Access to Justice

The State Bar’s commitment to expanding, supporting and improving the delivery of legal services to low- and moderate-income Californians is carried out by the Office of Legal Services (OLS). OLS has two components, the Center on Access to Justice and the Legal Services Trust Fund Program.

The Center on Access to Justice works to increase access to justice through:

• expanded pro bono efforts
• increased funding for legal services programs
• administration of the LRS certification program
• staff support for three volunteer entities – the California Commission on Access to Justice, the Standing Committee on the Delivery of Legal Services (SCDLS), and the California Pro Bono Coordinating Committee (PBCC).

The Legal Services Trust Fund Program is the grant-making arm of the Office of Legal Services.
In accordance with legal requirements and the State Bar Rules, the Trust Fund Program administers revenue from the following sources that help fund civil legal services programs serving indigent Californians:

• Interest on Lawyers’ Trust Accounts (IOLTA)
• Equal Access Fund
• Justice Gap Fund

Program staff works with the Legal Services Trust Fund Commission, comprised of 21 voting members and three nonvoting judges, who are responsible for determining applicant eligibility, monitoring recipient compliance and maximizing revenue. In addition to monitoring grantee compliance, the program is responsible for bank and attorney compliance with IOLTA requirements

Access to Justice Commission Publications:

• Improving Civil Justice in Rural California — A Report of the California Commission on Access to Justice
• Action Plan for Justice — A Report of the California Commission on Access to Justice
  • Summary Edition
• Language Barriers to Justice in California — A Report of the California Commission on Access to Justice
  • Executive Summary
  • Summary Edition
• Family Law Limited Scope Representation — Risk Management Materials
• The Path to Equal Justice: A Five-Year Status Report on Access to Justice in California
  • Summary Edition
• California Commission on Access to Justice — 2009 Annual Report
  (Year-end report on commission's exploration of ways to improve access to justice in California)
• Aranda Access to Justice Award
  (Annual award for a California judge who has demonstrated a long-term committment to equal access in the courts. For information, call 415-538-2534)
• Equal Access Fund — A Report to the California Legislature
  (A comprehensive evaluation issued in March 2005 by the Judicial Council of California)
• And Justice For All: Fulfilling the Promise of Access to Civil Justice in California
  (A comprehensive study issued in October 1996)
• California Commission on Access to Justice (Brochure)
  (Information about the work of the CCAJ)
• California Commission on Access to Justice