PROMOTING ACCESS AND INCLUSION
What We Do
The State Bar works to increase access to legal services and promote diversity and inclusion in the legal profession. As the state’s largest funder of legal aid, the State Bar supports free legal services for low-income Californians and combats fraud targeting vulnerable communities. It also promotes strengthening the pipeline into the legal profession to better reflect California’s diversity, addressing disparities in retention and advancement, and building strategies for an inclusive organization.
$180.8 million
Total legal aid funds distributed in 2024
110 statewide
Legal aid organizations supported
11 million
Estimated number of low-income Californians eligible for legal aid
Legal Aid funding continues to rise
With funds from Interest on Lawyers’ Trust Accounts (IOLTA), allocations from the Legislature, donations, and other sources, the State Bar’s role supporting legal aid continues to grow.
Spotlights on Promoting Access and Inclusion
Legal aid assistance hits record $180.8 million
In 2024, a three-year record-breaking trend continued, with nearly $180.8 million in legal aid distributed by the State Bar’s Legal Services Trust Fund Commission, including more than $95 million in IOLTA funds and $37 million dedicated to homelessness prevention assistance, including assisting California homeowners in avoiding foreclosure. In just one year, State Bar funding has enabled the hiring or retention of 5,271 legal aid staff, with more than 41 percent consisting of legal aid attorneys. State Bar grants have also enabled the assistance of 229,401 low-income Californians through attorney-client relationships as well as 228,326 nonrepresentational services, such as hotline calls, self-help clinics, educational workshops, and trainings and outreach events.
Legal Aid Org. Restores Eureka Woman's Housing Assistance Eligibility
Legal Aid Leaders Fellowship participants express strong interest in legal aid career
In 2024, the State Bar’s Legal Aid Leaders Fellowship (LALF) Program awarded $752,000 in grants to support 77 paid law student fellows at legal aid organizations across California, with 11 additional fellows funded by partner organization California ChangeLawyers®. A total of 88 fellows were hosted by 34 legal aid organizations, completing nearly 30,251 hours of service and benefiting from workshops, training, and networking opportunities. The 2024 cohort was notably diverse, with 69 percent identifying as people of color, 64 percent as women, and 27 percent as LGBTQIA+. At the end of the program, 77 percent of fellows reported strong interest in a legal aid career, and 86 percent said they would not have been able to participate without the paid opportunity.
Fellowship Participant Sees Value in Legal Aid Service
CARE Courts operating in all 58 California counties by December 2024
As reported by Governor Newsom, in December 2024, the Community Assistance, Recovery, and Empowerment (CARE) Court program was officially available in every county across California, helping people with untreated or undertreated schizophrenia get life-saving treatment and housing to help them stabilize, recover, and thrive. While the State Bar’s role in 2023 was to distribute $20 million in state support service funding to participating public defenders’ offices and legal aid organizations, the service provided to those dealing with mental health issues is ongoing in 2024 and beyond.
Diversity Summits supporting a more diverse, equitable, and inclusive workforce
In 2024, the State Bar hosted two Diversity Summits focused on strengthening diversity, equity, and inclusion in the legal profession. The June summit brought together over 75 stakeholders for in-person presentations and panels on generational differences; strategies for working in a multigenerational workforce, including mentorships and sponsorships; and shared findings from the 2023 Diversity Report Card and Inactive Attorneys Profile. In December, more than 140 DEI leaders attended a virtual summit featuring the State Bar’s “From Entry to Exit: A Holistic View of Diversity in the Legal Profession” presentation and panel discussions with law school deans and employers, who discussed ways to support and retain underrepresented individuals in law school and the legal field.
Pathways to Justice highlighted at annual conference
In partnership with the Judicial Council of California and Legal Aid Association of California, the Office of Access and Inclusion hosted the Pathways to Justice Conference, a two-day in-person conference with approximately 420 legal aid grantees and stakeholders. There were 50+ sessions, addressing substantive law areas relevant to legal services practitioners and topics including AI and legal tech as well as recruitment and retention.
State agencies collaborate to better meet Californians’ legal aid needs
The Governor’s office and 17 state agencies—including the Department of Social Services, the Civil Rights Department, and the Department of Aging—gathered in San Francisco in September for a convening to ideate on how government agencies can collaborate with legal aid nonprofits to provide highly effective, equitable, and enhanced services to the public. The entities specifically discussed ways to collaborate in improving legal aid services related to homelessness, mental health, immigration, and consumer protection. The convening drew inspiration from the White House Legal Aid Interagency Roundtable’s (LAIR) success at the national level. The California interagency convening was hosted by the State Bar of California, the California Access to Justice Commission (CalATJ), and the Legal Aid Association of California (LAAC).