President Biden Signs Memorandum to Expand Access to Legal Representation

President Biden signed on May 18 a Presidential Memorandum reasserting the federal government’s role in expanding access to legal representation and court systems by reinstating two initiatives related to access to counsel. The memo directs the Department of Justice (DOJ) to outline a plan to expand the agency’s “Access to Justice” initiative. The initiative, started under the Obama administration and ended under the Trump administration, aims to promote access to legal assistance and court systems, ensure fair and just outcomes in courts, and increase the efficiency of court systems.

Attorney General Merrick Garland has 120 days to submit a plan on how to expand the initiative to advance policies and practices that support the development of legal aid at the state and federal level; promote access to legal solutions that are less lawyer- and court-intensive; and expand research on innovative strategies to increase the availability of quality legal assistance.

The memo also commits the DOJ to re-establishing the White House Legal Aid Interagency Roundtable, a group designed to help federal agencies better understand how legal aid attorneys can expand access to federal programs. Most notably, the goal of the roundtable is to “identify ways to address some of the most pressing legal services challenges that we face today – including those posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.” This provision may provide an opening to expand legal aid attorneys’ role in enforcing renter protections, help households apply for emergency rental assistance, and bring legal action against landlords who violate a state, local, or federal eviction moratoriums.

Read the Presidential Memorandum at: https://tinyurl.com/wet3tzcc