Commission Highlights Over the Years

Like many Commissions, we hold meetings, have committees and issue reports. And while all of that can sound just a bit stuffy and distant, our work affects – and improves – the lives of real people. Read on to learn more about the Commission’s impact over the years.

Innovative Legal Aid Funding

The Commission is part of a collaborative group that analyzes funding for civil legal aid.

Access to Justice Fee

The Commission, alongside others, continues to tackle the serious funding gap for civil legal services by thinking creatively and strategically. One solution – the voluntary “add-on opt-out” $51 access to justice fee to a lawyer’s yearly attorney registration – has generated millions for civil legal aid for low-income people since its inception in 2010.

Access to Lawyers for Crime Victims

In 2015, members of the Commission worked with a coalition of state agencies and legal and social service providers to develop the Civil Legal Aid for Victims of Crime (“CLAVC”) program. This program continues to bear fruit. CLAVC has channeled nearly $18 million in federal funds to legal services organizations since 2018 to support attorneys who work directly with crime victims. This funding is the result, in part, of the Commission convening stakeholders and collaborating with them to pursue this funding. The CLAVC program is administered by the Massachusetts Legal Assistance Corporation (“MLAC”) with program management services provided by the Massachusetts Law Reform Institute.

Pro Bono and Attorney Expansion

The Commission has supported the development of innovative pro bono delivery models as one of many ways to increase access to justice.

Access to Justice Fellows Program

The Access to Justice Fellows Program connects senior attorneys and judges with long-term pro bono projects on behalf of nonprofits, legal services organizations, and the courts. Attorneys Martha Koster and Sue Finegan created the project and the Commission agreed to sponsor the program, with the strong support of the late SJC Chief Justice Ralph D. Gants, the then-co-chair of the Massachusetts Access to Justice Commission. The program is now run by the Lawyers Clearinghouse, with support from the Commission, and continues to grow. Over the years, Fellows have provided pro bono service to over 90 different non-profit organizations, courts, and other public interest entities.

Appellate Civil Pro Bono Program

The Commission initiated a pilot Appellate Civil Pro Bono Program in Suffolk County in 2014 to provide free counsel to some of the approximately 40-50 self-represented litigants who call the Appeals Court Clerk’s Office every day. The project, now run by the Volunteer Lawyers Project, was so successful that it expanded statewide in December of 2015.

Justice for All Project

Improving access for everyone with essential civil legal needs through sustained and strategic collaboration is central to the Commission’s goals.

Strategic Action Plan

In 2016, Massachusetts was awarded a grant through the Justice for All Project to develop a strategic action plan for improving access to justice throughout the Commonwealth. The Access to Justice Commission, the courts, legal aid providers, bar associations, law schools, social service organizations, litigants, community groups, and other stakeholders collaborated in this effort. We assessed the available resources to assist residents who could not afford a lawyer for their essential legal needs – such as those involving housing, consumer debt, and family law – and developed a statewide Strategic Action Plan for addressing gaps in those services. Read more here. The Commission continues to work collaboratively to improve access for those unable to afford attorneys, particularly self-represented litigants.

Housing and Consumer Debt Pilot Projects

Completion of the Strategic Action Plan triggered Massachusetts’ eligibility to apply for additional funding from the Justice for All project to facilitate one-year pilots of ideas articulated in the Strategic Action Plan. In 2018, the Massachusetts Legal Assistance Corporation received $200,000 to fund the two pilots, one in housing and the other in consumer debt, thanks to support from the Public Welfare Foundation, the Kresge Foundation, and the Open Society Foundations.

Pandemic Response

At the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Commission pivoted its resources to focus on a collaborative response.

COVID-19 Task Force

At the onset of the pandemic in March 2020, the Commission created a COVID-19 Task Force to foster collaboration and marshal resources to respond to the particular challenges of accessing justice and connecting those in need with resources during the pandemic. Over time, the work of the Task Force has been integrated into the overall Commission structure and the Commission continues to address the issues that resulted from, or have been highlighted during, the pandemic.

Report on Lessons Learned During the COVID-19 Pandemic

What does access to justice look like during a pandemic? The Commission had the opportunity to reflect and share recommendations from pandemic innovations in its September 2022 report, Creating a More Equitable System: Lessons Learned During the COVID-19 Pandemic.