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ABOUT US

Background:

Founded in 2019 by dedicated individuals, CLA was created to bring the “Modest Means Attorney Panel” to Arkansas. This approach is designed to allow each client to gain access to the justice system which they might not be able to do otherwise.

Community Legal Access promotes equity in the process of justice by linking our panel of Attorneys, who agree to substantially discount their fees, with economically disadvantaged Arkansas residents. CLA helps individuals and families obtain the stability and financial security necessary to live the healthy, happy, and dignified lives Arkansas residents deserve.

Problem Statement:

Arkansas’s gap in access to justice is one of the largest in the nation. Approximately one in five Arkansans qualify for pro bono services. Additionally, Arkansas has the fewest attorneys per capita in the entire country. The situation is much more dire in Arkansas’s rural counties. In Arkansas’s twenty-five least populous counties, the ratio of attorneys to Arkansans is 1 in 1,300.

The ratio of legal aid attorneys to Arkansans, who are eligible for pro bono services, is 1 in 16,050. This problem is further compounded by the fact that two-thirds of Arkansans recently had a civil legal issue, and only 14% of these individuals sought legal relief.

You can read more about the Justice gap under the “What is Access to Justice” tab.

Our Approach to help close the Justice Gap:

Community Legal Access addressed this issue by launching the “Modest Means Panel” of Attorneys in 2019, with the mission to meet the overwhelming need for access to justice by referring qualified individuals, where pro bono assistance is not possible, to private attorneys who charge reduced rates. Individuals are eligible for referral if their income is at or below 250% of the federal poverty line, and they must be able to pay for any services they receive. Once eligibility has been established, the individual will be referred to a private attorney panel member for consultation. The decision whether to proceed with an attorney-client relationship is solely between the attorney and the individual.

Ensuring that low-income people have equal access to the legal system is important not only for protecting their quality of life; it is also essential for maintaining quality justice for everyone in our society.

Community Legal Access strategic goals:

• Removing structural and cost barriers to the court system.
• Increasing affordable service in the legal community.
• Expanding efforts to assist self-represented litigants. 
• Expand the panel by adding additional Counties.

Our justice system is only as strong as the weakest person it protects.

– Brayn Stevenson founder of the Equal Justice Initiative