New Kentucky Access to Justice Commission. On October 14, Chief Justice John D. Minton Jr. announced creation of the Kentucky Access to Justice Commission, charged with providing equal access to civil justice for low-income citizens through an ongoing partnership between the judiciary and the state and local bar associations, legal aid providers, law schools, elected officials and other community leaders. The Commission will be formed by an order of the Supreme Court of Kentucky. Chief Justice Minton is currently appointing the members of the Commission, in preparation for its first meeting on January 28, 2011. Judge Roger L. Crittenden (ret.) will chair the Commission and Justice Bill Cunningham will serve as a member and the Supreme Court's liaison.

Maine Law Review Issue on Access to Justice. The Maine Law Review has devoted an entire issue to Access to Justice. Articles include: “Funding Justice: The Budget of the Maine Judicial Branch—We Did Get There from Here,” by Chief Justice Leigh Saufley; “The World Is Round: Why We Must Assure Equal Access to Civil Justice,” by Justice Jon Levy, chair of Maine’s Justice Access Group (which includes a discussion of the social and economic benefit of meeting legal needs); “Accessing Justice—Its Past, Present, And Future,” by the late U.S. District Court Judge Frank M. Coffin; and “Reflections of an Access to Justice Chair,” by U.S. Appeals Court Judge Kermit Lipez, former chair of the Justice Access Group.

New York Judicial Hearing on Unmet Needs. Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman has conducted four public hearings to assess the extent and nature of unmet civil legal services for low-income New Yorkers in matters in which their basic human needs are at stake. The findings of these hearings will inform the Chief Judge’s recommendations to the legislature and the executive branch about the level of public resources necessary to meet those needs. One hearing was held in each of the four Appellate Division Departments. Also participating were the Presiding Justice of that Judicial Department, Chief Administrative Judge Ann Pfau, and the President of the New York State Bar Association, Stephen Younger. The Task Force to Expand Access to Civil Legal Services in New York, empaneled by Lippman earlier this year and chaired by former LSC President Helaine Barnett, assisted in the preparation for the hearings and will report on their results.

Op-Ed on Legal Aid Funding by Texas Supreme Court Justice Nathan Hecht. “Struggling Texans Need Legal Aid,” an op-ed appearing in late September in major Texas newspapers by Justice Nathan Hecht, Supreme Court liaison to the Texas Access to Justice Commission, called on the state’s legislature to continue its support for legal aid funding. “Those of us who are involved in the legal system know first-hand how important these services are to so many vulnerable Texans who are struggling during these difficult times,” wrote Justice Hecht.

California Rural Access Policy Paper. The California Commission on Access to Justice has released its policy paper on Improving Civil Justice in Rural California, designed to focus attention on the severe lack of resources in the state’s rural areas. The report includes recommendations and strategies intended to address the problem, including a policy goal of “geographic parity,” establishment of minimum-access funding goals for all areas of the state, and creation of local Access to Justice task forces, to involve local courts, bar associations, legal aid programs and other stakeholders in collaborative efforts to close the justice gap.

Mississippi Report on Unmet Needs. In September, the Mississippi Access to Justice Commission released its report on the series of regional hearings on unmet legal needs held around the state by order of the Mississippi Supreme Court. The report includes a series of recommendations for increasing pro bono services, heightening public awareness, increasing legal aid funding, facilitating pro se representation, and expanding general access.

Oregon Primer on Unbundling. The Oregon State Bar Journal has published an introduction to “Unbundling in the 21st Century.” Issues addressed include risk management, screening, determining whether unbundling is right for you, traps to avoid, documenting your file effectively, streamlining the process, and delivering services on-line.

Tennessee Emeritus Rule. The Tennessee Supreme Court has created a new emeritus program to allow retired attorneys to provide pro bono services. The rule was proposed by the Tennessee Access to Justice Commission and supported by the Tennessee Bar Association.

Texas $2.6 Million Cy Pres Award, Toolkit and Education Campaign. The Texas Access to Justice Commission and Texas Access to Justice Foundation have announced a $2.6 million cy pres award to fund legal aid programs serving people with disabilities, the largest cy pres award ever for legal aid in the state. The Access to Justice Foundation has also recently released its Texas Cy Pres Toolkit, for educating judges and attorneys about using cy pres to fund legal aid. The Access to Justice Commission’s Court Awards Strategy Committee has prepared a model presentation for attorneys and judges to accompany the took kit. These initiatives are part of a joint statewide campaign by the Commission and the Foundation to seek cy pres awards to offset the drastic decline in IOLTA revenue.

$3.62 Million Cy Pres Award for Legal Aid in Illinois, Other States. Illinois’ pro bono and legal aid system have received more than $1.8 million from unclaimed settlement funds in a nationwide class action case in the Circuit Court of Cook County. An additional $1.8 million will be split among 111 legal aid organizations in other states in rough proportion to the unclaimed settlement funds in each of those states.

Indiana Cy Pres Rule. The Indiana Supreme Court has adopted a rule requiring that 25 percent of unclaimed class action residuals go to the Indiana Bar Foundation for distribution to pro bono programs along with the state’s IOLTA funds.

Pennsylvania Pro Hac Vice Fee Increase for Loan Repayment Program. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court has increased the state’s pro hac vice fee from $100 to $200 to boost funding for its new loan repayment program for legal aid attorneys. The increased fee will permit additional attorneys to participate.

National ATJ Award for Indiana’s Judge Gregory Donat. Indiana Judge Gregory J. Donat has received the 2010 American Judicature Society’s Kathleen M. Sampson Access to Justice Award. Judge Donat is chair of the Indiana Supreme Court Committee on Self-Represented Litigants and has been a leader in expanding support for self-represented litigants and coordinating these initiatives with pro bono efforts.

Justice Sotomayor Praise for Legal Aid, Pro Bono Lawyers. U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor won successive standing ovations at the annual dinner for the Legal Aid Society of Cleveland with her praise for legal aid and pro bono attorneys. "Legal aid societies are crucial to insuring that the least privileged and most vulnerable in our society have access to justice,” said Justice Sotomayor.

Reports Documenting Salary Disparity for Legal Aid Attorneys. The 2010 Public Sector and Public Interest Attorney Salary Report and the annual Associate Salary Survey from NALP, the association for career legal professionals, show the continuing gap between private sector and civil legal aid salaries. The overall median first-year salary for private attorneys was $115,000, ranging from $72,000 in firms of 2-25 lawyers to $160,000 in firms of more than 700 lawyers. In contrast, the median entry-level salary for an attorney at a civil legal services organization was $42,000; a legal aid attorney with 11-15 years of experience could expect a salary of about $62,000. A salary of $65,000 has been estimated to be the "break even" point at which a law school education provides a return on the investment in tuition and expenses.

Pennsylvania Supreme Court Encouragement of Foreclosure Mediation Projects. The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania has asked county court officials to consider developing foreclosure mediation programs. Such programs typically involve court-supervised efforts to resolve foreclosure cases through negotiations between mortgage lenders and homeowners who are delinquent on mortgage payments. Chief Justice of Pennsylvania Ronald D. Castille invited the presiding judges of all county courts of common pleas to send representatives to a summit of court leaders on foreclosure mediation at the Pennsylvania Judicial Center in Harrisburg on October 14.

Massachusetts Foreclosure Legislation Task Force. The Massachusetts Bar Association has created a Joint Foreclosure Legislation Task Force aimed at improving the state's foreclosure law and borrowers' access to assistance. The Task Force includes representatives of bar associations, legal aid programs, real estate attorneys and banker's associations. In conjunction with the task force, the Bar Association has formed a Foreclosure Education Committee to teach attorneys how to counsel and advocate for individuals facing foreclosure.

Links to all documents available at www.ATJsupport.org. (alternate URL: www.abalegalservices.org/atj)

New Email address for Bob Echols, ABA Resource Center for Access to Justice Initiatives: robert.echols@comcast.net