Don’t Shut Down Efforts to Close the Justice Gap

(Originally published by CalMatters on January 19, 2022)

As the economy starts to recover from the last few years of the pandemic, families and small businesses in California are struggling. And many of these challenges – with debt, housing or work – have legal dimensions.

The problem is that only the wealthy and large businesses can afford legal help, and legal aid can only help some of the poorest Californians – typically families making less than $44,000 annually. This leaves the urgent needs of the large middle mostly unmet.

Consider the essential workers we continue to honor through this pandemic – teachers, nurses, grocery store workers.

(Continue reading the opinion essay on CalMatters’ page here.)

Read an editorial from the LA Times on the issue, Lawyers are fighting innovative proposals for more affordable legal assistance. That’s wrong.