NC Equal Access to Justice Commission
(EAJ Commission)

The NC Equal Access to Justice (EAC) Commission was established in recognition of the need to expand access to civil legal representation for people of low income and modest means in North Carolina.  The Commission was established by an 11/03/05 order of the NC Supreme Court and Court Justice I. Beverly Lake, Jr., thereby becoming the 19th state to establish such an entity. The 25-member Equal Access to Justice (EAJ) Commission includes representative stakeholders from across the state and is chaired by the Chief Justice.

View updates on the NC EAJ Commission on the NCBA website:
    Mission, Bylaws and Principles Document
    Priorities (established November 2006)
    Roster, NC EAJ Commission members (current)
    Work Groups
    News Articles & Media Releases

Also see:
    Goals, Purposes and Responsibilities
    Meetings and Reports
    Charters Members of the NC EAJ Commission
    11/03/05 Order

News Articles & Media Releases

Goals/Purposes/Responsibilities of the NC EAJ Commission

    >  Unmet legal needs assessments
    >  Statewide strategic planning
    >  Coordination of efforts between legal aid organizations and
            other legal and non-legal organizations
    >  Resource development
    >  Expansion of civil access to justice

Meetings and Reports

The Commission meets quarterly and files written annual reports to the Supreme Court, the NC State Bar (NCSB) and the NC Bar Association (NCBA). The Commission provides oral reports at the NCSB Council meetings and the NCBA Board meetings.

Charter Members (2006) - Original Roster


Judiciary (5):
 <  Chief Justice Sarah Parker, Chair
        (Appointment: North Carolina Supreme Court)
 <  Judge Linda M. McGee, Court of Appeals, Raleigh, NC
        (Appointment: Court of Appeals)
 <  Judge Paul L. Jones, Superior Court, Kinston, NC
        (Appointment: Superior Court)
 <  Judge A. Robinson Hassell, District 18, Greensboro, NC
        (Appointment: District Court)
 <  Honorable Catherine P. Graham,
        Clerk of Superior Court, Carthage, NC
        (Appointment: Clerks of Superior Court)

Practicing Lawyers (8):
 <  Victor J. Boone, Sr. Managing Attorney,
        Legal Aid of NC-Raleigh Office
        (Appointment: NC Bar)
 <  E. Fitzgerald Parnell, Attorney,
        Poyner & Spruill LLP, Charlotte, NC
        (Appointment: NC State Bar)
 <  J. Donald Cowan, Jr., Attorney and Partner,
        Smith Moore LLP, Greensboro, NC
        (Appointment: NC Bar Association/NCBA Foundation)
 <  George Hanna III, Attorney, Moore & Van Allen, Charlotte, NC
        (Appointment: NC Bar Association/NCBA Foundation)
 <  Mel J. Garofalo, Attorney,
        Hedrick Eatman Gardner and Kincheloe LLP, Charlotte, NC
        (Appointment: NC Association of Defense Attorneys)
 <  James M. Talley, Jr., Attorney and Senior Partner,
        Horack Talley, Charlotte, NC
        (Appointment: IOLTA)
 <  Anita S. Earls, Senior Attorney/Director of Advocacy,
        UNC School of Law, Chapel Hill, NC
        (Appointment: NC Association of Black Lawyers)
 <  Richard M. Taylor, Jr., CEO,
        NC Academy of Trial Lawyers, Raleigh, NC
        (Appointment: NC Academy of Trial Lawyers)

Legal Aid Programs (4):
 <  Reid Calwell Adams, Jr., Attorney,
        Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice, PLLC, Winston-Salem, NC
        (Appointment: Legal Aid of NC, Board of Directors)
 <  George R. Hausen, Jr., Executive Director,
        Legal Aid of NC, Raleigh, NC
        (Appointment: Legal Aid of NC, Staff)
 <  Rhonda G. Raney, Executive Director,
        NC Justice Center, Raleigh, NC
        (Appointment: NC Justice Center)
 <  Ken Schorr , Executive Director,
        Legal Services of Southern Piedmont, Charlotte, NC
        (Appointment: unrestricted legal aid programs)

Law Schools (1):
 <  Dean E. Carol Spruill,
        Duke University School of Law, Durham, NC
        (Appointment: Law Schools)

Public Members (7):
 <  Judge James Long,
        (Appointment: Designee of the Governor)
 <  TBA
        (Appointment: President of the NC Senate, or designee thereof)
 <  Rep. Martha B. Alexander, NC House of Representative,
        District 106, Charlotte, NC
        (Appointment: Designee of the Speaker of the NC House)
 <  Barbara Roole, Program Officer,
        Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation, Winston-Salem, NC
        (Appointment: Philanthropic Community)
 <  Willis Williams, Jamesville, NC
        (Appointment: Client Representative)
 <  Jim Goodmon, President & CEO,
        Capital Broadcasting Company, Raleigh, NC
        (Appointment: Business community representative)
 <  Michael P. Rizer, Senior Vice President,
        Wachovia Corporation, Charlotte, NC
        (Appointment: Business community representative)

Staff

 <  Executive Director:
       Michelle Cofield, Director of Public Service & Pro Bono Activities
       NC Bar Association, Cary, NC; 919-677-0561 or 1-800-662-7407

Media Releases/Articles

November 3, 2005 Order

(to establish the Equal Access to Justice Commission in North Carolina)

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF NORTH CAROLINA
BY ORDER OF THE COURT
In recognition of the need to expand access to civil legal representation for people of low income and modest means in North Carolina, the Court hereby creates the EQUAL ACCESS TO JUSTICE COMMISSION.

BY THIS ORDER, the Court charges this Commission with the following goals, purposes, and responsibilities:

(1) Identify and assess current and future needs of low-income North Carolinians for access to justice in civil matters by conducting a study to determine the full range and volume of such unmet legal needs. The study shall: (a) determine and document how unrepresented people with legal disputes are attempting to meet these needs without attorneys, the extent to which these efforts are successful, and the consequences of the lack of attorney representation; (b) recognize the enormous efforts currently being made by attorneys to serve low-income North Carolinians; (c) analyze the need for funding and other resources to close the gap; and (d) address any other matters related to the delivery of equal access to justice in civil matters to all North Carolinians.

(2) Develop and publish a strategic plan for delivery of civil legal services to low income North Carolinians throughout the state that will (in part) educate the public about the large gap between the ideal of equal access to the legal system and the reality of lack of representation.

(3) Foster coordination within the civil legal services delivery system and between legal aid organizations and other legal and non-legal organizations.

(4) Increase resources and funding for access to justice in civil matters and ensure both are applied to the greatest need so that all possibilities for additional state, local, and other non-Legal Services Corp. funding are examined, the most feasible options analyzed, and a strategy for pursuing such funding implemented.

(5) Ensure wise and efficient use of available resources through collaboration among legal aid and other organizations (such as other legal advocacy groups, non-legal advocacy groups, providers of social services, law schools, the court system, corporate and government law departments, and other state and local agencies) and through the use of local, regional, and statewide coordination systems.

(6) Develop and implement other initiatives designed to expand civil access to justice, such as increasing community education, enhancing technology, developing assisted pro se programs, and encouraging greater voluntary participation of the private bar in pro bono legal assistance to low-income people in North Carolina.

(7) Monitor the effectiveness of the statewide system and services provided, as well as periodically evaluate the progress made by the Commission in fulfilling the civil legal needs of low-income North Carolinians.

(8) Consider the legal needs and access to the civil justice system of persons whose income and means are such that they do not qualify under existing assistance programs and whose access to civil justice is limited either by the actual or perceived cost of legal services; and develop and implement initiatives designed to meet these needs, such as limited representation and limited appearances by attorneys and identification of types of services that could be provided by non-lawyers.

The Equal Access to Justice Commission shall consist of twenty-five members who reflect the diversity of ethnic, gender, legal, and geographic communities of North Carolina. The Chief Justice or his or her designee shall serve as Chair of the Commission. The day-to-day management and operation of the organization shall be conducted by an Executive Director who works with and reports regularly to the Commission. Members shall serve three-year staggered terms. A member may not be reappointed to serve a successive three-year term.

Members will be appointed as follows:
(1) Judiciary:
The Chief Justice will appoint the following representatives of the judiciary:
(a) The Chief Justice or an Associate Justice;
(b) A Judge from the North Carolina Court of Appeals;
(c) A Judge from the Superior Court;
(d) A Judge from the District Court;
(e) A representative of the North Carolina Administrative Office of the Courts
(AOC) or from the North Carolina Clerks of Superior Court.

(2) Practicing Lawyers:
(a) The North Carolina State Bar president will appoint two members;
(b) The North Carolina Bar Association/Foundation (NCBA) president will appoint two members;
(c) The North Carolina IOLTA Board of Trustees chair will appoint one
member;
(d) The Chief Justice will appoint three members from voluntary bar
associations.

(3) Legal Aid Programs:
In consultation with the North Carolina Legal Services Planning Council, the Chief Justice will appoint four members to represent the interests of legal aid programs as follows: one board member from Legal Aid of North Carolina, Inc. (LANC), one LANC staff member, one board or staff member from the North Carolina Justice Center, and one board or staff member from another unrestricted legal aid program that either serves a particular geographic area or provides specific services or serves a particular client base.

(4) Law Schools:
In consultation with the deans, the Chief Justice will appoint one representative from the accredited law schools in North Carolina.

(5) Public Members:
(a) Governmental Representatives: The Chief Justice will invite the
Governor, the President of the Senate, and the Speaker of the House to serve on the Commission or to recommend someone to serve in his or her stead.
(b) North Carolina Philanthropy Community Representative: In consultation with the North Carolina Network of Grantmakers, the Chief Justice will appoint one member to the Commission.
(c) Client Representative: In consultation with the North Carolina Clients Council and the North Carolina Legal Services Planning Council, the Chief Justice will appoint one client representative member to the Commission.
(d) North Carolina Business Community Representatives: The Chief Justice will appoint two members to the Commission from the business community in North Carolina.

The terms of Commission members shall be:
To implement a staggered term system, Commission members will be appointed in classes, designated Class I, Class II, and Class III. The initial appointments of Class I members will end one year from the date their terms begin; the initial appointments of Class II members will end two years from the date their terms begin; and the appointments of Class III members will end three years from the date their terms begin.

(1) Class I members are: one appointee each from the NCBA, voluntary bar associations, IOLTA, the Court of Appeals, and the business community; the representatives from the LANC board and the North Carolina Justice Center.

(2) Class II members are: one appointee each from the NCBA, the North Carolina State Bar, the Superior Courts, voluntary bar associations, the business community, and law schools; the representative from the unrestricted, undesignated legal aid program, and the client representative.

(3) Class III members are: one appointee each from the North Carolina State Bar, the District Courts, voluntary bar associations, and the AOC or Clerks of Superior Court; the LANC staff member, and the philanthropy community representative.

(4) Governmental representatives will rotate by the terms of their offices.

The Commission will meet quarterly and will file an annual written report on the status and progress of its activities. The Commission will send a copy of the report to this Court, the North Carolina State Bar, and the North Carolina Bar Association. The Commission will provide oral progress reports to North Carolina Bar Association board meetings and to North Carolina State Bar Council meetings.

Adopted by the Court in Conference this the3rd day of November, 2005.

________________________________
I. BEVERLY LAKE, JR.
Chief Justice
For the Court


WITNESS my hand and the seal of the Supreme Court of North Carolina, this the3rd day of November, 2005.

_________________________________
CHRISTIE SPEIR CAMERON
Clerk of the Supreme Court

 

 

 

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Disclaimer

The materials contained on this website are for information and educational purposes only and do not constitute legal advice. Please 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.

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