Arkansas Access to Justice Commission Awarded ABA Innovation Grant

The Arkansas Access to Justice Commission has received a grant from the American Bar Association’s Access to Justice Commission Expansion Project to promote and support innovation in the delivery of civil legal aid, the ABA announced last month. The grant was awarded for the development of a pro se document assembly form for an Arkansas Uncontested Divorce with Children packet utilizing HotDocs and A2J Author software, as well as the completion of a series of pilot clinics where attorneys will provide limited scope representation to pro se litigants in preparing uncontested divorce filings using the document assembly form.

The goal of the project is to increase awareness of and support for the concept of limited scope representation–a concept that is permitted under the Arkansas Rules of Professional Conduct, and which the American Bar Association has formally endorsed.  Although the concept itself is not new, few Arkansas attorneys are aware of the opportunities that this model presents.

“We believe that this will be a ‘win-win’ proposition for Arkansas: attorneys will be able to tap into a previously unprofitable market to generate revenue, and Arkansans who would otherwise be unable or unwilling to hire an attorney will now have that option,” said Amy Johnson, Executive Director of the Arkansas Access to Justice Commission.

The ABA Access to Justice Commission Expansion Project is funded by the Public Welfare Foundation and the Kresge Foundation. It is administered by the ABA Resource Center for Access to Justice Initiatives. The purpose of the project is to expand the number of state access to justice commissions, strengthen existing commissions, and promote innovative initiatives by commissions.