The California Supreme Court has directed the State Bar of California to circulate a proposed rule of court for public comment on the creation of a Community Justice Worker programme. The proposal would permit trained nonlawyers to work alongside, and under the supervision of, lawyers at approved legal aid organisations, providing free and limited legal services to those organisation’s clients. The Court presented the initiative as a potential response to access-to-justice pressures, while keeping the work within a defined regulatory structure and under qualified legal supervision.
There are already similar programs operating in several other US jurisdictions, including Alaska, Arizona, Delaware, Washington DC, Hawaii, Illinois, South Carolina and Texas. The consultation does not itself establish the programme, but it is the next stage in assessing whether the proposed model should be adopted in California and what safeguards, permitted activities and oversight arrangements would be required before implementation. The responses received will inform the Courts subsequent consideration of the proposal.