Reports and Publications
Celebrating 30 Years of Access to Justice in California (2026)
CalATJ's 30th anniversary booklet traces three decades of work to expand access to civil justice in California and honors the 2026 Impact Award recipients.
2025 Annual Report
CalATJ's 2025 Annual Report: $29.3M in legal aid grants over five years, $600K+ in loan repayment help, court transcript advocacy, and a new strategic plan.
Strategic Plan for 2026–2028
CalATJ's 2026–2028 Strategic Plan sets three priorities to close California's civil justice gap: access to lawyers, access to the courts, and other help.
Commentary for the State Bar on Collaborations Between Lawyer Referral Services and Nonprofits (2025)
CalATJ's June 2025 comments to the State Bar of California on rules for partnerships between lawyer referral services and nonprofits to expand legal help.
2024 Annual Report
CalATJ's 2024 Annual Report: $4.9M in legal aid grants, $5M to protect immigrant and LGBTQ+ rights, and advocacy for official court transcripts.
Access to the Record of California Trial Court Proceedings (2024)
Over 1 million California court hearings a year have no official record due to a court reporter shortage. CalATJ's 2024 report explains the harm and fixes.
2023 Annual Report
CalATJ's 2023 Annual Report: first access to justice commission recognized in state law, a new loan repayment program, and $4.8M a year in legal aid grants.
Remote Services by Urban Pro Bono Lawyers for Rural Small Business Clients (2023)
Report on a CalATJ pilot that connected urban pro bono lawyers with rural California small businesses through remote legal help, funded by CLF.
Issue Brief: Civil Right to Counsel in Eviction Cases (2023)
CalATJ and LAAC's 2023 issue brief on a civil right to counsel for tenants in California eviction cases, and why the Commission supports it.
2022 Annual Report
CalATJ's 2022 Annual Report: its first grants, including $5M for legal aid infrastructure and innovation and $750K for eviction prevention partnerships.
Legal Aid Infrastructure & Innovation Grants: 2021–2022 Mid-Grant Cycle Report
CalATJ's report to the Judicial Council on the first six months of $5M in state Infrastructure & Innovation grants to California legal aid organizations.
Final Report to The California Endowment on the Eviction Tsunami Grants (2022)
Final report on CalATJ's Eviction Tsunami grants: how legal aid programs and community partners helped California tenants stay housed after COVID-19.
Strategic Plan for 2023–2025
CalATJ's 2023–2025 Strategic Plan: how the Commission set out to narrow California's justice gap, both the service gap and the knowledge gap.
Legal Aid Recruitment, Retention, and Diversity (2022)
CalATJ's 2022 recommendations to help California legal aid organizations hire, keep, and diversify the lawyers who serve low-income clients.
Report and Recommendations on Public Communications and Education to Narrow the Justice Gap (2021)
CalATJ's 2021 recommendations to the State Bar on media coverage of civil legal aid and closing the knowledge gap for Californians with legal problems.
Health Equity and Rural Attorney Deserts (2021)
Part VI of CalATJ's Rural Justice Policy Paper Series: how rural attorney deserts and limited healthcare access together harm health equity in California.
2021 Annual Report
CalATJ's 2021 Annual Report: a new grantmaking role, $5M for 47 legal aid groups, eviction grants, and a $70M Equal Access Fund.
How to Grow Your Practice by Representing Moderate-Income Clients in California (2020)
A 2020 business planning guide from CalATJ for California lawyers who want to build a profitable practice serving moderate-income clients.
California’s Attorney Deserts, Social Determinants of Health, and COVID-19 (2020)
Part V of CalATJ's Rural Justice Policy Paper Series: how rural attorney deserts and social determinants of health intersected during COVID-19.
The Role of Technology in Enhancing Rural Access to Justice (2020)
Part IV of CalATJ's Rural Justice Policy Paper Series: how legal technology can expand access to justice for rural Californians, and how to fund it.
