ABA Day 2024
From April 10th to 11th, Miguel Martinez and Jocelyn Ortiz from OneJustice traveled to Washington D.C. to participate in ABA Day 2024, advocating for the increase in funding to provide low-income Americans the access to legal assistance and representation they need.
After their time on the hill, both Jocelyn and Miguel shared some key takeaways:
- There is bipartisan agreement that civil legal aid funding is important to the representatives as many of their constituents utilize these services.
- Representatives commented on the amazing work that Legal Services Corporation (LSC) grantees such as LAFLA, ICLS, NHLSA, CRLA, and Bay Area Legal Services do everyday—their work makes a difference in local economies, communities, and for families.
- It is abundantly clear that legal outcomes are better for small businesses, veterans, seniors, survivors of abuse, children, and tenants when they have access to civil legal aid, which is why robust funding for legal aid is critical.
Jocelyn and Miguel met with Congresswoman Judy Chu along with other counsel and legislative aids, discussing the critical importance of the federal government continuing to and increasing funding for LSC.
Funding from LSC accounts for a vast amount of California legal aid funding. OneJustice stands with the ABA and other state captions to call upon members of congress to expand funding for all low-income Americans to address the justice gap.