When the economy sinks, everybody hurts. But those on the lowest rungs of the economic ladder feel the pinch first, hardest, and longest. Compounding the problem, legal services programs charged with serving low-income Americans tend to suffer right along with their clients, as a struggling economy typically leads to funding rescissions and tight budgets.

Rep. David Wu and Judge Ellen Rosenblum are among the supporters of Oregon's Campaign for Equal Justice. Rep. Wu is part of a unified Oregon delegation pushing for an LSC funding increase, saying, "I am committed, as is the rest of the Oregon Congressional delegation, to work to ensure full, equal access to those in need." Photo Courtesy: CAMPAIGN FOR EQUAL JUSTICE

Among the most acute problems facing legal aid providers in the current economic climate are interest rates hovering near historic lows, which have left many programs in dire funding straits. In most states, revenue generated by special Interest On Lawyers Trust Accounts (IOLTA) is the most important non-federal funding source for civil justice. However, IOLTA returns have plunged dramatically across the country, leaving legal services leaders to mull staff cuts and office closures.

“We did not fully anticipate that IOLTA revenue could drop so drastically,” says Meredith McBurney, director of the American Bar Association’s Project to Expand Resources for Legal Services. “We thought interest rates would stay at reasonable rates, yet in some places I think they are down to about one percent. Ten years ago I don’t think people could have imagined that.”

The loss of IOLTA revenue has come at a time when state-bar and university-sponsored studies indicate the civil legal needs of the poor are great and largely unmet. In Washington state, for example, a recent study estimates that only 15 percent of poor clients seeking legal assistance ever find any help. With no federal funding relief on the horizon, legal services programs across the country have begun to dedicate unprecedented time and resources to local and state resource development efforts to maintain existing levels of service.

Legal aid leaders have called on their state legislators to provide relief, and encouragingly, new allies have emerged in a handful of states in response to the call. For the first time in some states, advocates are making significant inroads in the establishment of permanent state funding sources for legal services. They have had to overcome significant obstacles to do so, given that legal aid has not been an historically high-profile issue at the state level.

“With budgets shrinking, it takes a concerted effort to educate and inform legislators as to the need for legal services,” says the ABA’s McBurney. “Cultivating relationships often takes a long time. Programs must get to know their legislators and convince them that the services they provide are very important to local communities.”

A number of legal aid programs have found powerful allies and articulate advocates to help transmit their message. State and local bar leaders, judges, elected officials, and private attorneys all have been instrumental in the push to secure state funding. In Oregon, the entire U.S. Con­gressional delegation, the Governor, and key state legislators came together to support a funding increase. Other resource development successes in Alaska, Maryland, Missouri, and Washington have heartened providers in other states seeking their own victories.

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