Community Justice Workers Can Leverage People Power to Bridge California's Justice Gap

Community Justice Workers Can Leverage People Power to Bridge California's Justice Gap  

By Diego Cartagena and Jessica Manriquez Jewell 

Every day, Californians face legal problems that determine whether they keep their homes, maintain their income, or escape abuse. Too often, they face those problems alone. 

Unlike criminal cases, there is no guarantee to an attorney in civil proceedings. That means people priced out of private legal representation are at a disadvantage when facing a landlord or employer with paid legal representation—far from “justice for all.”   

On June 18, the California Supreme Court directed the State Bar of California to solicit public comment on a proposed Community Justice Worker program, proposed Rule 9.45.1. If adopted, the rule would allow trained nonlawyers — working under the supervision of approved legal aid organizations — to provide limited legal assistance to eligible clients.  

A yes would mean more people have access to justice.

Community Justice Workers, or CJWs, are not a replacement for lawyers. As members of the working group that drafted the proposal before the Supreme Court, we have noted that the CJW model has the potential to revolutionize legal services by tapping into the lived experience of community members who would become advocates. 

Under the proposed rule, CJWs would be trained and certified by authorized legal services organizations and limited to approved areas of practice. They could help a tenant respond to an eviction notice, assist a worker preparing a wage claim, or guide a consumer through answering a debt collection lawsuit, but, crucially, only under the supervision of a licensed attorney. These are matters where timely, limited help can prevent a crisis from becoming a catastrophe. 

Community Justice Workers would allow California to recognize the expertise that already exists in our communities. 

People with lived experience — tenants, workers, caregivers, immigrants, survivors, elders, and community advocates — have insights that can benefit others. For example, the historically rural areas California Rural Legal Assistance, Inc. (CRLA) serves are among the most diverse in the U.S. and home to 11 million people. They are on the frontlines of major challenges from climate change to housing, and farmworkers in these communities have been on the frontlines of workers' rights and health and safety issues that are now impacting other industries.   

CJWs would also bring a level of cultural humility and language abilities that would be invaluable to building trust and delivering high-quality services to diverse populations. With training and supervision, CJWs can become bridges to justice.  For some, this work may become a path to law school, or a way to serve their communities without the high cost of legal education. For others like health and education professionals, it will be an opportunity to expand the work they are already doing in community.  

These possibilities can become a reality with the Community Justice Worker model in proposed Rule 9.45.1. 

The proposed Community Justice Worker model would allow legal aid organizations to safely and responsibly extend their reach and serve more people. 

At organizations like Bet Tzedek Legal Services in Los Angeles and CRLA, we see the justice gap from different vantage points but with the same conclusion: lawyers alone cannot meet the need.  

Legal aid lawyers across California are extraordinarily dedicated, but the demand outpaces their capacity.  The State Bar’s 2024 study found that California legal aid organizations currently have approximately one legal aid attorney for every 5,338 low-income Californians, and Californians receive no or inadequate legal help for 85% of their civil legal problems.  Low-income households experience an average of eight legal problems in a year. In housing, debt, family, employment, and public benefits matters, the consequences of going without help can be devastating and further perpetuate poverty.  

This problem is exacerbated in legal deserts. One report found that, rural and frontier areas had only just over 3% of the state’s lawyers resulting in ratios like one attorney for every 1,400 residents in Kings County. These are communities where legal aid organizations such as CRLA are indispensable — but stretched beyond capacity. 

The proposed Rule 9.45.1 is an opportunity to change this.  

The idea of Community Justice Workers is not untested. 

Alaska’s CJW program has shown what is possible, especially in rural and remote communities. According to materials submitted in support of the California petition, Alaska Legal Services Corporation was able to double the number of clients assisted from 2022 to 2023. Between December 2021 and March 2025, CJWs were involved in 1,848 cases. In public benefits cases, Alaska CJWs achieved 100% success resolving delays and helped secure $23.7 million in SNAP benefits for clients. California would join a growing number of jurisdictions expanding advocacy by nonlawyers, including Alaska, Arizona, Delaware, and Texas.  

California already accepts the principle that nonlawyers can provide meaningful legal assistance. Nonlawyers regularly appear in proceedings before Administrative Law Judges and tribal courts, law students appear in certain Superior Court matters under the supervision of an attorney, and federally authorized accredited representatives represent clients in immigration matters.  

The proposed rule addresses an understandable concern: consumer protection. Californians know the harms caused by notario fraud and other forms of predatory, unauthorized legal practice. Rule 9.45.1 is designed to prevent that. CJWs would not be free agents. They could not charge fees. They could not practice outside their approved scope. They would be affiliated with an authorized legal services organization. The proposal distinguishes CJWs from unregulated practice with safeguards including strict training, supervision, malpractice coverage, reporting requirements, attorney oversight, accountability, and evaluation. 

California’s courts and legal aid organizations are overwhelmed. We can insist that help must come only from lawyers, knowing there will never be enough lawyers available. Or we can recognize the insights and talents of nonlawyers, and build a carefully regulated, evidence-based model that lets lawyers, legal aid organizations, and trained community members work together. 

We already have extraordinary people serving their communities. The State Bar’s proposed rule would empower them.

The justice gap is too large for old assumptions and the status quo.  

California must recognize that justice starts in and with community. The State Bar’s public comment period is a chance for California to do so. 

To learn more about the comment period and how to comment on Rule 9.45.1 visit https://fs22.formsite.com/sbcta/ehhbeiaq3k/index

Diego Cartagena is President and CEO of Bet Tzedek Legal Services, a legal aid organization in Los Angeles County. For more information about Bet Tzedek, visit bettzedek.org.

Jessica Manriquez Jewell is a civil rights attorney and CEO of California Rural Legal Assistance, Inc.  For more about CRLA’s work, visit crla.org.