Texas is Ranked 46th in Ensuring Access to Justice For All
The National Center for Access to Justice (NCAJ) ranks Texas 46th out of 52 (rankings include D.C. and Puerto Rico) in ensuring access to justice for all. This index captures "the degree to which each US state has adopted selected best policies for ensuring access to justice for all people." Texas ranks 44th out of 52 in the subcategory for access to attorneys. This measure also incorporates the ratio of civil legal aid attorneys for every 10,000 low income residents. For Texas, that number sits at .6. We have less than one civil legal aid attorney for every 10,000 low-income Texans.
Only the 16 lowest ratings are shown. Click on the image above to visit the full rankings and method
80% of Texans Who Qualify for Legal Aid Lack Access to Help
According to the Texas Access to Justice Commission, "only 20% of people who qualify for civil legal services are able to get the legal help they need." In order to qualify for that 20% chance of having access to legal aid, a Texan (in a household of one) must earn less than $19,562.50. So when we are discussing the 80% who are left behind, we are not even including the folks who make $20,000, $30,000, $40,000 and more who realistically lack financial access to private counsel.
Lawyers Are More Likely to Grow Up In High-Income Homes
According to the National Longitudinal Survey from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, lawyers come from the most affluent homes when compared to other professions. This means that the folks who comprise our profession are less likely than other professionals to have been impacted by the Access to Justice Gap. We need to ensure that those voices that are underrepresented in our profession are not missing when we strategize about how to delivery desperately needed legal services to our communities.
