Five state attorneys general, Department of Justice officials and other leaders from the legal community joined the Legal Services Corporation (LSC) on Tuesday, July 20 for a forum on the access-to-justice challenges confronting low-income Americans.
Notable law school deans, corporate general counsel and law firm partners offered their perspectives on how to ensure fairness in the civil justice system. Participants included Dean Kerry Abrams, Duke University Law School; Ivan Fong, Executive Vice President, Chief Legal and Policy Officer and Secretary of 3M Company; Harriet Miers, Partner of Locke Lord and former White House Counsel; and Dean William Treanor, Georgetown University Law Center. LSC Vice President for Legal Affairs & General Counsel Will A. Gunn moderated the discussion. Law deans and law firms from across the United States, as well as more than 200 corporate general counsels, also sent letters to Congress in support of LSC’s funding.
The country’s justice gap predates the pandemic. A 2017 LSC report showed that 86% of the civil legal problems of low-income Americans received no or inadequate help because of a lack of resources. However, the need for legal aid has spiked as COVID-19 continues to disrupt the lives and financial security of people across the country. Housing is a particular concern. LSC estimated back in August that more than 5.13 million households who qualify for LSC-funded services are at risk of eviction. Civil legal needs have also surged in others key areas served by LSC grantees, including unemployment, domestic violence and health care.
To view the full event, visit LSC’s Facebook page here: Facebook.com/LegalServicesCorporation
Follow #LSCforum for updates on Twitter.
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