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50 Alaska B. Rag 1 (2026)

handle is hein.barjournals/askabar0050 and id is 1 raw text is: Aa ,lcy'I 12yI /2/ Community Justice Workers Expand Legal Access in Alaska By Joy Anderson For many people, the legal sys- tem has been a 'black box' - com- plex, expensive, and physically re- moved from the people who need it most. That's how Lauren Custer describes her previous experiences with the legal system, which in- cluded several years working as the lead paralegal for a legal program embedded in a shelter for victims of domestic violence in Fairbanks. Lauren now works for Alaska Le- gal Services Corporation (ALSC) as one of the five newly approved Community Justice Workers (CJW) in Alaska. On January 23, 2026, the Alas- ka Bar Association Board of Gov- ernors approved five ALSC Com- munity Justice Workers to practice under Alaska Bar Rule 43.5. The rule allows them to provide limited legal representation in certain civil matters under ALSC supervision. The newly authorized CJWs, Lau- ren Custer, Yonna Pereyra, Abbi- gale Skonberg, Cheryl Thompson, and Ashley Vincent, can now assist clients in domestic violence protec- tive order (DVPO) proceedings who might otherwise face court alone. The Alaska Supreme Court ap- proved Rule 43.5 in 2022. It permits non-lawyers trained and super- vised by ALSC to engage in limited practice if they: 1) are trained by ALSC; 2) are supervised by ALSC; 3) engage in limited practice exclu- sively for ALSC; and 4) obtain in- formed consent from clients. The rule is the first of its kind in Alaska and part of a movement gaining traction nationwide. The CJW program was devel- oped in response to a persistent ac- cess-to-justice crisis in Alaska and across the United States. The Legal Services Corporation, the largest national funder of civil legal aid for low-income Americans, published its most recent Justice Gap study in 2022. The study found that of the 50 million Americans with household incomes below 125% of the federal poverty level, legal help was sought for only one out of every four civil legal problems that had a substantial impact on their lives. The study also found that 46% of those who did not seek legal help cited concerns about cost, and 53% of low-income Americans did not know if they could find and afford a lawyer if they needed one. As reported in the 2020 Ameri- can Bar Association's Profile of the Legal Profession, 40% of all U.S. counties and county-equivalents have fewer than one lawyer per 1,000 residents, often referred to as legal deserts. These and other fac- tors contribute to the large-scale access to justice crisis in the United States. In Alaska, more than 17% of the population lives in households below 125% of the federal poverty guidelines and is eligible for ALSC's services. However, ALSC has only 21 full-time staff attorneys avail- able to meet the need for legal as- sistance. Pro bono attorneys have always been an important part of ALSC's program, helping to handle Left to right: Community Justice Workers Abbigale Skonberg, Yonna Pereyra, Lauren Custer, Cheryl Thompson, Ashley Vincent, and instructor Teryn Bird at the conclusion of a mock hearing exercise on December 10, 2025. Photo courtesy of joy Anderson. cases where staff attorneys are un- available, but the unmet need for legal assistance remains. According to the 2022 Justice Gap study, legal aid organizations across the nation receive 1.9 million requests for help each year but turn away one out of every two requests due to limited resources. Communities have needed ac- cess to basic legal aid for so long, that many people do not know the problems they face are legal prob- lems. Often, these issues are rela- tively simple to resolve; someone just needs to take the time to help, says Ashley Vincent, a CJW in ALSC's Kenai office who has seen what the numbers show play out in everyday life. Ashley was an assistant manager of a large retail store in Kenai before coming to work for ALSC. She man- aged several employees and often found herself helping people navi- gate problems that were not work related. When she saw the posting for the CJW position, it seemed like the perfect opportunity for someone who always wanted to be one of the helpers in the world. The search for solutions to the Continued on page 3 The Unsung Heroes of Pro Bono in Alaska: Alaska Free Legal Answers Volunteers By Lea McKenna In 2025, Alaska Bar Association members continued to show a strong commitment to pro bono service through both Bar-hosted clinics and Alaska Free LegalAnswers (AKFLA). Together, these efforts reached 685 Alaskans facing a wide range of civil legal issues, from disaster assistance and housing to family law and estate planning matters. While in-person clinics remain a vital part of this work, AKFLA stands out as an example of how a relatively small group of vol- unteers can have an outsized impact. Big Reach With a Small Team AKFLA is a free, web-based legal advice platform available statewide at Alaska.FreeLegalAnswers.org. Eli- gible users can ask up to three civil legal questions per year and receive answers directly from volunteer attor- Alaska Free 29 855 312 Legal Answers Five In-Person 204 897 373 Clinics TOTALS: 233 1752 685 neys. For many Alaskans, especially those in rural communities, without reliable transportation, or juggling work and caregiving responsibilities, this platform is the most accessible way to get legal help. In 2025, just 29 Alaska Free Legal Answers volunteers served 312 clients, which is nearly half the total number served by all five Bar- sponsored in-person clinics combined. This underscores the efficiency and reach of the online model and the outsized impact a small group of vol- unteers can have when participation barriers are low. That success does not diminish the value of in-person clinics. The MLK Day clinics in Anchorage, Bethel, Fairbanks, and Juneau, along with the Elizabeth Peratrovich, May Legal Clinic, Elder Appreciation and Wills Clinic, and Disaster Legal Clinics, served 373 Alaskans with the help of more than 200 volunteers, provid- ing face-to-face support many clients need. Continued on page 5 0 - 0 00 2~u aa, L (D0 co. E Q 0 n zCY a° Q oo