Current Projects

Study on Economic Benefits of Legal Aid. A team from the Clinton School of Public Service has been working with the Commission since September 2013 as part of a practicum project that is examining the economic benefits of civil legal aid in Arkansas. The project—which includes a circuit judge survey, analysis of client recoveries and losses avoided for CALS and LAA clients, and interviews of legal aid attorneys and clients—will conclude in April. Funding has been made available through the Clinton School and through a $5,000 line item in the Foundation’s budget. The ultimate goal of the study is to develop information that can be used to educate policymakers and funders regarding how access to civil legal services can augment public and private efforts to provide low-income Arkansans with access to healthcare, affordable housing, education, economic security and family stability. The team will present the results of the study at a public forum targeted to the justice community. The forum will be held on Monday, May 5, 2014, from 5:30 to 6:30 at Sturgis Hall on the Clinton School of Public Service campus.

More information about the project is available here.

American Bar Association’s Access to Justice Commission Expansion Project – Pro Se Clinics. In 2013, the Arkansas Access to Justice Commission was awarded a $15,000 grant from the American Bar Association’s Access to Justice Commission Expansion Project. The grant is for the Commission, but the Foundation is serving as the fiscal agent. The ABA Access to Justice Commission Expansion Project is funded by the Public Welfare Foundation and the Kresge Foundation and 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.

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 Foundation has already received payment in full for $15,000, and is required to provide a $500 cash match.

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.

An initial draft of the pro se packet has been developed. An unbundling “toolkit” for attorneys who will participate in the project is under development. Grant expenditures will be completed by June 30, with a project report due by August 1. A final report is due by October 15, 2014.

State Justice Institute Grant – Strategy for Addressing Needs of Self-Represented Litigants. The Arkansas Access to Justice Foundation is serving as the fiscal agent for a $46,400 grant from the State Justice Institute, which was awarded to the Commission in 2012 for the development of comprehensive strategy for addressing the growing number of pro se litigants in the state. The study itself concluded in 2013 with the adoption of a plan developed by John Greacen, who is a national expert on matters related to court access and technology. The project was initially scheduled to conclude by June 30, 2013, but SJI granted an extension until May 31, 2014 because the project came in under budget and unspent grant funds are approved to use for implementation activities. The project is on schedule to be completed by May 31.