Page 19 - Delaware Lawyer - Summer 2019

Dan Atkins, Executive Director of Community Legal Aid Society, with Development Associate Molly McPheeters.
eviction on her record and was able to save enough money for a down payment on a house to purchase. Mary and her children are now living in a house she owns.
Just this spring, “Richard,” a client with severe brain injuries who is non-ver- bal, non-ambulatory and extremely medi- cally fragile was referred to legal aid. He is able to live at home only because he has around-the-clock skilled nursing services. His Managed Care Organization (MCO) reduced his nursing hours by over 20 per- cent, which would have eventually led to his hospitalization. A legal aid lawyer rep- resented Richard in an appeal to the MCO and prevailed; the services were restored, and he can remain living at home with family and nursing supports.
Also this spring, a survivor of domes- tic violence, “Karen,” was able to secure a lifetime protection order with the as- sistance of a legal aid attorney. Over the
Often people do not understand that the problems they face are legal in nature and have legally addressable remedies.
last 10 years, Karen has received multiple protective orders and secured sole custody with the help of her legal aid attorneys. Her abuser, who has been in and out of the prison system, has repeatedly harassed her through the legal system. With legal representation, Karen also obtained an or- der that any future pleadings filed by the abuser had to be reviewed and approved by the Family Court before being processed. Lawyers Are Outcome-Determinative
There is no right to counsel in most civil cases — not when you face eviction from your home, or termination of the public benefits you need to survive, or when domestic violence threatens your family’s safety. Imagine what would have happened to Mary, Richard and Karen had they not been represented. Most certainly, we are looking at different results — evic- tions, shelter stays, institutionalization and emotional distress. The personal costs would be tragic and the societal costs sig- nificant.
A recent study published in Harvard Law Review assessed the value of legal aid representation in a very simple and direct way.2 The researchers studied 133 people facing evictions in Quincy, Massachusetts. The subjects were placed randomly in two groups — one received legal aid represen- tation, and the other was provided just technical assistance and advice. The group receiving legal representation was twice as likely to prevail in the eviction hearing as those who were unrepresented, and they received, on average, five times as much in
money damages on their counterclaims. And a study commissioned by the Philadel- phia Bar Association found that between 2007 and 2016, 80 percent of landlords were represented, while only 7 percent of renters were. Without an attorney, renters faced “disruptive displacement” 78 per- centofthetime.3 Thestudyrecommended that the City of Philadelphia invest $3.5 million per year to cover the cost of legal representation for low-income tenants fac- ing eviction in order to save $45.2 million in public costs associated with homeless- ness and displacement.
A similar pattern emerges in family- court data from domestic violence cases in Delaware. In 2017 and 2018, persons seeking Protection from Abuse orders who were represented by legal aid lawyers were almost twice as likely to obtain the orders of protection as persons who were not represented. Shockingly, just 20 per- cent of the persons seeking protection had that representation. A report from the In- stitute for Policy Integrity at NYU School of Law revealed that legal representation for victims can be more important to re- ducing domestic violence than even access to counseling or shelters.4
In short, in our legal system, having a lawyer matters — a lot.
Unmet Needs
Over a 10-year period from 2007 to 2017, the Widener University Delaware Law School assisted the Delaware legal aid agencies in conducting assessments of un- met legal needs in Delaware. Law student volunteers administered surveys to identify the prevalence of civil law-related problems among poor people, and whether they had sought legal assistance. Across the various assessments, over 1,200 individuals were surveyed. The results consistently show a wide gap between the need for legal as- sistance and the receipt of legal services: respondents experienced a wide range of legal problems that might be susceptible to legal redress, but despite the vast majority being eligible for free assistance, they very rarely received legal assistance. These vul- nerable individuals faced problems involv- ing the safety of their homes, the avail- ability of affordable housing, food scarcity
SUMMER 2019 DELAWARE LAWYER 17