Making the Law Work for All Citizens : Legal aid: Most lower-income Americans can’t afford justice; in Los Angeles, a new Legal Corps will try to change that.

For decades, lawyers have struggled with the question of how to make our legal system responsive and affordable for low-income working people. It has been estimated that nearly two-thirds of Americans in lower-income brackets go without much-needed legal assistance because they can’t afford a lawyer. Civil justice is a commodity most working people simply cannot obtain.

Nationwide studies show that a majority of Americans believe that lawyers are greedy, disinterested in justice and are no longer leaders in their communities. In February, a local magazine splashed a banner across its cover: a “Special Lawyer-Bashing Issue.” We find it easier to joke about our legal system than to undertake meaningful reform.

Today, in direct response to this problem, 27 leading Los Angeles lawyers and law scholars are gathering to begin anew the difficult task of creating avenues to help those who fall through the cracks in our legal system.

The problems we face are daunting and place the legitimacy of our justice system in question. In South-Central Los Angeles, for example, a community of 450,000 is represented by about 30 private lawyers. Low-income working people deemed “too rich” for poverty law agencies are often referred to legal self-help manuals, paralegals and community-based mediation efforts. While in the simplest matters these sources perform useful functions, the reality is that inner-city low-income working people are far too often being cheated out of their homes or forced into unnecessary bankruptcies because they lack representation.

Even in the best of times, overburdened prosecutors can go after only a handful of the most fraudulent actors in places like South-Central Los Angeles. By default, our legal system has left the real work of correcting injustice with lawyers in private practice. But lawyers in private practice, especially with law firms, have a bottom line that keeps their fees well beyond the reach of those who need their services most. And despite studies showing that 40% of today’s law students want to do public-service work, fewer than 5% actually take such positions.

In the 1960s, a young President called for a new generation of Americans to take time out from their careers to participate in a worthy cause--the Peace Corps. We believe the answer to the problem of equal access to civil justice lies within the private sector; the next generation of lawyers holds the key to progress. That is why we need to support a domestic version of the Peace Corps for lawyers, the recently formed Legal Corps of Los Angeles.

The Legal Corps will restore respect for the rule of law while teaching its volunteers something invaluable about the power within themselves. Fundamental change can begin when we create opportunities for young professionals to spend at least one year of full-time service in the community, practicing law, serving on the boards of community-based organizations and acting as catalysts for community progress. The success of the Legal Corps will depend on an active commitment from local bar associations, corporations, private law firms and government leaders.

We challenge the leaders of our law schools and the legal profession to help make it possible for the next generation of lawyers to help build opportunity in our community with their legal talents. Our corporate leaders must recognize that every working person freed from a legal snarl has more to spend on other goods and services. For this reason, they need to develop investment strategies in the inner cities by creating postgraduate fellowships for lawyers doing charitable work.

“Equal Access Under Law,” emblazoned across the facade of the Supreme Court, remains our American goal. As we put aside the jokes and get on with reform, we must remember the cautioning words of former Chief Justice Earl Warren: “It is the spirit and not the form of law that keeps justice alive.” With this in mind, we hope that a renewed spirit of professional responsibility will take root and keep justice alive for all the people of Los Angeles.