American Bar Association Section of Litigation
Access to Civil Justice Symposium

In 2006, the American Bar Association resolved to urge "federal, state and territorial governments to provide legal counsel as a matter of right at public expense to low income persons in those categories of adversarial proceedings where basic human needs are at stake, such as those involving shelter, sustenance, safety, health or child custody, as determined by each jurisdiction." The ABA thereby firmly placed the issue of access to counsel in civil cases on both the bar's and nation's agendas.

The Access to Civil Justice Symposium, Dec. 4-5, 2008 in Atlanta, will explore questions about the ABA's call to action and how to advance it, first, in the context of those of low income and, second, more broadly in American society.