September 1995 Report

September 12, 1995
Chief Justice Barbara Durham
Temple of Justice
P.O. Box 40929
Olympia, WA 98504-0929

Edward F. Shea, President
Washington State Bar Association
Shea & Kuffel
1816 N. 20th
Pasco, WA 99301

Dear Chief Justice Durham and President Shea:

On April 18, 1994, the Supreme Court entered an Order establishing the Access to Justice Board (ATJ Board). In part, that Order provided for evaluative interim reports every six months to the Supreme Court and the Board of Governors regarding the work of the Access to Justice Board. The first six-month report, dated November 28, 1994, covered the appointment of the ATJ Board members, the hiring of ATJ Board staff and the first ATJ Board meeting on November 21, 1994. The second six-month report, dated May 25, 1995, described the range of activities undertaken by the ATJ Board in compliance with the six directives delineated by the Supreme Court. This letter and the attached exhibits constitute the third six-month report, although in fact it documents activities of the previous four months. The ATJ Board is submitting this report two months early to coincide with the fall Judicial Conference in Vancouver, Washington on September 11-13, 1995.

Meetings: The ATJ Board has continued to meet monthly. I have attached the Agendas from the June 12, July 17 and August 21, 1994 meetings (Tab A).

ATJ Board Mission and Structure: I have attached the ATJ Board's Priorities and Activities, which is updated monthly to track the activities undertaken within each of the ATJ Board's priority areas (Tab B). The ATJ Board has adopted a list of ATJ Board Committees (Tab C), which will be activated as needed. The ATJ Board has asked the nine ATJ Board Alternates to serve as chairs of these committees. Since the May 25, 1995 report, the ATJ Board has created three additional committees: Education, Telephone Access and Access to Justice Conference (see below for descriptions).

ATJ Board Activities: The ATJ Board has continued to make significant progress in addressing its priorities as defined by the Supreme Court. The following narrative will provide the Court with an overview of the Board's activities since the May 25, 1995 Report. I have attached a number of exhibits that document these activities:

American Bar Association showcases the ATJ Board: The American Bar Association Consortium on Legal Services and the Public scheduled its June 10, 1995 meeting in Seattle for the purpose of learning more abut the Access to Justice Board. The Consortium serves as the ABA's principal vehicle for projects that further meaningful access to legal representation and the system of justice for all persons. The ATJ Board made a well-received two-hour presentation that covered the following topics: ATJ Task Force, Role of the Supreme Court, Legal Services Programs of Washington, Equal Justice Coalition, Courthouse Facilitator Project, and the Volunteer Legal Services Action Plan (Tab D).

ATJ-Coordinated Statewide Planning Process: The ATJ Board is undertaking what may be its single most important project. In anticipation of drastic cuts in federal Legal Services Corporation funding, the Legal Services Programs of Washington have asked the ATJ Board to direct a statewide planning process to recommend changes in the legal services delivery system. Indeed, this process is the ATJ Board's overall mission as defined by the Supreme Court. Although it is unfortunate this planning must occur under such difficult circumstances, everyone involved is extremely grateful that the ATJ Board exists to take on this enormous responsibility. All states have been directed by the Legal Services Corporation to undertake and complete this process by November 1, 1995. Few states are fortunate enough to have such an entity in place that is trusted and respected by the entire legal services delivery system. The ATJ Board adopted an overall Vision for the statewide planning process at its August 21, 1995 meeting (Tab E). On August 30, 1995, the ATJ Board mailed a letter (Tab F) to 165 "stakeholders" (Tab G) in Washington state, inviting them to participate in the planning process.

Equal Justice Coalition: The Equal Justice Coalition (EJC) was established by the ATJ Board in January 1995 to respond to threats by Congress and the Washington State Legislature to cut legal services funding (Tab H). In May, the Legislature restored the full biennial appropriation of $4.8 million, due largely to the efforts of the bipartisan EJC (Tab I). The EJC accomplished this through a sophisticated statewide network of "EJC Teams" which generated hundreds of calls, faxes and letters to state legislators (Tab J). Since that victory, the EJC has turned its full attention to the fight to save the federal Legal Services Corporation. The EJC has sent two separate delegations to Washington, D.C. to meet with Washington state legislators; a third trip is planned for the week of September 12, 1995. The EJC continues to send periodic newsletters to approximately 3600 individuals and organizations (Tab K), and its expanding its publication "Justice at Work" to include information on Congress' proposed regulations which will severely restrict the ability of legal services and pro bono attorneys to adequately and ethically represent their clients. On August 18, 1995, the EJC hosted a luncheon to thank its supporters and to celebrate the victory in the State Legislature (Tab L). The excellent work of the EJC has been recognized by the American Bar Association and many other states, which are utilizing its materials and its strategies in the battle to preserve the Legal Services Corporation. Nominated by the ATJ Board, EJC Chair John McKay received the WSBA's prestigious Pro Bono Award for 1995 for his years of work as a pro bono attorney and for his leadership of the EJC (Tab M).

Education Committee: The ATJ Board established an Education Committee, chaired by former Bar News Editor Lindsay Thompson. The purpose of this committee is to educate the judiciary, the bar, the media and the public about access to justice issues.

Education of the Judiciary: A principle of the ATJ Board is that "meaningful access to the judicial system necessarily requires that members of the judiciary make access to justice a high priority." To that end, the ATJ Board is sponsoring a workshop on September 12, 1995 at the fall Judicial Conference entitled "Access to Justice: An Impending Crisis." The workshop has three components: (1) a role-play exercise designed to impart to participants a personal and immediate sense of the current funding crisis facing low income clients and legal services attorneys (Tab N); (2) a discussion of the judiciary's role in access to justice (Tab O); and (3) an overview of the ATJ Board's mission and activities. On a related matter, the King County Bar Association Judicial Selection Committee adopted the ATJ Board's suggestions for assuring that judiciary members have a strong commitment to access to justice (Tab P).

Education of the Bar: The ATJ Board continues to be very active in educating members of the state and national legal communities about access to justice. The July Bar News featured stories on the restoration of legal services funding by the Washington State Legislature and the ABA Consortium meeting (Tab Q). The September Bar News sought to educate WSBA members about the impact of the proposed federal regulations restricting advocacy by legal services and pro bono attorneys (Tab R). ATJ Board members have made numerous presentations on ATJ Board activities and access to justice (see Tab B Sec. D - ATJ Board Priorities and activities).

Telephone Access Committee: The ATJ Board has established a committee, chaired by former WSBA Group and Prepaid Legal Services Committee Chair Susan Daniel, to develop a pilot project in Kitsap County for a telephone access system for low and moderate income persons needing legal advice or referral. These "hot lines" have been extremely successful throughout the country in assisting low and moderate income seniors. The ATJ Board is interested in exploring ways to expand these systems to all eligible clients, and for using a hot line as a county-wide intake system.

Access to Justice Conference Committee: The WSBA Legal Aid Committee, as part of the implementation of the Volunteer Attorney Legal Services Action Plan, asked the ATJ Board to establish a planning committee for an annual statewide access to justice conference. This conference will expand on the existing annual Pro Bono/Bar Leader Conference to include the entire statewide access to justice community (legal services programs, the judiciary, courthouse facilitators, etc.). The first annual Access to Justice Conference is will be held on October 4, 5 and 6, 1996 at Campbell's in Chelan, Washington. Conference Chair is Richard Manning, King County Bar Association President.

Expanding Access to Justice: The ATJ Board continues to seek out opportunities to cooperate with existing access to justice efforts so as to achieve the greatest use of limited resources. The ATJ Board is participating in the development of a report to the WSBA Board of Governors by the WSBA Task Force on Nonlawyer Practice of Law, and has commented on a proposed pamphlet for the general public to be published by the WSBA Consumer Protection, Antitrust & Unfair Business Practices Section. Representatives from Washington's three law schools made presentations at the ATJ Board's July meeting for the purpose of exploring ways to integrate their access to justice activities into existing efforts. Attorney William H. Gates will make a presentation at the ATJ Board's September meeting on Senate Joint Resolution 8210.

Although the ATJ Board has been meeting for less than one year, its efforts are making a significant impact statewide and nationally. The Board's work has been increasing exponentially, and we continue to feel confident that the ATJ Board is playing an essential role in our state. We welcome your feedback on our activities.

Very truly yours,

Paul L. Stritmatter
Chair

cc:
Justice Gerry Alexander
Justice James Dolliver
Justice Richard Guy
Justice Charles Johnson
Acting Chief Justice Barbara Madsen
Justice Rosselle Pekelis
Justice Charles Smith
Justice Phil Talmadge