ABA - American Bar Association

Their mission is to serve equally their members, our profession and the public by defending liberty and delivering justice as the national representative of the legal profession. Provides law school accreditation, continuing legal education, information about the law, programs to assist lawyers and judges in their work, and initiatives to improve the legal system for the public.

ABA Center for Pro Bono

The ABA Center for Pro Bono , a project of the ABA Standing Committee on Pro Bono and Public Service, promotes and supports the provision of pro bono legal services by American lawyers. The Center assists in establishing new state and local pro bono programs; and collects and distributes upon request information on every aspect of the development and operation of a pro bono program.

ABA/Commission on Interest on Lawyers Trust Accounts (IOLTA)

Monitors developments in areas that may affect IOLTA operations such as banking, grantmaking, tax law and constitutional law. Established in 1986 to support the initiation and operation of IOLTA programs.

ABA/Division of Legal Services

Operates 11 committees and commissions devoted to examining, providing information and developing policy about issues important to the legal profession and the operation of the American justice system. Their work falls into three areas of concentration: Access to justice by poor people, Access to justice by moderate-income people, Issues affecting the legal profession.

ABA Resource Center for Access to Justice Initiatives

The ABA Resource Center for Access to Justice Initiatives, a project of the ABA Standing Committee on Legal Aid and Indigent Defendants, was created by the ABA Board of Governors in August 2006 to provide support to state bar, judicial and legal aid leaders and others engaged in efforts to expand access to civil justice in their states. It supports state-based access to justice initiatives by providing assistance and guidance to state access to justice commissions and similar structures. It also provides technical assistance, research assistance, information, training, and expert guidance to bench, bar and legal aid leaders to help them increase financial resources for civil legal services.

ABA Standing Committee on Pro Bono and Public Service

This ABA committee promotes and encourages bar associations, law firms and individual attorneys to provide pro bono legal services. The Pro Bono Committee previously was the Standing Committee on Lawyers' Public Service Responsibility (SCLPSR), and before that the Committee on Public Interest Practice. It co-sponsors the annual ABA/NLADA Equal Justice Conference.

ATJ - Access to Justice Committee

A joint venture by Louisiana Bar Foundation and Louisiana State Bar Association, ATJ was established in 1996 to support and strengthen an integrated statewide justice network with the goal of increasing and improving the delivery of legal services to the poor of Louisiana.

BCD Grants - Building Capital Grants

Assisting LBF grantees by granting awards up to $25,000, on a matching basis, for the acquisition or renovation of an office building and/or property. Building/property and/or new construction projects will be eligible for consideration including planning and architectural expenses. Recipients of this funding are eligible to re-apply annually for grants on the same project until receiving five years of funding.

CLS Grants - Children's Legal Services Grants

Annual grants are available to organizations that either: 1) Provide direct legal representation of children in matters ranging from delinquency to access to special education, mental health, and foster care services 2) Engage in impact litigation and/or systemic legal reform efforts on behalf of children; 3) Provide lay advocacy for children in legal proceedings, such as CASA; or 4) Assist with the administration of justice with respect to children, such as Teen Courts or other court-ordered programs.

CPP - Community Partnership Panel and Grants

Eight regional chapters designed to foster collaboration, respond to arising community needs, and encourage local involvement in the designation of grant funds. Each panel has an annual budget of $15,000. The panel will submit funding recommendations to a subcommittee of the Grants Committee and then to the Board for final approval.

Cy pres funds ("next best use"):

The cy pres Doctrine is a legal theory which allows courts to put residual class actions funds to their "next best use" to support the aggregate, indirect, prospective benefit of class members by awarding residual funds to third parties such as legal service providers. In recent years, courts throughout the country have awarded cy pres funds to programs that provide free legal services to low-income persons. They have found that legal services programs are appropriate recipients of these funds because they often represent the next best use of unclaimed funds to indirectly benefit members of a class.

DVP Grants - Domestic Violence Program Grants

Financial assistance of essential services provided by these agencies, such as shelter, 24-hour crisis line, legal services, education of domestic/dating violence, and establishing collaborative relationships with law enforcement, judges, clerks of court, and prosecutors.

EJW-Equal Justice Works

Equal Justice Works, formerly the National Association for Public Interest Law (NAPIL), organizes trains and supports public service-minded law students and works to create summer and postgraduate public interest jobs. Among the organization's initiatives are urging more public interest programming at law schools and addressing obstacles to public interest legal careers such as high levels of educational debt.

EJW ALF - Equal Justice Works AmeriCorps Legal Fellows

AmeriCorps Legal Fellows assist underserved clients in coordination with law student and attorney volunteers. They collaborate with community legal aid providers, colleagues and law schools to ensure quality pro bono opportunities.

IOLTA Clearinghouse

The ABA IOLTA Clearinghouse is a collection of IOLTA related documents and data housed at the ABA offices in Chicago. The data is collected annually from each IOLTA program in the areas of income, grants and banking. The IOLTA Clearinghouse files are organized into the following eight categories: (1) Jurisdictions, (2) Program Administration, (3) Grants, (4) Banking, (5) Federal Regulatory Agencies and Other Associations, (6) Legal Services Corporation Issues, (7) National Association of IOLTA Programs, (8) History, and (9) Law Review Articles.

LAP Grants - Legal Assistance to the Poor Grants

LBF awards grants to non-profit 501(c)(3) entities to provide free direct legal services to indigent clients. These include Legal Service Corporations, Pro Bono Projects, Domestic Violence Programs and Other/Specialized Legal Services qualify for this type of funding.

LBF - Louisiana Bar Foundation

Preserving, honoring, and improving our system of justice by funding, developing or otherwise promoting efforts which enhance the legal profession, increase public understanding of the legal system and advance the reality of equal justice under the law.

LCJC - Louisiana Civil Justice Center

Hotline developed after Hurricane Katrina and Rita to connect our community with the legal information and/or referrals they need. Their number is 1-800-310-7029.

LCLCE - The Louisiana Center for Law & Civic Education

Coordinated, implementes, and developed Law and Civic Education programs, by training others in the delivery of Law and Civic Education and assisting schools and interested community organizations with the delivery of quality Law and Civics Education programs.

LRE Grants - Law Related Education Grants

Law-related education is the teaching of legal rights, responsibilities, and the role of the citizen by bringing together teachers, community leaders, and legal professionals. LBF awards grants to non-profit 501(c)(3) entities for law-related educational programs benefiting children and/or the public.

LRAP - Loan Repayment Assistance Program

Provision of a forgivable loan of up to $5,000 per year to attorneys working at an organization supported by the LBF. The loan is disbursed quarterly and is forgiven after completion of 12 months employment at the legal aid provider. Recipients of this funding are welcome to re-apply annually for assistance.

LSBA - Louisiana State Bar Association

Aids the administration of justice as officers of the court, assists the Supreme Court in the regulation of the practice of law, upholds the honor of the courts and the profession, promotes the professional competence of attorneys, increase public understanding of and respect for the law, and encourage collegiality among its members.

LSC - Legal Service Corporation

LSCs promote equal access to justice in our Nation. They also provide high quality civil legal assistance to low-income persons.

LSC Grants - Legal Service Corporation Grants

LSC promotes equal access to justice by awarding grants to legal services providers through a competitive grants process; conducting compliance reviews and program visits to oversee program quality and compliance with statutory and regulatory requirements as well as restrictions that accompany LSC funding; and by providing training and technical assistance to programs.

MIE - Management Information Exchange

MIE's mission is to spark excellence in leadership, management and fundraising in legal services programs serving low income clients, through training, consulting and publishing activities of the highest quality.

NABE - National Association of Bar Executives

Promotes and supports excellence and professionalism among bar executives through educational programming and activities that support their effective fulfillment of members' job responsibilities.

NAIP - National Association of IOLTA Programs

Enhances legal services for the poor and the administration of justice through the growth and development of IOLTA programs as effective grant-making institutions that provide a major source of funding and support for legal services for the poor, administration of justice, and other law-related public interest programs.

NCBF - National Conference of Bar Foundations

Advancing the work of bar foundations by promoting the integral role of bar foundations in advancing law-related philanthropy to the organized bar, the larger legal community, and the philanthropic community; and serving as a clearinghouse and resource to assist bar foundations in carrying out their charitable missions.

NCBP-National Conference of Bar Presidents

NCBP membership consists of past, current and incoming presidents of national, state, local and specialty bar associations. The organization provides educational programs that provide a forum for the discussion of current legislative and administrative issues affecting bar associations.

NLADA - National Legal Aid and Defender Association

Serves the equal justice community by providing products and services. Also act as a leading national voice in public policy and legislative debates on the many issues affecting the equal justice community.

OLS Grants - Other Direct Legal Services Providers

Through staff attorneys and paralegals, these programs provide legal services of a special nature such as mental health and child advocacy mediation.

PBP Grants - Pro Bono Projects

Often operated by the local bar association, these projects utilize the local private bar to handle cases for the poor pro bono in many legal areas as indicated above.

SCMS - Statewide Case Management System

Designed to automate the intake and referral process as well as the daily case management functions in addition to fund accounting requirements within a legal service's organization. The Louisiana Civil Justice Center and all legal service corporations in the state are currently using CMS

SCLAID - Standing Committee on Legal Aid and Indigent Defendants

Examines issues relating to the delivery of civil legal services to the poor, and criminal defense services to indigent persons accused of crimes.