Legal Aid of North Carolina

Jump to Content

"Documenting the Justice gap in America:
 The Current Unmet Civil Legal Needs
 of Low-Income Americans"
  September 30, 2009 updated report by the Legal Services Corporation (LSC)

This report updates the 2005 Justice Gap Report ("Documenting the Justice gap in America:  The Current Unmet Civil Legal Needs of Low-Income Americans") using new data. 
 
Analysis of this data confirms that the conclusion of the 2005 Justice Gap Report remains valid:  there continues to be a major gap between the civil legal needs of low-income people and the legal help that they receive.
 

The 2009 updated Report suggests that in the United States:

• For every client served by an LSC-funded program, one person who seeks help is turned down because of insufficient resources.
   
• Only a small fraction of the legal problems experienced by low-income people (less than one in five) are addressed with the assistance of either a private attorney (pro bono or paid) or a legal aid lawyer.
   
• On the average, only one legal aid attorney is available for every 6,415 low-income people.  By comparison, there is one private attorney providing personal legal services (those meeting the legal needs of private individuals and families) for every 429 people in the general population who are above the LSC poverty threshold.
   
• Courts are facing significantly increased numbers of unrepresented litigants.  Studies show that the vast majority of people who appear without representation are unable to afford an attorney, and a large percentage of them are low-income people who qualify for legal aid. 
   
• Outcomes for unrepresented litigants are often less favorable than those for represented litigants.
   

[NOTE:  Click here to view the highlights and the 2005 Justice Gap Report, which was released by LSC in September 2005.]
 

Read the report:

• 4Documenting the Justice Gap in America_UPDATE_Sept_30_09.doc
  ...Full copy of the updated Report (in 2009) from Legal Services Corporation (LSC).  [Adobe Acrobat pdf document.  You will need Acrobat Reader to view this version; click here to obtain a free copy of
  Acrobat Reader.]
   
• 4LSC Releases Updated Report on the Justice Gap in America
  ...09/30/09 press release from Legal Services Corporation (LSC)
• 4Documenting the Justice Gap in America_Sept_30_05.doc
  ....Full copy of the 2005 Report from Legal Services Corporation (LSC).
  [pdf document]
   

 

 

Disclaimer

The materials contained on this website are for information and educational purposes only and do not constitute legal advice.  Also please note that Legal Aid of North Carolina does not provide legal assistance by E-mail. Contact your Legal Aid of North Carolina office or a private attorney if you need to speak to an attorney regarding your particular situation.
See our complete disclaimer.

Mission Statement

Legal Aid of North Carolina is a statewide, nonprofit law firm that provides free legal services in civil matters to low-income people in order to ensure equal access to justice and to remove legal barriers to economic opportunity.