Issues & Trends
20 Years Strong: The D.C. Access to Justice Commission’s Ongoing Fight to Close the Justice Gap
November 25, 2025
Since its creation in 2005 by the D.C. Court of Appeals, the D.C. Access to Justice Commission has played a .jpg?width=319&height=298)
vital role in promoting the interests of District residents and supporting legal aid providers through funding, research, and advocacy.
Nancy Drane, the commission’s executive director, says the organization was born out of the need for greater coordination of access to justice efforts in the District, addressing a lack of cohesion at the time among legal services providers, law firms, and the courts, among other entities.
“When representatives of the D.C. Bar, the DC Bar Foundation, and the legal services provider community brought up the idea of creating an access to justice commission in the District, the courts welcomed it,” Drane says.
The D.C. Bar recently spoke with Drane about the commission’s work over the past 20 years, the current landscape of civil legal services, and the outlook for the years ahead.
How was the commission designed and assembled?
Looking at examples from around the country, the individuals involved in the design of the commission’s structure noticed that other access to justice commissions with the greatest successes were those with guidance coming from their jurisdiction’s highest court. The D.C. Court of Appeals decided that it would establish the commission, but the entity would be independent and represent the interests of everyone.
Private funding had to be secured to enable the commission to cover basic operations and staff. A group of firms stepped forward to make initial commitments. Funding still remains an issue for the commission, which wishes to expand capacity but is constrained by its current fiscal support. It has launched a 20th anniversary campaign to inspire increased and new financial support.
What are some of the commission’s significant achievements over the past 20 years?
Public funding. The commission's work in urging the D.C. government to create and then sustain funding for the Access to Justice Initiative has transformed the civil legal aid community's capacity to serve District residents. Funding has grown from an initial $3 million to a now $31 million investment.
Raising the Bar in D.C. campaign. The commission's work in establishing a standard of benchmark percentages of revenue that law firms should aim for in supporting civil legal aid organizations has been important in ensuring and incentivizing [firms] to support civil legal aid in D.C., above and beyond what they do in the pro bono space.
Legal needs assessments and reports. The commission's work in assessing and analyzing the state of civil legal aid has been important in shaping the legal community's strategies around the delivery of civil legal services. Its related recommendations have also been important in promoting change and innovation in the courts and civil justice community.
How is the commission’s work particularly relevant today?
With the civil justice crisis as acute as ever before, the commission's work is all the more urgent. In particular, the commission's work focusing on the needs of those who do not receive legal help due to limited or reduced capacity — especially in the self-help area — [is] critical at a time when the legal landscape is constantly changing.
How is the commission addressing issues we see on the horizon?
Through our "Justice for All" priorities, the commission is working to champion ideas that will expand access to justice for those who are unable to secure the dedicated help of a lawyer. Our support of greater access to legal information and self-help —and recent championing of regulatory reform and a community justice worker effort in D.C. — are examples of our efforts to identify new solutions to the access to justice crisis.
How can attorneys and members of the public support the commission?
It is important for our entire legal community, not just those in the nonprofit space, to care about and champion the legal needs of our District neighbors. All D.C. lawyers should know about and educate their peers on the lack of access to legal help that pervades our community, and what they can do to combat it.
One way lawyers can help is to provide pro bono service in legal areas that are most relevant to our District neighbors' fundamental needs, like housing, family law, protection from violence, accessing public benefits, and more. It may surprise most lawyers how much the mere presence of a lawyer — and the legal skills that come along with that — can impact the outcome of a case.
The public can also financially support legal services organizations that provide free legal help to D.C. residents facing legal problems.
The commission also relies on private donations to enable it to do its work, as it does not receive any public or court funding. Learn more at dcaccesstojustice.org/donate-now.
Finally, lawyers can "think big" about how the profession can support innovation. Initiatives like regulatory reform (that enable individuals like community justice workers to provide legal help) and the use of technology and AI are ideas worth studying as potential solutions to the persistent access to justice crisis in D.C.
