The Arizona Supreme Court announces the creation of the Legal Services Authorized Community Justice Worker (LSACJW) program, aimed at expanding access to legal services for vulnerable populations across the state.
This initiative will involve nonlawyers who will be recruited from local communities—with a focus on rural areas—where legal assistance can be particularly difficult to access. The Community Justice Workers (CJW) will be trained and supervised by Arizona’s Legal Services Corporation (LSC) grantees that include Community Legal Services, DNA-People’s Legal Services, and Southern Arizona Legal Aid.
“By empowering local community members to provide essential support under the guidance of trained attorneys, we are expanding access to justice and ensuring that more Arizonans can navigate legal challenges with the help they need,” said Chief Justice Ann Timmer.
Under the supervision of LSC attorneys, the program allows Community Justice Workers to provide limited legal support in civil matters, specifically with consumer issues, housing, debt relief, public benefits, and unemployment law. These free services provided by a CJW include advice, document preparation, negotiation, and administrative representation.
Like other recent programs established by the Court, the initiative’s goal is to improve access to justice across our state, while ensuring quality services that are compliant with LSC regulations, the Arizona Supreme Court, and the State Bar of Arizona.
This innovative model was first established in Alaska in 2019 by the state’s Legal Services Corporation (ALSC) as they looked for ways to address a severe civil justice crisis and lack of available resources in the community. Alaska now has over 400 community justice workers. In 2023, ALSC established a resource center to collaborate with other states and grow the Community Justice Worker movement.
“It is so wonderful to see the expansion of the Alaska Community Justice Worker model to Arizona,” said former ALSC executive director, Nikole Nelson. “By allowing legal aid organizations to expand the pool of helpers who can assist in addressing unmet life-altering legal needs, Arizona has taken a big step towards making ‘justice for all’ a reality.”
Community Justice Workers in Arizona must meet certain eligibility criteria, including completing specialized training, passing a background check, and receiving supervision from an LSC attorney. They must inform clients about their non-lawyer status before offering legal assistance and will be required to work with their supervising attorneys on the services they will provide, as well as client outcomes.
View the Administrative Order here.
