ATLANTA – Georgia Chief Justice Michael Boggs has ordered the creation of a study committee to look for ways to address the state’s civil justice gap.
The 13-member committee will develop recommendations by June of next year to increase access to civil legal services for rural or low-income Georgians while maintaining high standards for legal practitioners.
“The Supreme Court of Georgia is vested by the Georgia Constitution with the responsibility to regulate the practice of law to ensure that the public is protected and that the people of Georgia receive competent legal counsel,” said state Supreme Court Justice Carla Wong McMillian, who will chair the committee.
“But there may be narrow areas where people who are not lawyers can be trained to serve clients who otherwise wouldn’t be able to afford lawyers or who live in areas without lawyers. … This committee will use data-driven methodologies to be innovative in exploring and discerning what regulatory reforms could address the issues preventing Georgians receiving critical legal services without diminishing consumer protections.”
Stephen Louis A. Dillard of Macon, the presiding judge on the Georgia Court of Appeals, will serve as vice-chairman of the committee.
“Being from Central Georgia, I understand just how crucial it is to carefully examine this important issue,” Dillard said. “I look forward to working closely with Justice McMillian and many other stakeholders to come up with meaningful solutions that will make justice more accessible.”
The National Center for State Courts will provide technical assistance to support the committee’s work.