The Women’s Bar Association of the State of New York (“WBASNY”), thanks you on behalf of its approximately 4,200 members for the opportunity to submit this written testimony regarding access to civil legal services. WBASNY’s membership is diverse and is distributed throughout the State of New York. Our members are private practitioners, law professors, public interest attorneys, and State and Federal judges and legal staff. Since its formation in 1980, WBASNY’s mission continues to be the advancement of women in the legal profession and of women in society, and support for the equal administration of justice.

WBASNY is committed to access to justice initiatives. However, without necessary and proper funding, “justice for all” becomes a hope rather than a guarantee. Through these comments, WBASNY hopes to highlight the critical need for a strong civil legal services infrastructure. In order to achieve that, stable and diversified funding is required. WBASNY recognizes that many of the most fundamental aspects of daily life – housing, safety from violence, access to health care and childcare, employment, and income supports, to name but a few, are often directly dependent upon the ability to access our legal system. For New Yorkers who face these and other types of problems, access to justice is often impossible without the availability of civil legal assistance.

Unavailability of civil legal services has a profound impact on the poor, and particularly on the women and children who are disproportionately represented among the state’s low-income population. Legal representation provided through civil legal services is often the difference that afford low income and vulnerable populations safety and basic subsistence, such as assistance with homelessness, and in obtaining public benefits including food stamps, public assistance, Medicaid, and Supplemental Security Income.

Our membership includes attorneys who work for civil legal services programs. These members have firsthand experience and knowledge of the critical need for low-income New Yorkers to access legal representation.

Additionally, our Chapters have provided free and low-cost legal services. For example, The Legal Project is a private, not-for-profit organization that was founded in 1995 by the Capital District Women’s Bar Association (one of WBASNY’s 20 chapters). The Legal Project provides a variety of free and low- cost legal services to the working poor including veterans, the elderly, and victims of domestic violence and human trafficking in the Capital District. The Legal Project provides representation in civil court to clients, rather than only limited advice or referrals. It is an innovative and cost-effective program incorporating volunteer and pro bono hours, and succeeds in making the lives of others better. The Legal Project relies heavily on civil legal services funding to be able to accomplish its mission.

Any loss of civil legal services funding presents a catastrophic threat to the continued existence not only of The Legal Project but also countless others civil legal services programs across New York. It cannot be overstated how important this funding is. Without it, survivors of domestic violence who fall even slightly above the federal poverty guidelines of the court or legal aid programs will go without legal representation in Family Court, assistance with foreclosure and eviction defense will be limited, a variety of legal services for the elderly, disabled, and veterans will suffer, as just some examples.

The lack of sufficient civil legal services funding is being felt. As one of our members who specializes in domestic violence stated, “I’ve been working in the field of the intersection of intimate partner, violence, family, violence, mental health, and courts for a long time. The majority of the time, I meet with survivors who have complex cases. One of their number one issues is not having access to adequate legal care.” Further, clients often have language and legal immigration status that complicate their cases and add barriers to obtaining legal assistance.

Civil legal services provide the avenues to representation and assistance with resolution of legal issues that unlock gateways to a safety net that the least able among us, many of them women and children, would never otherwise find. New York can do more to ensure that consistent state-wide funding is put in place for these much-needed programs. It is imperative that proper funding be available to meet the critical need of providing civil legal services.