Key Points: 

• With no state aid, civil legal services rely heavily on federal funding

• Past threats to federal civil legal aid give way to fear for future 

• Advocates say access to justice crisis necessitates greater state support

Arizona allocates no statewide funding for civil legal aid.

The lack of an appropriation leaves the three organizations offering pro-bono and low-cost legal services to underserved communities relying on a federal funding mechanism, previously under threat by the Trump administration. 

The state already sees a low level of access to justice, landing in the bottom five for per capita civil legal aid attorneys to meet legal needs of people living in poverty, according to a review by the American Bar Association. 

Though civil services organizations have been increasingly working to diversify their funding via private foundations and individual donors, if federal funding were to fall, access to civil legal services would undoubtedly suffer.

Three civil legal service organizations currently operate in Arizona – Community Legal Services, Southern Arizona Legal Aid and DNA People’s Legal Services – and do so with funding from the Legal Services Corporation (LSC), a nonprofit organization established by Congress in 1974. 

LSC funds 130 independent legal aid organizations, with more than 900 offices, across the country. 

To qualify, a person must be at or below 125% of the federal poverty line to qualify for legal aid, equating to about an eligible population of about 15%, or 1 million people, in Arizona, according to estimates provided to LSC by the U.S. Census Bureau. 

In 2024, Arizona received $11.2 million in funding to serve the general population, $4.9 million to serve Native Americans and about a half million to serve agricultural workers. According to LSC, the three legal aid organizations assisted a total of 24,068 people, with family and housing taking the highest percent of closed cases. 

“We are the last step, and sometimes, the only step, for many people in our community,” said Sharon Sergent, executive director of Community Legal Services. 

Community Legal Services provides services to Maricopa, Yavapai, Yuma, La Paz and Mohave counties. Its cases encompass housing and habitability, domestic violence, economic security and debt, unemployment, public benefits and health care. 

“Funding is critical to being able to deliver those services,” Sergent said. 

Sergent said about 60-70% of CLS funding comes from LSC, making the organization “significantly reliant,” on federal funds. She said the organization has been working to diversify its funding source so the funds do not rely on any particular source. 

Anthony Young, executive director for Southern Arizona Legal Aid, finds his organization in a similar boat. 

Southern Arizona Legal Aid covers Pima, Santa Cruz, Pinal, Navajo, Apache, Gila, Cochise, Graham and Greenelee counties. Young said the organization receives around 30 to 40 applications a day and closes about 5,000 cases a year. 

“Those are all individuals and families who get help from us,” Young said. 

SALA has similarly worked to diversify funding through individual and private foundation donors, as well as increased partnerships with outside agencies and developed a volunteer lawyer program to expand access to justice. 

“Equal justice under law begins with access to justice, and that’s access to lawyers,” Young said.

Ronald Flagg, president of the Legal Services Corporation, said the organization is currently operating off a $560 million appropriation, with 95% of funds going directly to grantees. 

LSC generally covers “what local or philanthropic funding won’t pay for,” or primarily core operational costs.

In Arizona, LSC covers from 53% to 80% of the civil legal organizations budget, meaning a cut to federal funding could prove fatal. 

LSC has faced existential funding threats before.

When President Donald Trump was in office, all four of his executive budget proposals called for eliminating LSC, though none of the attempts were successful — a feat Flagg attributes to bipartisan support for legal aid in Congress.

“Certainly the threat of a funding elimination is concerning and serious, but it doesn’t mean that it’s going to happen,” Flagg said. “We have strong support from both Democrats and Republicans. This is a nonpartisan issue we’re talking about. When you’re talking about helping people with their housing issues or their family issues, or veterans benefits or Social Security benefits, these are core constituent services.” 

Drew Schaffer, director of the William E. Morris Institute for Justice, an organization focusing on systemic change for economically vulnerable Arizonans, and a member of the court’s Access to Justice Commission, said funding for civil legal aid is vital, with or without federal funding given the state’s legal deserts and access to justice crisis. 

“We need to get off of those two lists – the lists of states that don’t invest in civil legal aid and the list of states that are just completely underrepresented with attorneys to meet the needs of the poverty population,” Schaffer said. 

There have been past proposals in the Legislature. Sen. Annalise Ortiz, D-Phoenix, introduced a bill this year to appropriate $10 million to the Department of Economic Security to grant a $5 million appropriation to the Arizona Department of Housing to distribute to civil legal aid organizations for work on eviction cases, but both failed to make it to committee. 

“We have not, as a state, through our legislators … ensured that the civil legal system and the criminal legal system operate as a justice system,” Schaffer said.