Vision:  

Access to justice, the ability to understand the law and to obtain its protection, can make all the difference — enabling families to stay together, save their homes, preserve their savings, secure their safety from harm, assure their freedom, and hold their antagonists accountable to the rule of law. We believe the justice system must protect people from oppression, even as we recognize that, too often, it contributes to their oppression. The National Center for Access to Justice is relying on data and advocacy to increase access to justice, improve the justice system, and build a more just and equitable society.

Projects:  

• The Justice Index – Relying on data and rankings to prompt adoption of best policies for access to justice (Introduction, here)
• Fines & Fees Project – Building a consensus on best policies for reducing reliance on fines and fees to fund government; expanding the Justice Index to support adoption of best fines and fees policies in the states.
• Tracking Outcomes: A Guide for Civil Legal Aid Providers & Funders – Using data to track effects of civil legal aid in improving people’s lives.
• AtJ Scholars Project – Gathering researchers (with NSF support) from across disciplines to build the field of access to justice research.
• Sustainable Development Goal 16 – Implementing in the US the UN’s 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda which calls on all countries to use data to expand access to justice.
• A2J Initiative at Fordham Law School – Putting access to justice at the center of legal education.

Headlines:

• Hosted A2J Summit at Fordham Law School, bringing national leaders together to envision a unified civil and criminal justice system reform movement, and producing the A2J Summit Collection.
• Received National Science Foundation grant to join Professors Rebecca Sandefur and Alyx Mark in AtJ Scholars Project; interviewed in Law 360, David Udell Dishes on Growing Access to Justice Research.
• Published Tracking Outcomes: A Guide for Civil Legal Aid Providers & Funders
• Received American Bar Association’s Pro Bono Publico Award for the Justice Index.
• Supported SDG 16 implementation in the US with Recommended Access to Justice Indicators for Implementation of Goal 16 of the UN 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda in the United States.
• Hosted Where the Civil and Criminal Justice Systems Meet, an evening panel discussion about global access to justice challenges and responses.

Articles, Videos & Transcripts:

• New writings defining the leading edge of the civil justice reform movement:  the A2J Summit Collection.
• Dahlia Lithwick, Slate Senior Reporter, host of Amicus Podcast, on access to justice, the rule of law, and NCAJ (video and transcript)
• ABA Pro Bono Publico Award video describing how law firms, law schools, and corporate counsel created the Justice Index
• Speaking about civil justice reform with Bob Herbert on Op-Ed.TV!
• Moderating civil right to counsel panel for New York State Bar Association
• Speaking on Pro Bono & Professional Development Roundtable with the National Association for Law Placement

Overview Materials (downloadable):

• Overview of NCAJ (1-page) (Dec. 7, 2018)
• Introduction to the Justice Index (3-page) (May 1, 2019)
• AtJ Seminar Syllabus: Pursuing Policy Advocacy to Fix Fines, Fees & Private Sector Debt (Spring 2019)