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 California’s largest funder of legal aid, the State Bar supports free legal services for low-income residents 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.
$308 million
Total legal aid funds distributed in 2025
114 statewide
Legal aid organizations supported
11 million
Estimated number of low-income California residents eligible for legal aid
Legal aid funding continues to rise
With funds from Interest on Lawyers’ Trust Accounts (IOLTAs), allocations from the Legislature, donations, and other sources, the State Bar distributed a record $308 million in 2025.
Spotlights on Promoting Access and Inclusion
Record $308 million in legal aid assistance
In 2025, the Office of Access & Inclusion (OA&I) assisted the State Bar’s Legal Services Trust Fund Commission (LSTFC) in distributing $308 million in legal aid funds to 114 organizations. However, OA&I’s impact brief At a Precipice: How Funding Cuts Threaten Justice for Millions in California outlines the severe consequences of declining federal support for civil legal aid and the subsequent effects on housing, immigrant communities, and legal access. The State Bar forecasts a $40 million decrease in IOLTA funding in 2026 due to drops in interest rates. The State Bar also successfully advocated for amendments to the 2024 Budget Act, resulting in an additional $10 million in Equal Access Funds for “vulnerable persons at risk of detention, deportation, eviction, wage theft, intimate partner violence, and other actions that put their safety at risk.” By helping to sustain and strengthen the legal aid infrastructure, the State Bar ensures the public has access to the support and services they urgently need.
The State Bar’s Pro Bono Program Supports Attorneys Who Help Fill in the Legal Gap
New collaborative helps grantees with emerging technology
In May 2025, the Legal Services Trust Fund Commission and the Office of Access & Inclusion launched the Legal Aid Justice Technology Collaborative (LAJTC), a multiyear initiative designed to support legal aid grantees statewide in understanding and safely adopting emerging technologies. The initiative focuses on helping organizations integrate innovative tools in a responsible and effective way, with the goal of expanding access to justice at scale. By providing guidance, resources, and collaborative opportunities, the LAJTC aims to build technological capacity across the legal aid community, ensuring that grantees can better serve the public with efficient, secure, and forward-looking solutions that meet evolving legal needs.
Veterans’ Roundtable facilitates collaboration and builds connections
The State Bar hosted a Veterans’ Legal Services Roundtable at its San Francisco office in September, bringing together more than 20 legal service providers, government agencies, and nonprofit organizations dedicated to serving veterans across California. The event convened a diverse group of stakeholders to discuss new and ongoing legal challenges that veterans encounter, including access barriers and resource gaps, with the goal of fostering greater statewide collaboration. Participants shared insights, identified systemic issues affecting veterans’ ability to obtain legal help, and explored strategies to strengthen service coordination and outreach. By facilitating these important discussions, the roundtable helped build connections among organizations working on behalf of veterans and highlighted opportunities to enhance legal support, expand resources, and improve outcomes for veterans and their families throughout the state.
Diversity Summits promote diversity, equity, and inclusion
The State Bar hosted two Diversity Summits to support and promote a more diverse, equitable, and inclusive legal workforce. The first summit, held at the State Bar’s Los Angeles office, focused on civility and bias in the legal profession and brought together nearly 50 legal professionals from law firms, in-house legal departments, government agencies, nonprofits, and law schools. The second summit was held virtually with nearly 100 stakeholders in attendance, and it featured an expert panel that explored less frequently considered aspects of diversity, including disability status, first-generation backgrounds, and LGBTQIA+ identities. Both summits provided opportunities for learning, discussion, and networking, helping participants gain insights into creating more inclusive workplaces and advancing equity throughout California’s legal community.