LSC Releases New Tools Providing Insights into Legal Needs in Florida, South Carolina and Tennessee

WASHINGTON — The Legal Services Corporation (LSC) released three interactive tools today as part of its Legal Needs Monitoring Project. The project’s goal was to provide legal aid organizations and their partners with information on court proceedings and access-to-justice issues to improve the delivery of legal services. It was funded by the Pew Charitable Trusts.

LSC partnered with stakeholders in Florida, South Carolina and Tennessee to create three interactive tools. The tools use court data to provide insights into legal needs, costs and representation.

Bay Area Legal Services (Florida)

Working with Bay Area Legal Services, LSC researchers developed an interactive tool to support the planning and outreach efforts of the organization’s housing attorneys. The tool allows users to see eviction filing hotspots and trends in case filings, legal representation rates and default judgments in Hillsborough, Manatee, Pasco and Pinellas Counties.

Memphis Area Legal Services

LSC collaborated with Memphis Area Legal Services on a tool to see eviction trends including judgment rates, outstanding court costs and filings in Shelby County. The tool also shows eviction hotspots in the area.

South Carolina Access to Justice Commission

LSC partnered with the South Carolina Access to Justice Commission on a visualization tool for The South Carolina Justice Gap report. The tool uses census data, provider data from South Carolina Legal Services and the South Carolina Bar, and court data. It provides insights into poverty, attorney access, and representation in court, both geographically and by legal issue area in the state.

“These interactive tools provide invaluable information on trends in court filings, costs and representation that will enable legal aid providers, courts and others to identify initiatives and make resource allocation decisions based on current data,” said LSC President Ronald S. Flagg. “We are tremendously grateful to the Pew Charitable Trusts for supporting the development of these tools.”

The tools will benefit legal services providers, the courts, access-to-justice advocates and anyone seeking a greater understanding of how civil court records could be used to illuminate legal needs in their communities.

Legal Services Corporation (LSC) is an independent nonprofit established by Congress in 1974 to provide financial support for civil legal aid to low-income Americans. The Corporation currently provides funding to 132 independent nonprofit legal aid programs in every state, the District of Columbia, and U.S. territories.