Grants Program

In December 2023, the Texas Access to Justice Foundation Board of Directors announced one-time grants from IOLTA funds generated from the increase in interest rates.

TAJF had lost approximately $181 million in IOLTA revenue since 2008, most certainly stagnating creativity in advancing access to justice in Texas. While the additional funding cannot cover the staggering losses, it provides TAJF with a unique opportunity to utilize current but temporary increases to remedy these losses and improve access to justice in ways that we have only dreamed of in recent years.

Because “moonshot-thinking” starts with selecting a big problem and articulating a radical solution, grant awards focused on applications that remedy intractable problems and expand services well beyond current levels. With these one-time funds, the TAJF Board funded timelimited requests that have a plan for sustainability. These funds were not used to support projects

that replace or increase funding for currently funded and budgeted activities.

The review process included casting a wide net to grantees and non-grantees alike. The Board reviewed a thorough summary of applications, and oral presentations before TAJF Board Review committees were held in Dallas and Houston in April

On April 25, 2024, the TAJF Board selected the following projects for a three-year grant term beginning in 2024.

2024 ACCESS TO JUSTICE MOONSHOT GRANT AWARDS

Community Justice Worker Program

Statewide Legal Aid Expunction Project

Texas Bullying Resource Center

Debtors' Rights Initiative

Economic Justice by Narrowing Texas Service Gaps

Create a model program that utilizes a cadre of trained lay advocates, called Community Justice Workers, to address the access to justice crisis that exists in rural and/or underserved Texas communities by providing limited scope civil legal services for low-income Texans.

$7,913,587

Undertake a statewide awareness campaign to educate low-income Texans who have a criminal record of the available legal remedies of expunction and non-disclosure and create an automated tool that assist them to navigate the legal steps to clear their record. $13,264,556

Create a web-based interactive portal to assist parents of bullied children to navigate the legal and non-legal options appropriate to their individualized situation, including pro bono assistance through the Don’t Bully Me (DBM) Project. $370,000

Undertake a comprehensive initiative to support individuals dealing with various debt challenges, including bankruptcy, mediation for debt settlement, handling zombie (past statute of limitations or no legal claim) or fraudulent debt, overcoming abusive or coercive debt collectors, resolving IRS disputes, with a plan to replicate statewide. $1,012,500

Create a new statewide coordinated legal service model to deliver legal services to low-income immigrants across issue areas and geographies that will narrow the justice gap for immigrants in Texas.

$9,839,466

On August 16, TAJF sponsored a convening of 36 representatives from the nine grantee organizations that will undertake this work through a well-orchestrated, highly collaborative plan. TAJF utilized experts in data and research, project management and assessment, and the burgeoning movement toward community justice workers to conduct the sessions. Approximately 99% of evaluation responses indicated the convening was helpful and more than 91% stated that the meeting content likely clarified and/or changed the steps they will be taking to implement their projects.

PEOPLE and EVENTS

Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing

In July, Texas Supreme Court Chief Justice testified before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on 'Closing the Justice Gap.' Led by Senator Chris Coons, the hearing also included

testimony from LSC President Ron Flagg, a former client of Legal Aid Chicago Veronica Gonzalez, and Nikole Nelson, former Executive Director of Alaska Legal Services.

LAWteria Game Night

In partnership with the Hispanic Issues Section of the State Bar of Texas, TAJF hosted the fifth annual LAWteria, a virtual fundraiser based on the popular Mexican Loteria game. The event took place September 24 via Zoom and raised a record $70,000 that will support legal services in Texas. It included the following distinguished guest callers: Dean Judith Zaffirini, Justice Robbie Partida-Kipness, Justice Gisela Triana, and Justice Lori Valenzuela. Former State Bar President Sylvia Borunda Firth hosted the event, featuring a video address from Texas Supreme Court Justice Brett Busby and a musical video performance by special guest Chief Justice Hecht.

Texas Veterans Legal Aid Week (TVLaw)

TVLaw, a statewide effort in honor of Veterans Day coordinated by the Texas Access to Justice Foundation took place, Nov. 11-15. Legal aid programs, local bar associations, law schools and pro bono private lawyers provide free civil legal services to qualified Texas veterans through clinics, virtual events, social media presentations, and online chat. Chief Justice Nathan Hecht authored an op-ed piece on how legal aid work can help impact veteran suicide.

Luncheon with the Supreme Court of Texas

The Foundation will host the annual Luncheon with the Supreme Court of Texas, Dec. 2, and recognize the access to justice efforts in the state, and the remarkable contributions of Chief Justice Nathan Hecht to this cause.

New Board Member

Dr. Ben Alexander, of Lubbock, joined the TAJF Board of Directors in October for a three-year term.

Michael K. Moore Award for Excellence in Research or Writing in the Area of Indigent Criminal Defense This award is named after Doctor Michael K. Moore for his pivotal role in several research and writing efforts that had a major effect on indigent defense in Texas. The award will be presented to an individual (including both private citizens and members of the Bar) or organization in recognition of exceptional research or writing that deals with indigent criminal defense and that represents a significant contribution to the knowledge and practices of the bench, bar, and scholarly communities. 16

Exhibit A: New Opportunity Volunteer Attorney (NOVA) Host Organization & Attorney Rosters ….…………17

Exhibit B: The Pro Bono College of the State Bar of Texas 2023 Membership…………………………….………………23

Exhibit C: 2024 Pro Bono Coordinators Retreat (PBCR) & Poverty Law Conference (PLC) Agenda ……………29

Disaster Response

Disaster Hotline

The State Bar of Texas’s disaster hotline, activated in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, has been active since March 2020. Designed as a resource for vulnerable Texans to address legal issues arising from any disaster, the disaster hotline automatically routes most callers to the appropriate legal aid provider for their area. Almost five years since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the volume of disaster hotline calls has significantly decreased. The Legal Access Department continues handling these calls while also managing the Legal Access Department call queue. Callers who are uncertain about which legal aid organization covers their area are given the option to leave a message. The Legal Access Department staff returns calls to any member of the public who leaves a message (including calls unrelated to a disaster) and provides them with applicable legal aid resources in their area.

Disaster Manual

Due to the sheer volume of Texans needing help when a major disaster strikes, many legal aid organizations engage an increasingly large portion of staff time to help address disaster issues. The result is that pro bono and legal aid attorneys are frequently confronted with issues that are outside their standard scope of practice and that are rarely encountered in less turbulent times.

The disaster manual is meant to help with these challenges, serving as a quick resource documenting many common disaster-related legal issues and potential solutions so that legal aid and pro bono attorneys can be confident they are giving the best advice possible. Issues covered include FEMA assistance, housing law, consumer law, disability law, and family law issues. Attorneys from Sidley Austin, LLP; legal aid attorneys from across the state; and Legal Access Department staff conduct an annual review to ensure the continued accuracy of the manual. The Disaster Manual is available digitally at TexasLawHelp.org, ProbonoTexas.org, and the State Bar’s website.

Assistance to Indigent Defendants Related to Border Security State of Disaster

On January 21, 2022, the Supreme Court of Texas issued Misc. Docket No. 22-9007 “Emergency Order Regarding Indigent Defense and the Border Security State of Disaster Permitting Out-of-State Lawyers to Practice in Texas Temporarily.” The Supreme Court has twice renewed the original order continuing its program permitting attorneys licensed in other jurisdictions in the United States to provide legal services as an employee of a public defender service or through a managed assigned counsel program to indigent defendants arrested for misdemeanor offenses under Operation Lone Star in Texas The current order, Misc. Docket No. 23-9096 issued on November 17, 2023, is set to expire on December 1, 2024. In accordance with the order, the State Bar created and maintained a registration process for attorneys to participate in the program. The Legal Access Department has maintained that registration program on behalf of the State Bar and will continue to do so through the expiration of the renewal order. Since the inception of the program, 36 attorneys have registered: 23 in 2022, 4 in 2023, and 9 in 2024.

All Things Pro Bono

New Opportunity Volunteer Attorney (NOVA) Pro Bono Program

Since May 2018, the NOVA Pro Bono Program recruits inactive and retired Texas attorneys and attorneys residing in Texas who are licensed in other states to provide pro bono legal services to low-income Texans through an approved legal aid organization. Attorneys are required to re-certify and complete three hours of continuing legal education annually to remain in the program.

As of October 2024, there are 60 approved Texas host organizations and 44 approved attorneys (9 from Texas and 32 from out-of-state). See Exhibit A for a roster of current host organizations and participants.

ProBonoTexas .org and Paladin

In 2016, the State Bar of Texas created ProBonoTexas.org as part of fulfilling its commitment to encouraging and supporting pro bono efforts in Texas. The Legal Access Division maintains the website and continues to find innovative ways to promote pro bono efforts. The website includes a resource library, a mentor match program, and Westlaw’s document and form builder to help pro bono attorneys best serve their clients.

In January 2021, the State Bar of Texas launched the Pro Bono Opportunity Portal (https://app.joinpaladin.com/pbtx/) in partnership with Paladin, a justice tech company, to create a centralized site where attorneys, law students, and legal professionals can search for and be directly connected to pro bono opportunities in Texas. Legal aid and pro bono providers are also able to easily update, manage, and track pro bono opportunities and engagement in real-time.

The website’s current platform, Drupal, will not be supported after January 5, 2025, and is being transitioned to WordPress. This change will improve the user experience and will also enable the Legal Access Department to make updates more easily for enhanced engagement. The website update is expected to be completed by early spring.

National Pro Bono Week

Pro Bono Week provides an opportunity for legal organizations across the country to collaboratively commemorate the vitally important contributions of legal professionals and to recruit and train the many additional volunteers required to meet the growing access to justice gap. With the enthusiastic involvement of national, statewide, and local partners from all components of the legal profession, the National Pro Bono Celebration creates a wave of positive energy about pro bono work in this country. National Pro Bono Week is celebrated with proclamations, pro bono awards and recognitions, pro bono clinics and service, continuing legal education and trainings, fundraisers, new initiative kickoffs, media campaigns, strategic planning and coordination efforts, new volunteer recruitment initiatives, and social events.

This year’s celebration ran from October 20-26, 2024, with a theme of “Making Justice A Reality in Our Communities.” The Legal Access Department ran a social media campaign highlighting and amplifying the efforts across the state, shining a spotlight on their invaluable work in providing legal assistance to those in need. Some Texas pro bono week events were also highlighted on the American Bar Association’s Texas events page: https://www.americanbar.org/groups/center-pro-bono/celebrate-pro-bono/events/texas/.

This year, Texas Law Schools found creative ways to celebrate pro bono week:

• St. Mary’s School of Law’s Pro Dono and Coffee Awareness Drive provided donuts and coffee to students while encouraging students to sign up for pro bono opportunities and meet their pro bono graduation requirements.

• University of Houston Law Center’s Pro Bono Pop Up Event invited nonprofits to table and visit with law students. The Texas Civil Rights Project also facilitated a poll monitoring training in advance of the election.

• SMU Dedman School of Law’s Public Interest Law Week included a mandatory 1L orientation about the pro bono graduation requirement, as well as a Public Interest Career Fair, a Public Advocate Date, a Public Sector Employer Reception, and various pro bono clinic opportunities. SMU also had a Taco Tuesday Clinic Orientation Session.

Texas attorneys were encouraged to volunteer during Pro Bono Week in their communities or using Texas’ online legal advice clinic, Texas Free Legal Answers. Texas Free Legal Answers is based on the walk-in clinic model where clients request brief advice and counsel about a specific civil legal issue from a volunteer lawyer. Lawyers provide information and basic legal advice without any expectation of long-term representation. It takes attorneys just a few minutes to sign up and on average 20 minutes to answer a question Texas Free Legal Answers allows attorneys to easily log pro bono hours and empower Texans to receive access to justice from anywhere and at any time

State Bar of Texas Pro Bono Workgroup

The Pro Bono Workgroup was created in 2014 and its mission is to enhance the culture of pro bono service in Texas by:

• educating the legal community in Texas about the value, types, and scope of pro bono service;

• supporting local pro bono efforts around the state;

• striving to remove barriers to pro bono service; and

• facilitating strategic partnerships with the ultimate goal of increasing our ability to meet the demand for civil legal aid in Texas.

In 2024, the Group worked on a new strategic planning effort, updating the previous strategic plan which expired at the end of 2023. The Group met three times throughout the year, added new members, and is on track to formulate a new strategic plan in early 2025.

The Pro Bono Workgroup is co-chaired by Roland Johnson and Terry Tottenham. The members include:

Michelle Alden

Keri Brown

Judge Ann-Marie Carruth

Anne Chandler

Kevin Deitz

Christian Garza

Alisa De Luna

Alicia Hernandez

Bill Holston

Roland Johnson

Family Law Essentials Seminars (FLES)

Tristan Longino

Andrea Marsh

Cicely Reid

Mary Rios

Stephen Rispoli

Selena Solis

Frank E. Stevenson

Travis Torrence

Betty Balli Torres

Terry Tottenham

The Legal Access Department has provided administrative support to the Family Law Section’s Pro Bono Committee since 2001 to support its Family Law Essentials seminars (FLES). The FLES was designed as a twopronged project to benefit interested pro bono attorneys and the three legal aid programs that serve Texas. Attorneys who attend a Family Law Essentials seminar must agree to take at least two pro bono cases from the local legal aid program within a year of the seminar in exchange for receiving free CLE credit.

Members of the Family Law Section Pro Bono Committee select six rural cities to host the seminars each year based on input from Legal Aid of NorthWest Texas, Lone Star Legal Aid, and Texas RioGrande Legal Aid about what Texas cities/counties have the largest caseloads and would benefit from pro bono attorney support. Each seminar generally includes a one-hour judges panel discussion and nine 30-minute segments with live speakers, eight of which cover a variety of substantive family law-related subjects and one covering legal aid involvement and case handling.

After a few years of virtual and hybrid FLES, 2024 saw the FLES return to its original in-person format. Seminars were held in Abilene, Conroe, Gainesville, San Marcos, Victoria, and Wichita Falls. In the six FLES, a total of 106 attorneys promised to take 212 cases.

Pro Bono College

The Pro Bono College, established by the State Bar of Texas in 1992, honors attorneys who have significantly exceeded the State Bar's aspirational pro bono goal of 50 hours by completing a minimum of 75 hours in their efforts to address the vast legal needs of low-income individuals. In recent years, the State Bar expanded the Pro Bono College to recognize the valuable contributions of paralegals and law students. Currently, the Pro Bono College has 277 attorney members, 14 law student members, and 3 paralegal members. Each year, a brochure is provided as a handout at the Annual Meeting recognizing each of the pro bono college members. See Exhibit B To further increase these numbers, particularly among law students and paralegals, we have planned outreach initiatives to raise awareness and encourage greater participation in the program.

Language Access Fund and Communications Access Fund

Established in 2013, the Language Access Fund helps connect legal aid organizations and their pro bono volunteers with essential translation and interpretation services for clients with limited English proficiency. This year alone, the fund supported legal aid advocates in serving clients who speak 72 different languages, facilitating 175,757 minutes of interpretation across 7,429 phone calls and providing 51 document translations. Similarly, the Communication Access Fund offers financial support to Texas attorneys assisting clients with disabilities who require auxiliary aids or services, such as ASL interpreters, to ensure effective communication. This year, the fund enabled 13 attorneys to provide accessible legal services to Texans with disabilities.

Legal Aid Task Forces

The Legal Access Department provides logistical support to eight Legal Aid Task Forces. Task force meetings offer legal aid attorneys the opportunity to meet and network with others in their field of practice, and to stay informed on changes in the law through CLE trainings. The following Legal Aid Task Forces are supported by the Legal Access Department:

1. Education and Juvenile Justice Task Force

2. Employment Law Task Force

3. Family Law Task Force

4. Housing/Consumer Task Force

5. Immigration Task Force

6. Public Benefits/Health Law Task Force

7. Disaster Law Task Force

8. Community Redevelopment/Environmental Justice Task Force

This year, the Legal Access Department updated the Legal Aid Task Force Guidelines to encourage broader participation. Specifically, the Guidelines now encourage task force committees to host only one in-person meeting per year during the annual Poverty Law Conference (PLC), and to meet remotely for all other meetings throughout the year The Guidelines have also been updated to allow persons who do not otherwise meet the requirements to seek special exception from the Legal Access Department to participate in Legal Aid Task Forces

Legal Research Network

The Legal Research Network program is a partnership between the State Bar and qualifying civil legal aid and pro bono organizations. The current contract is with Westlaw, which provides licenses to Westlaw and Westlaw’s Form Builder to 450 attorneys. Westlaw provides an additional 90 licenses to paralegals at no cost. Access to Westlaw’s legal research tools is provided to civil legal aid paralegals and attorneys and pro bono attorneys who handle cases through Pro Bono Texas to support attorney work on client cases involving

litigation. We currently have 37 organizations utilizing this program, which has been in place for nearly 20 years and costs have decreased over time. The contract will be renewed in December of 2024.

Malpractice Insurance Exchange Network

The Malpractice Insurance Network Exchange Program is a partnership between the State Bar and legal aid and pro bono programs to provide malpractice insurance at a reduced and reasonable cost. For nearly 30 years, the program has been a major benefit to State Bar members who wish to provide pro bono services to low-income Texans but are reluctant to handle poverty law cases because they often fall outside their practice area or because, like many Corporate Counsel attorneys, they do not carry their own malpractice insurance. Under the program, the State Bar provides baseline professional liability coverage to eligible organizations. During the 2024 policy renewal process, 60 legal aid and pro bono organizations were provided coverage under the program, which will provide malpractice insurance to 890 legal aid attorneys and approximately 7,000 pro bono attorneys handling pro bono cases through a qualified legal aid provider.

Poverty Law Conference and Pro Bono Coordinators Retreat

The Legal Access Department (LAD) hosted its annual Pro Bono Coordinators Retreat (PBCR) on August 27 –28 and Poverty Law Conference (PLC) on August 28 – 30 at the Hilton Austin. This year’s conference was a fully in-person event, bringing together legal aid providers across the state for a week of community building and continuing legal education.

At the Poverty Law Conference, Legal Aid Task Forces and the Poverty Law Section of the State Bar of Texas are invited to host their annual meetings. At the 2024 Poverty Law Conference, 7 of the 8 Legal Aid Task Forces met in person. The Community Redevelopment / Environmental Justice Task Force and the Housing / Consumer Law Committee had the highest turnouts at their meetings with over 25 attendees each, including new members who were recruited during the conference. All task force committees left the 2024 Poverty Law Conference with increased membership and renewed energy.

At this year’s event, we hosted the first-ever Free Legal Answers lunch in Texas. Attendees from both PBCR and PLC were invited to join a one-hour competition to work in teams to answer as many legal questions as possible from Texas’s Free Legal Answers site. Participants answered 32 total questions from Texans residing in 16 different counties across the state.

71 individuals attended the day and a half Pro Bono Coordinators Retreat. LAD Director April Faith-Slaker kicked off PBCR with a welcome address, Texas Access to Justice Commission updates, and Legal Access Department Updates; then Betty Balli Torres gave a Texas Access to Justice Foundation update. Pro Bono Coordinators Retreat attendees then enjoyed six interactive sessions. Session topics included marketing pro bono work to corporate legal departments and law firms, helping pro bono attorneys deliver culturally competent services, and rural internship programs. See Exhibit C for the PBCR agenda.

327 individuals attended the Poverty Law Conference. Attendees chose from 60 sessions that ran on six concurrent tracks. Sessions covered introductions and updates to various areas of poverty law, including disaster law, veteran’s law, housing law, and more. This year’s keynote speaker was Nikole Nelson, the founding CEO of Frontline Justice, who spoke about her work to build community-led, people-centered justice models and to expand the scope of who can provide legal help. The keynote speech was timely, as it was given during the comment period for the Texas Supreme Court’s preliminary rules allowing licensed paraprofessionals and court-access assistants to provide limited legal services in Texas to help bridge the gap between the civil legal needs of low-income Texans and the resources currently available to fill those needs. See Exhibit C for the PLC agenda.

Texas Coordinating Council for Veterans Services

The Coordinating Council is comprised of approximately twenty state agencies. The Council hosts nine workgroups, including a work group related to pro bono legal services for veterans. The State Bar of Texas is among the state agencies involved in the Coordinating Council. The staff of the Legal Access Department of the State Bar of Texas participates in the pro bono work group.

In each even numbered year, the Coordinating Council generates a report that is published and shared among the public and members of the legislature. The report seeks to identify the needs of veterans, identifies services currently being provided, and makes recommendations to the Texas Legislature for consideration of ways in which those unmet needs might be addressed. The Coordinating Council’s Seventh Report was recently published.

Legal Services to the Poor State Bar of Texas Standing Committees

Legal Services to the Poor in Civil Matters Committee

Created in 1974, the Legal Services to the Poor in Civil Matters Committee is a standing committee of the State Bar of Texas Board of Directors. It promotes legal aid and pro bono efforts to assure delivery of legal aid to Texans who cannot afford a lawyer in civil matters. The committee also oversees the annual Pro Bono Excellence Awards.

Pro Bono Excellence Awards

Pro Bono Award

The Pro Bono Award honors a volunteer attorney organization (e.g., legal aid organization, local bar association, non-profit organization) that has made an outstanding contribution toward guaranteeing access to the legal system by the poor.

2024 Winner: Methodist Justice Ministry (Fort Worth)

Methodist Justice Ministry (MJM) is a non-profit organization that provides free legal representation and ongoing support to indigent families experiencing violence, child abuse and neglect. Established in 2006 by accomplished attorney and ordained Methodist minister,

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Brooks Harrington, MJM has grown from humble beginnings to become a vital pillar of support within the Fort Worth community. To date, MJM has filed over 1200 family lawsuits, representing over 3,000 vulnerable community members impacted by family violence.

Recognizing that court orders are often just the beginning of rebuilding lives after leaving abusive environments, MJM also provides essential support services. MJM connects clients with a network of services, including support groups, food pantries, employment readiness programs and more. To address immediate financial needs, MJM established the Safe Home Program, which provides emergency financial assistance for rent, utilities, car repairs, school supplies and other basic needs. In 2023 alone, MJM disbursed almost $60,000 in assistance, while linking families with ongoing community support for sustained success.

MJM’s exemplary contributions have garnered recognition, including a Certificate of Appreciation from the Tarrant County District Attorney’s Office (2023) for outstanding work with crime victims. And, Brooks Harrington was recently honored with the prestigious J. Chrys Dougherty Legal Services Award for outstanding contributions guaranteeing access to the legal system. In 2018, the Forth Worth Magazine named MJM one of the top law firms, affirming its reputation for excellence in legal advocacy and community service.

Frank J. Scurlock Award

The Frank J. Scurlock Award honors an individual attorney, in good standing, who has provided outstanding pro bono work. The award is named for the late Frank J. Scurlock, the first chair of the Legal Services to the Poor in Civil Matters Committee. Scurlock was known for his tireless efforts to provide legal services to the poor.

2024 Winner: Nathaniel Peter Holzer (Corpus Christi)

Nathaniel Peter Holzer is a highly regarded attorney practicing in Corpus Christi, TX. He graduated summa cum laude from the University of Texas at Arlington and graduated with honors from the University of Texas School of Law. He specializes in bankruptcy, commercial litigation, and debt collection.

Throughout his career, Mr. Holzer has consistently demonstrated an unwavering commitment to pro bono legal services, a testament to his compassion and commitment to justice. He has regularly accepted pro bono cases from Texas RioGrande Legal Aid, establishing volunteer work that has spanned decades. Remarkably, in the past two years alone, he has generously dedicated more than 330 hours to pro bono work, significantly impacting the lives of many Texans.

J. Chrys Dougherty Award

The J. Chrys Dougherty Award recognizes an outstanding legal services staff attorney. The award is named for J. Chrys Dougherty, a private attorney and Bar leader, whose efforts helped to build a strong working partnership between the State Bar of Texas and legal services providers. The award

includes a $1,500 stipend from the Texas Bar Foundation and a contribution from Graves, Dougherty, Hearon & Moody.

2024 Winner: Lauren Joyner (Edinburg)

For the past 15 year years, Lauren Joyner has served as a staff attorney at Texas RioGrande Legal Aid (TRLA), during which time she has been a zealous advocate for the people of the Rio Grande Valley. Ms. Joyner has successfully represented hundreds of low-income residents of Texas, particularly survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, and human trafficking, as well as individuals facing immigration and citizenship challenges. Her practice is distinguished by a focus on the most complex cases and services to the most vulnerable of TRLA’s clients.

Ms. Joyner’s commitment extends beyond individual client representation. She actively mentors other immigration attorneys at TRLA and beyond, collaborating with local organizations to provide community education and professional development trainings through the Hidalgo County Bar Association, the Texas/New Mexico Chapter of the American Immigration Lawyers Association, and the Federal Bar Association. Ms. Joyner also played an integral role in establishing the Legal Orientation Program which provides newly arrived migrant families with essential information about the U.S. immigration court process.

Ms. Joyner’s tireless efforts and dedication to her community have garnered well-deserved recognition. In 2015, she was honored with the Hidalgo County Bar Association Pro Bono Award, a testament to her exceptional contributions to advancing access to justice for underserved populations.

W. Frank Newton Award

The W. Frank Newton Award recognizes the pro bono contribution of attorney groups (e.g., law firm, corporate law department, government attorney office, law school faculty, Bar section) whose members have made an outstanding contribution in the provision of, or access to, legal services to the poor. The award is named for W. Frank Newton, former Dean of Texas Tech University School of Law and long-time pro bono advocate.

2024 Winner: Haynes and Boone (Dallas)

Haynes and Boone is a distinguished international corporate law firm that has been recognized for its commitment to pro bono legal services. The firm regularly convenes a pro bono committee to celebrate pro bono successes, address needs, and coordinate clinics and services. In addition to supporting and encouraging the pro bono work of its attorneys, all of its summer associates handle pro bono matters during their time with the firm as well.

In the Dallas office, this commitment to serving marginalized communities is exemplified through the firm’s partnership with the Dallas Volunteer Attorney Program (DVAP), a joint project of the Dallas Bar Association and Legal Aid of NorthWest Texas. Over the years, DVAP

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has provided crucial civil legal services to individuals in Dallas County who lack the means to afford representation. The firm has played a pivotal role in the support of this program, hosting bi-annual gatherings to provide a forum for DVAP to convene with the pro bono coordinators from various firms, as well as hosting monthly virtual legal clinics. The firm has also collaborated with other organizations, including Genesis Women’s Shelter and Southern Methodist University’s Child Advocacy Clinic.

In 2023 alone, Haynes and Boone dedicated over 16,000 pro bono hours firmwide, with the Dallas offices contributing over 7,600 hours, including extensive support for DVAP. These efforts have garnered widespread recognition, with the firm receiving prestigious awards such as the 2023 Pro Bono Law Firm of the Year from DVAP and the 2023 Outstanding Achievement Award from the Washington Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs. As a trailblazer in pro bono advocacy, Haynes and Boone continues to champion the principles of justice, equality, and social responsibility, setting a gold standard for legal excellence and community service.

Pro Bono Coordinator Award

The Pro Bono Coordinator Award is presented to an individual who has made an exceptional contribution to the delivery of, and access to legal services for the poor, while serving as the pro bono coordinator for a volunteer attorney organization or group, local bar association, law firm, law school, corporate legal office, governmental law department, or legal services organization. Attorney and non-attorney pro bono coordinators are eligible and may self-nominate.

2024 Winner: Sylvia Chavez (Plainview)

Sylvia Chavez serves as the pro bono coordinator in the Plainview Office of Legal Aid of NorthWest Texas. With only 40 active lawyers serving a 10-county service area, the task of pro bono recruitment presents a distinct challenge. Nonetheless, Ms. Chavez has achieved remarkable success, engaging an impressive 50% of the available lawyers in pro bono endeavors. Her dedication to expanding access to justice is underscored by her extensive outreach efforts and the strong relationships she has cultivated with local judges and court personnel.

In addition to pro bono recruitment efforts, Ms. Chavez plays a significant role in coordinating outreach programs, seminars and Continuing Legal Education (CLE) events. Notably, she facilitated two successful Family Law Essential Seminar events, produced by the Family Law Section of the State Bar of Texas. Furthermore, she has organized and planned major events for the National Pro Bono Week in October, presenting awards and bringing in speakers from across the state. And, she has conducted successful outreach events for Veterans Week.

Finally, Ms. Chavez invigorated a Pro Bono Advisory Board for the Plainview Office, assembling a diverse group of business, legal and community leaders. This board not only

offers invaluable advice but also provides crucial financial and logistical support to the pro bono program, ensuring its sustainability and effectiveness in serving the community.

Pro Bono Support Staff Award

The Pro Bono Support Staff Award recognizes the outstanding and exemplary contributions of nonattorney volunteers such as paralegals, administrative assistants, interpreters, and other support staff who work on pro bono projects. The award promotes the awareness of pro bono activities that non-attorneys can participate in and encourages non-attorneys who work in the legal profession to volunteer their time and specialty skills to pro bono projects within their community. To qualify for this award, an individual must provide legal assistance, without compensation, in a non-mandatory program, that requires specific legal skills, knowledge, or training, under the supervision of a licensed attorney or qualified organization. Services may be provided through such organizations as, but not limited to, legal aid programs, community legal clinics, bar associations, courts, or government agencies.

2024 Winner: Susan Davis (Fort Worth)

Susan Davis is a board-certified paralegal at the Law Offices of Jason Smith. With a career spanning nearly three decades, she has focused on civil litigation, including employment discrimination, personal injury, and appellate law. She received her bachelor’s degree from Stephen F. Austin State University, with a double major in Political Science (pre-law) and Criminal Justice(paralegal program). She is Board Ceritified in Civil Trial Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization.

Ms. Davis has exhibited an untiring commitment to supporting legal professionals and advocating for those in need. Since 2014, she has been actively involved in volunteering for numerous pro bono clinics organized by Tarrant Volunteer Attorney Services (TVAS), Tarrant County Bar Foundation and Legal Aid of Northwest Texas. And in 2022, she became the TVAS cochair for the Tarrant County Bar Foundation.

Her contributions to pro bono have not gone unnoticed, as evidenced by the numerous awards she has received. Recent awards include the Paralegal of the Year Award by the Fort Worth Paralegal Association (2021) and in 2020, she received the TVAS Paralegal Pro Bono Volunteer Award by the Tarrant County Bar Foundation, the Paralegal Division State Bar of Texas Exceptional Pro Bono Service Award, and the Pro Bono Volunteer of the Year by the Fort Worth Paralegal Association.

Judge Merrill Hartman Pro Bono Judge Award

The Judge Merrill Hartman Pro Bono Judge Award honors a judge, sitting or retired, who has provided exemplary pro bono service, including: outreach to attorneys to increase the quantity and quality of pro bono representation; modifications to court processes to increase access to justice; advocacy on behalf of access to justice; or service as a volunteer judge for pro bono clinics or other pro bono

proceedings. The award is named after the late Judge Merrill Hartman of Dallas, a tireless advocate for low-income communities’ access to justice.

2024 Winner: Hon. Lora Livingston (Ret.) (Austin)

Judge Lora Livingston is known not only for her remarkable career on the bench, but for her significant contributions to public service. After Graduating from the UCLA School of Law in 1982, she embarked on a career dedicated to promoting access to justice and championing the rights of the underserved. Beginning her legal journey as a Reginald Heber Smith Community Lawyer Fellow at the Legal Aid Society of Central Texas, her commitment to poverty law paved the way for a lifelong dedication to public service

Throughout her career, Judge Livingston has held various esteemed positions, including serving as an associate judge for the District Courts of Travis County, TX, and later being elected as judge of the 261st District Court in 1999. During her tenure, she demonstrated exemplary leadership, earning the respect of her peers and colleagues. Notably she was elected as the Travis County Local Administrative District Judge, where she provided guidance and oversight for nine years. Although she retired from the bench in 2022, Judge Livingston has continued to make significant contributions to the legal community.

Throughout her career, Judge Livingston has actively participated in organizations and initiatives aimed at promoting access to justice. She has served on various non-profit boards, including the Texas Equal Access to Justice Foundation, Texas Access to Justice Commission, Texas Center for the Judiciary, National Association of IOLTA Programs, and the American Bar Endowment. Her national contributions include membership of the National Bar Association and the National Association of Women Judges and serving on the American Bar Association’s Standing Committee on the Delivery of Legal Services, the American Bar Association’s Standing Committee on Legal Aid and Indigent Defendants (SCLAID), the ABA Standing Committee on Pro Bono and Public Service, and the ABA Judicial Division. She is also the Texas State Delegate to the House of Delegates of the American Bar Association. And, she has been active in the Austin Bar Association, the Austin Black Lawyers Association, and the Travis County Women Lawyers Association. Most recently, she served as the Interim Executive Director of the Texas Access to Justice Commission.

Her unwavering commitment to promoting equal access to justice has earned her recognition and accolades, including: the Outstanding Attorney award from the Travis County Women Lawyers Association, the Texas Access to Justice Commission Pro Bono Champion Award, the Texas Equal Access to Justice Foundation Harold F. Kleinman Award, the Texas Center for the Judiciary Exemplary Judicial Faculty Award, the Lone Star Girl Scouts Council Women of Distinction Award, the Austin Independent School District Community Service Award, the Lotus Award from Asian Family Support Services, the Distinguished Service Award from the National Center for State Courts, the Spirit of Excellence Award from the American Bar Association, the Jurisprudence Award from the Anti-Defamation League of

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Austin, the Distinguished Jurist Award from the African American Lawyers Section of the State Bar of Texas, and the Distinguished Lawyer Award from the Austin Bar Association.

Legal Services to the Poor in Criminal Matters Committee

Created in 1994, the Legal Services to the Poor in Criminal Matters Committee is a standing committee of the State Bar’s Board of Directors. The Committee studies the systems of criminal defense of indigent persons in Texas, identifying issues, collecting data, and developing recommendations to improve the quality of representation available to indigent Texans in criminal matters.

Mr. Paul Chambers (Far West Texas Regional Public Defender Office) chairs the committee. The Committee comprises members of the judiciary, prosecution, and defense, as well as representatives of court administration, state agencies (including the Texas Indigent Defense Commission), and nonprofit organizations with a focus on indigent defense. The Committee meets quarterly on the third Thursday of each third month at 10:30am. The next meeting will be on Thursday, January 16, 2025 at 10:30am.

The Committee continues its work on guidelines for prosecutors in working with indigent defendants Previously, the Committee drafted an “Ability to Pay Guidance” for indigent clients and the fees that are assessed with community supervision, which was adopted by the State Bar of Texas Board of Directors. The Committee is now working on addressing noncompliance with the “Ability to Pay Guidance” for indigent clients. The Committee also intends to re-address guidelines for bail proceedings.

The Committee also selects the winners of the annual Indigent Defense Awards. Mr. Chambers is interested in developing a new award or awards for young attorneys handling indigent defense cases, in addition to the two current Indigent Defense Awards: the Warren Burnett Award and the Michael K. Moore Award for Excellence in Research or Writing in the Area of Indigent Criminal Defense. Honorees are presented with their awards at the State Bar of Texas Annual Meeting.

Indigent Defense Awards

Warren Burnett Award

Named for the late legendary Texas Attorney Warren Burnett, the award recognizes extraordinary contributions to improving the quality of criminal legal representation to indigent Texans. The award honors either an individual or organization for their work in the courtroom, legislature, or in the community

2024 Winner: James D. “Jim” Bethke (Bexar County)

James D. "Jim" Bethke is widely recognized as a transformative figure in the field of indigent defense, particularly for his instrumental role in shaping the Texas Indigent Defense Commission (TIDC). As one of its founders and architects, Mr. Bethke’s visionary leadership and tireless advocacy have played a pivotal role in establishing TIDC as a leading institution in the field.

Mr. Bethke’s journey in developing TIDC began with a recognition of the systemic deficiencies that existed prior to the enactment of the Fair Defense Act. Determined to address these shortcomings, he co-founded and shaped TIDC, creating a unified indigent defense system in Texas. His leadership in this arena has been characterized by a commitment to fostering collaboration and empowering local jurisdictions. He also championed streamlined processes, working to remove administrative obstacles while ensuring compliance with legal mandates. Under his guidance, TIDC has conducted comprehensive data collections, expanded public defender offices, and implemented regional initiatives, setting a new standard for indigent defense nationwide.

In addition to his groundbreaking work with TIDC, Mr. Bethke's career is marked by a series of influential roles at various institutions in Texas. From his leadership positions at Harris County Justice Administration and Harris County Pretrial Services to his role as an Adjunct Professor at Texas Tech University School of Law, Mr. Bethke has consistently demonstrated a steadfast commitment to advancing the principles of justice and fairness. In 2021, he was appointed as the Director of the newly created Managed Assigned Counsel Office in Bexar County. He also serves on the Board for the National Association of Public Defense Fund for Justice, the San Antonio Criminal Defense Lawyer Association, and Chairs the Board for the Office of Capital and Forensic Writs.

Mr. Bethke's impact extends beyond the borders of Texas, as evidenced by his active involvement in national and international work. His contributions to organizations such as the American Bar Association’s Standing Committee on Legal Aid and Indigent Defendants and his participation in global initiatives, such as the independent review of the International Criminal Court's legal aid system, underscore his dedication to advancing systemic reform on a broader scale. A Texas Bar Foundation Life Fellow and a respected veteran of the U.S. Army’s 101st Airborne Division, Mr. Bethke’s career has reflected a profound dedication to service and advocacy.

Michael K. Moore Award for Excellence in Research or Writing in the Area of Indigent Criminal Defense

This award is named after Doctor Michael K. Moore for his pivotal role in several research and writing efforts that had a major effect on indigent defense in Texas. The award will be presented to an individual (including both private citizens and members of the Bar) or organization in recognition of exceptional research or writing that deals with indigent criminal defense and that represents a significant contribution to the knowledge and practices of the bench, bar, and scholarly communities.

No nominations have been received for the years 2023 or 2024

State Bar of Texas New Opportunities Volunteer Attorney (NOVA) Pro Bono Program

List of Approved Organizations

Current as of October 1, 2024

Advocate Legal Senior Center 3611 Ennis

Houston, Texas 77004

African Law Center

9898 Bissonnet St, Suite 589

Houston, TX 77036

Aid to Victims of Domestic Abuse (AVDA)

1001 Texas, Ste. 600 Houston, Texas 77002

American Gateways

314 E. Highland Mall Blvd., Ste. 501 Austin, Texas 78752

BakerRipley Immigration and Citizenship Program

4450 Harrisburg Blvd., Suite 200 Houston, Texas 77011

Baylor Law School Pro Bono and Public Service Program

1114 S. University Parks Dr. Waco, Texas 76798

Beacon Law

P.O. Box 53958

Houston, Texas 77052

Boat People SOS-Houston, Inc.

11360 Bellaire Blvd., Ste. 910

Houston, Texas 77072

Casa Marianella 821 Gunter Street

Austin, Texas 78702

Catholic Charities of Dallas Inc. 1421 W. Mockingbird Lane Dallas, Texas 75247

Catholic Charities of Galveston - Houston

2900 Louisiana St. Houston, Texas 77006

Catholic Charities of Lubbock 102 Avenue J Lubbock, Texas 77441

Catholic Charities of San Antonio 202 W. French Place San Antonio, Texas 78212

Community Christian Legal Aid

4747 Research Forest Drive, #180 The Woodlands, TX 77381

Dallas Volunteer Attorney Program (DVAP) 2101 Ross Avenue Dallas, Texas 75201

Diocesan Migrant & Refugee Services, Inc.

2400A East Yandell El Paso, TX 79903

Disability Rights of Texas

7800 Shoal Creek Blvd., Ste. 171-E

Austin, Texas 78757

Earl Carl Institute for Legal and Social Policy, Inc.

3100 Cleburne St. Houston, Texas 77004

Equal Justice Center

510 S. Congress Ave., Ste. 206 Austin, Texas 78704

Fair Housing Council of Greater San Antonio

4414 Centerview Dr. Ste. 229 San Antonio, Texas 78228

Family Eldercare, Inc.

1700 Rutherford Ln. Austin, Texas 78754

Family Violence Prevention Services, Inc. 7911 Broadway San Antonio, Texas 78209

Houston Volunteer Lawyers 1111 Bagby Street, FLB 300 Houston, Texas 77002

Human Rights Initiative of North Texas 2801 Swiss Ave. Dallas, Texas 75204

Jane's Due Process, Inc. P.O. Box 685137 Austin, Texas 78768

Jefferson County Bar Association 1001 Pearl Ste. 202 Beaumont, Texas 77701

Las Americas Immigrant Advocacy Center 1500 E. Yandall Dr. El Paso, Texas 79902

Legal Aid of NorthWest Texas 600 East Weatherford St. Fort Worth, Texas 76102

Legal Aid Society of Lubbock, Inc. 916 Main St., Ste. 103 Lubbock, Texas 79401

Legal Hospice of Texas 3626 N. Hall St., Ste. 820 Dallas, Texas 75219

Lone Star Legal Aid 1415 Fannin St. Houston, Texas 77002

Methodist Justice Ministry 750 West 5th Street Fort Worth, Texas 76102

Metroplex Veterans Legal Services

Montgomery County Women's Center 1401 Airport Rd. Conroe, Texas 77301

Mosaic Family Services, Inc.

4144 N. Central Expy., Ste. 530

Dallas, Texas 75204

ProBAR/ABA-FJE

301 E. Madison Ave.

Harlingen, Texas 78550

RAICES Refugee and Immigrant Center

1305 N. Flores St. San Antonio, Texas 78212

The SAFE Alliance

P.O. Box 19454 Austin, TX 78760

SafeHaven of Tarrant County 8701 Bedford Euless Rd., Ste. 600 Hurst, Texas 76053

San Antonio Legal Services Association

P.O. Box 12404 San Antonio, TX 78212

Shelter Agencies for Families of East Texas

P.O. Box 2337

Mount Pleasant, Texas 75456

South Texas College of Law Legal Clinics

1303 San Jacinto Houston, Texas 77002

Southern Disability Law Center

1307 Payne Ave. Austin, Texas 78757

St. Mary's University School of Law Center for Legal and Social Justice One Camino Santa Maria San Antonio, Texas 78228

State Bar of Texas Appellate Section

State Bar of Texas Tax Section

Tahirih Justice Center 1717 St. James Place, Ste. 320 Houston, Texas 77056

Tarrant County Bar Foundation 1315 Calhoun St. Fort Worth, Texas 76102

Texas A&M University School of Law - Law Clinic 1515 Commerce Street Fort Worth, Texas 76102

Texas Advocacy Project, Inc. P.O. Box 833 Austin, Texas 78767

Texas Civil Rights Project 1405 Montopolis Dr. Austin, Texas 78741

Texas Fair Defense Project 510 South Congress Avenue, Suite 208 Austin, Texas 78704

Texas Legal Services Center

815 Brazos, Ste. 1100 Austin, Texas 78701

Texas RioGrande Legal Aid, Inc.

300 S. Texas Blvd. Weslaco, Texas 78596

Texas Southern University Clinical Legal Studies Program

3100 Cleburne St. Houston, Texas 77004

Texas Tech University School of Law Clinical Programs

1802 Hartford Ave. Lubbock, Texas 79409

University of Houston Law Center Clinical Legal Education Programs

100 Law Center RM 56 TU II Houston, Texas 77204

University Of Texas Clinical Programs

727 Dean Keeton St. Austin, Texas 78705

Volunteer Legal Services of Central Texas (VLS) 86 Congress Ave. Austin, Texas 78701

YMCA International Services 6300 Westpark, Suite 600 Houston, Texas 77057

Region

TEXAS

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24038941

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OUT OF STATE

2024 Member Roster

Name

Douglas D'arche

Jennifer Farnell

Lynda Frost

Liane Reiko Harrell

Tom Kearns

Stephanie Lugo

Jorge Maldonado

Maria-Luisa Ornelas-June

Jacqueline Williams

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24138938

24141760

24139993

31993

24144509

24139807

24139102

24144508

24142146

24143917

24139341

24139105

24142546

24139870

Kimberly Anderson Smith

Gregory Betros

Courtney Carvill

Christina Coley

Romulo Bautista Diaz

Matthew Dillinger

Grant Duffy

Anthony Frisina

Melissa Gray

Savannah Harms

Yvette Harpum

Michael Harris

Meredith Hart

John Hawks

Katherine Hensley

24141027

24129499

24144336

24138443

24141028

24141549

24141282

24126348

24124538

24141026

24141281

24139865

24112859

24113010

24137715

24130864

24142469

24115602

24138831

24139864

James Jenkins

Alyssa Johnson

Emma Lentsch

Sarah Mui

Heidi Naasko

Cameron O'Connor

Adetokunbo Okanla

Vindra Richter

Allen Rothman

Robyn Sanford

Jonathan Seagraves

Emad Siddiqi

Deborah Sonnenschein

Alexander Sonnenschein

Molly Troy

Bianca Verlangieri Difini Brack

Rebekah Wells

Howard Wellspring III

Judith Williams

Jessica Zarate

Total NOVA Members 44

The Pro Bono College of the

State Bar of Texas

2023 Membership

In recognition and appreciation of the performance of 75 hours or more of pro bono legal assistance to the poor.

June 2024

Pro Bono College of the State Bar of Texas 2023 Membership

See membership form on the back.

Azeez Olakunle Abdulkadir

Rasha Abu-Zeyadeh

Aaron Neil Ackerman

Kristopher K. Ahn

Anietie Maureen-Ann Akpan

Daniel Anthony Albidrez

Russell Austin Aldrich

Rosanna Ibrahim Al-Hakeem

Mohamed Al-Hendy

Elizabeth Diane Alvarez

Francisco Alvarez

Yong Jun An

Daniella A. Angarita

Elizabeth Ann Angelone

Taylor Leighann-Kilway Appling

James Michael Archer

Bill Asher

Kip At Lee, Jr.

Kevin E. Castillo Atkinson B

Ann Bacchus

Edgardo Rafael Baez

Donald Lee Bailey

Ashu Ngale Balimba

John B. Bamberg

Rama Bar-Adon

Victoria Violet Barboza

Stephen Anthony Barnes

Misty Ann Barnett

Fabiana Mauricio Baum

Emil Thomas Bayko

Paul Gary Belew

Jason M. Berent

David Loren Bergen, Jr.

Fawaz Azam Bham

Gerald James Bierbaum

Devin Bradley Black

C. William Blair

John Paul Bogran

Ryan Bradley Bormaster

Mary Borrego

Boe Lynn Bowen

Marshall A. Bowen

Bruce Patrick Bower

John Tyler Boyce

James R. Bradley

Elizabeth Durso Branch

Kristin L. Brandt

Elissa Renee Brewster

Joseph Neal Briers

Lynette K. Briggs

Michael Brinkley

Fran Brochstein

Lauren Hunt Brogdon

Adam Banks Brown

Nina A. Bujosa

Amy Renee Cook Bythewood

Ola Horwath Campbell

Ian Joseph Carrico

Kim Marie Catalano

J. Shannon Cavers

Vishal Chander

Hershel Robert Chapin

Randall D. Chapman

Edward B. Chatelain III

Joshua Thomas Christopher

Chinedu Kenneth Chuka-Obah

Hyejin Chung

Mark Anthony Cianciosi

Glenda C. Clausell

Eric Brian Clay

Wendy S. Cleveland

Gary Allan Cobb

Patricia Morce Cofty

David Jesse Coker

Teresa Ann Coles

Toni Sharretts Collins

Cathy Sue Compton

Elnora Destin Conley

Sally Valaree Cook

Chase Johnson Cooper

Brandy Leigh Copley

Thomas D. Cordell

Geoffrey Neil Courtney

Charles Duane Cowan

William Hunter Craven

Ngoc-Anh Theresa Bui Creevy

McKenna Rammell Crisp

Daniel Reshod Crumby

John Cucci, Jr.

J. Diane Garza Cummings

Jeanie Lee Droddy Cupit

Riddhi Dasgupta

Michelle Leigh Hutte Davis

Victoria Lee Davis

Natalie Dawson

Benjamin S. De Leon

Diamond Bleu De Leon

Victoria del Campo

Michael Patrick Delaney, Jr.

Ronald Ned Dennis

Brenda G. DeRouen

Jana Diminnie

Yubin Ding

Curtis Francis Doebbler

Alexander Henderson Dominguez

Ryan Shayne Dougay

Marlene A. Dougherty

Robert Richard Downes

Steven Michael Duble

Keith Best Dunbar

Chad Wilson Dunn

Fabio Correa Henriques Dworschak

Bobbie Gray Edmonds

Travis Gregg Edwards

Hon. Laurie Rayson Eiserloh

Diane Denise Elizondo

Caroline Walker Ellis

Sara El-Loubani

Chad Dawson Elrod

Ronald L. Ennis

Craig Edward Enos

Megan Erinakes

Bradley George Ertl

Ana M. Esteve

Yair Yiftach Even-Tal

Mia Lucienne Falzarano

Yu-cheng Fan

Jared Febbroriello

Brian Joseph Ferguson

Jonathan Ferris

Emily Alison Fitzgerald

Tyler Ashley Flood

John Thomas Floyd III

Stephen Neil Foster

Elizabeth Francis-Whisnant

Victor C. Franck

Sarah Mary Frazier

Paul Edward Furrh, Jr.

Bridget Marie Fuselier

Kristy Gabrielova

Jaclyn Annette Gallian

Caroline Carr Galloway

William B. Gammon

Arturo Javier Garcia

Paul Anthony Gaytan

Arthur Harold Geffen

Michael D. George

Benjamin Allen Geslison

Anne Elizabeth Gibson

Kenna Giffin

Stephen Alfred Giovannini

Lea Manganaro Goodman

Jodilyn Marie Goodwin

Jeffrey Robert Grable

John Kiyoshi Grantham

James David Groce

Brian Christopher Gutierrez

Jose Angel Gutierrez

Morgan Haenchen

Billy Ray Hall, Jr.

Barbara Kay Harris

Joshua Hiram Harris

Reginal Dwayne Harris

Tanner Elise Hartnett

Mary Elizabeth Heard

Jeanne Marie Heffernan

Alan D. Hegi

Stephen Todd Hicklin

Elizabeth S. Hilbun

Barry Warren Hocking, Jr.

Zachary Jack Hoffmann

Mary Jo Holloway

Sydney Anne Hood

John Paul Hopkins

Kristina Paige Horn

Thomas Matthew Hudson

Ruth Ruggero Hughs

Nancy Yukfung Hui

William N. Hulsey III

Cathryn Anne Ibarra

Vikram Iyengar

Vaughn Edward James

Timothy Daniel Japhet

Jennifer Rachelle Jenkins

Billy R. Jones

Rebecca Lynne Jordan

Julie A. Ketterman

Dawn LeAnnette Shappard King

Michael P. Kopech

Gary P. Krupkin

Rachel Morico

Lisa Anne Moye

Steven Brian Mudd

Milton Greg Mullanax

Amy Hilsman Kastely

Kathleen Kearney

Terrence M. Keel

Dugan Patrick Kelley

Jeana Rae Laguna

Lynda Joy Landers

John Ricardo Lane

Lidia Alexandra Yar Lawson

Christine Powers Leatherberry

Stephanie Marie Ledesma

Louis D. Leichter

Sarah Bethany Levy

Helen Miller Liggett

Jonny Paul Lohman

Ivan R. Lopez De Victoria

Kaley Luedecke

Christine Michelle Lugo

David S. MacIntyre

Okwuoma Chukwudi Maduforo

Kurt A. Malmquist II

Wayne Dennis Manning

Yohana Susan Mantrana

Ignacio Gustavo Martinez

Liset Lefebvre Martinez

Cynthia Elaine Masters

Lisa Jeanette Jones Mathews

Lee P. Mattingly

Rashin Mazaheri

James Thomas McBride

Brandon Nelson McCarthy

Jon Linly McCurley

Samantha Leigh McDanel

R. Sean McDonald

Stephen Gray McFayden

Jerry L. McGonigal

David L. McLane

Stacey Leigh Nesbit McLarty

William McManus

Michelle Marie Lindahl McPherson

Susan Bieber Meek

Teresa Pham Messer

William Roy Metz

Mark Alvan Metzger III

Anthony Allen Miller

Emily Carra Miller

Justin A. Miller

Silvia Maria Valle Mintz

Sergio T. Miranda

Barbara L. Moore

Nyanza LaRhae Moore

Jacqueline Teresa Moran

Patrick J. Moran

Clinton David Morgan

Kaylie Michele Morgan

William James Nabholz

Jennifer B. Neal

John Arthur Nechman

Zachary Tyler Nelson

Victoria Filippov Nemeth

Mary Margaret Neusel

Lan Tuyet Nguyen

Priscilla Niedzwiedz

Audra Lanelle O’Connell

Angela Marie Oliver

Daniel Lee O’Neil

Cynthia Eva Hujar Orr

Claudia Isabel Oviedo

Sara Edith Padua

Gail E. Papermaster

Naval Hemendra Patel

David M. Patronella

Timothy Patton

Donald Norman Payne

Richard Pena

Mary Margaret Penrose

Bill Piatt, Jr.

Edward L. Pina

Saedra Ann Pinkerton

Aaron Potter Pirouznia

Daniel Hunter Polvi

Dennis Kenton Powell

Frank C. Powell

Molly Lochridge Powers

James Robert Pratz

Scott Lance Prescher

William Kelly Puls

Noah Daniel Radbil

Mary Allen Ramprasad

Luel Todd Rash

Jeffry H. Ray

Thomas W. Reardon, Jr.

David William Reddell

Douglas Brennan Reilly

Elisa Maloff Reiter

Darrel A. Rice

Gilson Spencer Riecken

Roberto Javier Rivera

Penny R. Robe

Ruben Rodriguez

Maribel Roldan

Carlo Enrico Romero

Paul Brian Rorie

Howard Landau Rosenthal

Arthur Joseph Rossi, Jr.

Bernard L. Royce

Griffin Simon Rubin

Carlos Ignacio Ruiz

SKenneth Michael Sabath

Simon Gabriel Safir

Shannon Roberta Salmón-Haas

Benjamin Kirke Sanchez

Luvenia Evett Sanchez

Homer L. Sanders, Jr.

Deborah G. Sandheinrich

Tate N. Saunders

David P. Schafer

Edith Evevon Schatelowitz

Leigh Ann Schenk

Leah Schultz

Annie LaVerne Scott

Terry H. Sears

Alexa Leigh Sendukas

Tania Sethi

Shehzad Ahmed Shaikh

Teresa Shahan Shapiro

Susan Dawn Shay

Hon. Martin Joel Silverstein

Vanessa Simone

Evan Paul Singer

John Henry Skotnik

Erik L. Smith

Kevin Christopher Smith

Peyton Noble Smith

Jose Ricardo Soliz

Joseph G. Soliz

Michael Wade Sparks

Kacie LeAnn Starr

Mark E. Steiner

Zoe Phelps Stendara

Manfred Sternberg, Jr.

Sarah Cummings Stewart

John Francis Sullivan III

Gretchen Sims Sween

Isaac I. Syed

Catherine L. Tabor

Jonathan M. Tanaka

Clark Reed Teckenbrock

Sharonda Joy Dawson Thomas

Linda A. Thomson

Larry Lee Thweatt, Jr.

Cynthia Corrine Tirso

Jennifer L Tomsen

Michael Dennis Tracton

Xuan Hong Thi Tran

Marc Joseph Traynor

Promise Serenity Trujillo

Leslie Stone Turnage

Robert Clayton Uhl

Philips Jacob Vallakalil

Lois Katharine Valle

G. Allan Van Fleet

John Clayton VanBuskirk

Matthew Eric Vandenberg

Consolacion G. Vasquez

Arturo Vazquez

Venere Diana Elena Velardo

Terry Lynn Velligan

Robert N. Virden

Christina Marie Vitale

Jeffrey Dean Wagner

Stephen Rolfe Walker

Danny Joe Wallis

John Philip Warren, Jr.

Ginger Ann Shockley Weatherspoon

Clarence Andrew Weber

John Holman Weigel

Emma Diane Wells

Harriet Amelia Wessel

Bradley Kirk Westmoreland

Arielle Marlene Williams

Mallory Blythe Williams

Travis Charles Williamson

Frederick Kendrick Wilson II

Tammy Lyn Wincott

Dennis Jared Windscheffel

Shelly Flowers Winn

John D. Wood

Debra Anne Wray

Matthew Gerald Wright

Paul G. Yale

Maryann Zaki

Richard Edward Zayas

Robert Alan Zimmer

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PRO BONO COLLEGE OF THE STATE BAR OF TEXAS

2024 NEW/RENEWED MEMBERSHIP

I affirm that I am an attorney in good standing with the State Bar of Texas and have, during the past year, performed a minimum of 75 hours of eligible pro bono legal assistance activities, defined as:

a)the direct provision of legal services to the poor without an expectation of compensation, whether civil or criminal;

b)services without fee related to simplifying the legal process for, or increasing the availability and quality of, legal services to poor persons;

c)legal services without fee rendered to charitable, public interest organizations with respect to matters or projects designed predominantly to address the needs of poor persons; or

d)legislative, administrative, or systems advocacy services without fee provided on behalf of poor persons.

Print Name:

TX Bar Card No. Email

Address

City/State Zip Phone

Total Pro Bono Hours in Calendar Year 2023:

All members will receive a Pro Bono College 2024 membership certificate. If you lost or need a replacement certificate for (one) prior year, please let us know and we will get you a new one at no cost.

Certificate for New/Renewing Members Replacement Certificate for the Year:

Bar Member's Signature Date

Please return the signed form to the address below no later than August 31, 2024.

For Office Use Only Year:

Entry Date: By:

AUGUST 27 • TUESDAY

9:00am – 9:20am P Welcome, Texas Access to Justice Commission & Legal Access Department Updates

Speakers: April Faith-Slaker

9:20am – 9:35am P Texas Access to Justice Foundation Update

Speakers: Betty Balli Torres

9:45am – 11:00am P Empowering Partnerships: Maximizing Pro Bono Collaborations for Impactful Projects & Strategic Case Placement ( 25 Ethics)

Speakers: Brittany Krohn, Amy Farish

11:05am – 12:20pm P From "Versus" to "And": Tools for Resolving Competing Pro Bono Interests (.25 Ethics)

Speakers: Mary Molandes, Jessie Campbell, Oborn, Ashley

1:30pm – 2:45pm P Helping Pro Bono Attorneys Deliver Culturally Competent Services – Ways To Support Pro Bono Attorneys with Their First Client Meeting & Beyond ( 50 Ethics)

Speakers: Anne Chandler, Lucero, Richard, Lauren Fisher Flores

2:55pm – 4:10pm P Getting Started with Pro Bono Parole Representation

Speakers: Caitlin Halpern, Gaebler, Helen, Cassandra Geiken

AUGUST 28 • WEDNESDAY

8:30am – 9:40am P Developing a Pipeline of Attorneys Dedicated to Service: The Rural Intern Program

Speakers: Matthew Wright, Jessica Hart

9:50am – 11:00am P Recent Learnings & Trends from Working with Law Firms & In-House Counsel To Provide Pro Bono Services to Immigrants ( 50 Ethics)

Speakers: Anne Chandler, Maricarmen Garza, Shalaina Abioye

11:00am – 12:15pm L Make a Difference: Interactive Team Competition with ABA Free Legal Answers Luncheon

Moderators: Mary C Rios

12:30pm – 1:45pm Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) updates the Individual Assistance Program

Moderators: Muneeza ILAHI

Speakers: Brittanny P Gomez, Stephanie Duke, Amanda Bosley

12:30pm – 1:45pm Harvesting Media Relations To Empower Our Clients & Advance Our Causes: Navigating the Intersection of Legal Services & Media Coverage (1 00 Ethics)

Moderators: Marlette Dukes

Speakers: Clarissa Ayala, Dana Karni

12:30pm – 1:45pm HHSC Administrative Appeals Process

Moderators: Reginal D Harris

Speakers: Elizabeth Green, Adrian Garcia, Bernadette Segura

12:30pm – 1:45pm Leveraging the Pro Bono Texas Statewide Opportunity Portal for Volunteer Recruitment & Engagement

Moderators: Adriana Dulic

Speakers: Melinda Sather

12:30pm – 1:45pm Poverty Law Is Immigration Law: Why Legal Aid Attorneys Should Help Clients Naturalize

Speakers: Chris Rogers, Thera McAvoy

12:30pm – 1:45pm “Sometimes Our Clients DO Have Stuff: Creative Property Settlements in Divorce.”

Moderators: Fallon Hamilton Vaughn

Speakers: Melanie Morgan

2:00pm – 3:15pm A Prescription for Good Health: Legal Services as Medicine

Speakers: Reginal D Harris, Gerardo "Jerry" Loza, Jessica Trevino

2:00pm – 3:15pm Long-Term Care Coverage in Texas: The Myths, the Options, and the Cold Hard Truth( 25 Ethics)

Moderators: Muneeza ILAHI

Speakers: Sara Espahbodi

2:00pm – 3:15pm Managing Case Pressures & Secondary Trauma (1 00 Ethics)

Moderators: Marlette Dukes

Speakers: Matthew Wright

2:00pm – 3:15pm Representing Clients Who Use(d) Drugs: Lessons from the Harm Reduction Revolution

Moderators: Fallon Hamilton Vaughn

Speakers: Maggie Luna, Sophie Primeaux

2:00pm – 3:15pm SHARS Update: Policy Issues & Advocacy Strategies

Moderators: Adriana Dulic

Speakers: Steven Aleman, Tabitha Dwyer

2:00pm – 3:15pm Using AI Ethically in Practice (1.25 Ethics)

Speakers: Martha Beard-Duncan, Aaron Varner, Michael Hofrichter

3:30pm – 4:45pm Dealing with SSA Delays

Moderators: Muneeza ILAHI

Speakers: Gloretta Thornton, Heather Keegan

3:30pm – 4:45pm How To Build a Pro Bono Program from the Ground UP

Moderators: Adriana Dulic

Speakers: Reid, Cicely

3:30pm – 4:45pm I Didn’t Know You Could Do That (in Texas)!

Moderators: Fallon Hamilton Vaughn

Speakers: Gabriel Sanchez, Stephanie Harlien

3:30pm – 4:45pm Landlords without Land (0 50 ethics)

Speakers: Gregory Michael Zlotnick, Jacqueline Calvert

3:30pm – 4:45pm The Texas Public Information Act: Strategies & Hurdles of a Critical Community Lawyering Tool

Moderators: Reginal D Harris

Speakers: Michael Bates, Adam Pirtle, Wendi Hammond

3:30pm – 4:45pm Transforming JP Courts into Hubs for Holistic Services

Moderators: Marlette Dukes

Speakers: Judge Steven Duble, Stephanie R Marrone, Justin Thompson

5:00pm – 6:00pm S CREJ TF

Speakers: Ana Laurel, Chase Porter, Haley Varnadoe

5:00pm – 6:00pm S Disaster Law Task Force Meeting

Speakers: Stephanie Duke

5:00pm – 6:00pm S Education & Juvenile Justice Task Force Meeting

Speakers: Melissa Arano

5:00pm – 6:00pm S Employment Law Task Force Meeting

Speakers: Sidonia Mitchell, Fabiola Flores

5:00pm – 6:00pm S Family Law Task Force Meeting

Speakers: Jacquelyn Davis, Christofer R Tracy

5:00pm – 6:00pm S Housing/Consumer Law TF Meeting

Speakers: Leesa Everitt

5:00pm – 6:00pm S Public Health & Benefits Task Force Meeting

Speakers: Michael Shippey

AUGUST 29 • THURSDAY

8:30am – 9:45am Building & Maintaining a Referral Portal - a Journey to Sustainable Collaboration

Moderators: Sara Fix

Speakers: Sonia Lopez, Jessica Alas, Camarillo, Jocellyn

8:30am – 9:45am Disaster Law 101

Moderators: Tori Freeman

Speakers: Cornelia Alvarez, Melissa Waggoner

8:30am – 9:45am Erasing an Ugly Legacy: New Opportunities to Remove Racially Restrictive Covenants from Deed Restrictions

8:30am – 9:45am

Speakers: Reginal D Harris, Amy Dinn, Noor Mozaffar, Salceda, Samantha

Exploring Strategies To Use AI & Other Advocacy Tools To Deliver Holistic Legal Services to Marginalized Immigrant Communities ( 50 Ethics)

Speakers: Anne Chandler, Cristian Sanchez, Elizabeth Tran

8:30am – 9:45am I Have Over $10,000 in Traffic Fines & Fees Please Help!

Moderators: Fallon Hamilton Vaughn

Speakers: Evelyn Garcia Lopez, Samuel Marsh, Francis, Abbiegail

8:30am – 9:45am Movement Lawyering for Education Justice: How Attorneys, Law Firms, & Communities Can Support Students & Families in Turbulent Times

Moderators: Kent McKeever

Speakers: Duggins-Clay, Paige

10:00am – 11:15am An Overview from the Front Lines of Military Discharge Upgrades & Character of Discharge Determinations

Speakers: Reginal D Harris, Allen Martin, Honor, Julian, Rush Evans

10:00am – 11:15am HHSC Medicaid Programs

Speakers: Christian Pineda, Gloretta Thornton

10:00am – 11:15am How it Began, How it is Going, Where We Hope To Go: Student Loan Adversaries in Bankruptcy

Moderators: Sara Fix

Speakers: Amy Allen, Samantha Kehl

10:00am – 11:15am Make It Go Away

Moderators: Kent McKeever

Speakers: Tiffany Green

10:00am – 11:15am Making an Impact in a Losing Situation: How We Utilize Social Workers To Help Those Facing Housing Instability

Moderators: Tori Freeman

Speakers: K'Lisha Rutledge, Amberger, Joseph, Jennifer Santiago, Adayiah Benson

10:00am – 11:15am Planning for the Future: Supporting Families of & Youths with Special Needs

Moderators: Fallon Hamilton Vaughn

Speakers: Melissa Arano

L Keynote Luncheon, featuring Nikole Nelson

PINNED 11:30am – 1:00pm

Speakers: April Faith-Slaker, Trey Apffel, Nikole Nelson

1:15pm – 2:30pm Disaster Lawyering 4 0

Speakers: Stephanie Duke, Sean Jackson

1:15pm – 2:30pm Heirs’ Property Homeowners: Pathways and Pitfalls to Achieving Housing Stability (.25 Ethics)

Moderators: Sara Espahbodi

Speakers: Amir Befroui, Heather Way, Lizbeth Parra Davila

1:15pm – 2:30pm How Systemic Racism Affects Human Trafficking Victims of Color

Moderators: Sara Espahbodi

Speakers: Ugochukwu, Davina, Zurisday Briz

1:15pm – 2:30pm Navigating the Immigration System with Clients with Diminished Capacity ( 50 Ethics)

Moderators: Kevin Dietz

Speakers: Caitlin Fish

1:15pm – 2:30pm Protective Orders in TX: The New Frontier

Moderators: Muneeza ILAHI

Speakers: Christofer R Tracy, August Mustillo

1:15pm – 2:30pm “Who You Gonna Call?” Advocacy 101 Best Practices When Attorneys, Advocates, Paralegals, & Social Workers Collaborate with Each Other To Reach the Best Client Goals & Outcomes

Moderators: Miranda Guerrero

Speakers: Gabrielle Marshall, Elizabeth Barrera-Sepulveda, Myda J Hernandez

2:45pm – 4:00pm Bankruptcy 101: A Primer for Legal Aid Attorneys (.25 Ethics)

Moderators: Miranda Guerrero

Speakers: Amy Allen, Samantha Kehl

2:45pm – 4:00pm Lifting the Veil: Understanding How Pro Bono Organizations Fill the Gap ( 25 Ethics)

Speakers: Maricarmen Guzman Dollar, Robert Mihara, Susanne Pringle

2:45pm – 4:00pm Offensive Advocacy in Mass Habitability and Eviction Cases

Moderators: Sara Espahbodi

Speakers: Benjamin Gerzik

2:45pm – 4:00pm Order in the Court: Understanding the Role of Trauma in the Legal System

Moderators: Sara Espahbodi

Speakers: Christina Suh, Kaitlyn Eberhardt

2:45pm – 4:00pm Sticky Issues in Social Security

Moderators: Kevin Dietz

Speakers: Jeff Larsen, Robert Hill

2:45pm – 4:00pm Vicious Cycles & Vital Records: ID Recovery for Clients Experiencing Homelessness

Moderators: Muneeza ILAHI

Speakers: Stephanie Harlien

4:15pm – 5:30pm S Poverty Law Section Meeting

AUGUST 30 • FRIDAY

8:30am – 9:45am

Beyond City Limits: Strategies for Providing Services in Deeply Rural Texas

Moderators: Linda Brandmiller

Speakers: Dora Garcia-Ruiz, Cristian Sanchez, Gladys Marcos

8:30am – 9:45am Ethical Standards of Conduct for Accredited VA Attorneys, Claims Agents, & VSO Representatives Serving Veterans & Their Dependents

Moderators: Amy Grace Humber

Speakers: Reginal D Harris

8:30am – 9:45am I’ll Be Watching You/Come Spy with Me/The Spy Who Loved Me - Technology & Privacy ( 50 Ethics)

Moderators: Karen Miller

Speakers: Hon Janet B Heppard, Hon Richard T Bell

8:30am – 9:45am Legal Aid's Role in Combating the Opioid Crisis: A Comprehensive Approach

Moderators: Muneeza ILAHI

Speakers: Velimir Rasic, Minette Mukum

8:30am – 9:45am Lessons Learned from Responding to the 2024 Panhandle Wildfires: A Case Study (.25 Ethics)

Speakers: Melissa Waggoner

8:30am – 9:45am Preserving Homeownership & Intergenerational Wealth: Using the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA) & Other Tools To Resolve

Mortgage Servicing Errors, Including Errors That Impact Heir Property Owners ( 25 Ethics)

Moderators: Miranda Guerrero

Speakers: Andrew Moore, Lauren Masullo Martin

10:00am – 11:15am Check and Un-Wreck Credit Reports: Growing Your Practice with Consumer Credit Reporting

Moderators: Miranda Guerrero

Speakers: Becky Moseley, John Grieger

10:00am – 11:15am Collaboration 101: Effectively Partnering with Law School Clinics

Speakers: Haley Varnadoe

10:00am – 11:15am Essentials for Non-Immigration Practitioners: 2024 Immigration Legal Updates & Practical Tips

Moderators: Linda Brandmiller

Speakers: Jessica Cisneros

10:00am – 11:15am HUD's Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD) Program and Rights of Tenants in Converted Properties

Moderators: Karen Miller

Speakers: Fred Fuchs

10:00am – 11:15am Termination of Parental Rights, Trial Prep & Preservation of Evidence & Appeals

Moderators: Amy Grace Humber

Speakers: Kogutt, Merissa, Anwesha Sarkar

10:00am – 11:15am Virtual Court Kiosks & Legal Aid in Texas: New Features, Initiatives, & Goals

Moderators: Muneeza ILAHI

Speakers: Elliott Fontenette, Candi Rivera

11:30am – 12:45pm AI Advancements for Civil Legal Service Attorneys: Enhancing Advocacy for Indigent Clients

Moderators: Linda Brandmiller

Speakers: Katie Valle, Edge, Andrew

11:30am – 12:45pm Brief Advice: Online Resources To Fill the Gap Between Information & Representation

Speakers: Michael Hofrichter, Aaron Varner, Welsh, Joseph, Mary C Rios

11:30am – 12:45pm Fight Back! Affirmative Lawsuits To File Against Landlords for Utility Interruptions & Lockouts

Moderators: Muneeza ILAHI

Speakers: Melinda Lopez, Leesa Everitt

11:30am – 12:45pm Fighting for Better Air Quality in Local Communities Against the Aggregate Industry.

Moderators: Amy Grace Humber

Speakers: Amy Dinn, Caroline Crow

11:30am – 12:45pm The Intersection Between Youth Homelessness & Juvenile Justice

Moderators: Miranda Guerrero

Speakers: Brett Merfish, Martinez, Martin

11:30am – 12:45pm VA Benefits 101 & Recent Updates ( 25 Ethics)

Moderators: Karen Miller

Speakers: Sondra Haltom, Lori Fergie, Michael Shippey