By Bridget Gernander
Effective July 1, 2025, the State Board of Civil Legal Aid will become a stand-alone agency in the Judicial Branch, joining the State Board of Public Defense as another important access-to-justice institution for Minnesotans unable to afford private counsel.
For the past four decades, the Minnesota Supreme Court has supervised legislative funds passed through the Judicial Branch to civil legal aid organizations. This work has been done through appointing members to the Legal Services Advisory Committee to review and award grant funding. In the 2024 session, the Legislature amended Minnesota Statures 480.24 et seq to create the State Board of Civil Legal Aid, an independent Judicial Branch agency that will manage the civil legal services general fund appropriation going forward. This new board is charged with ensuring access to high-quality civil legal services in every Minnesota county and carrying out the following duties:
(1) approving and recommending to the Legislature a budget for the board and the civil legal services grants distributed subject to section 480.242;
(2) establishing procedures for distribution of funding under section 480.242; and
(3) establishing civil program standards, administrative policies, or procedures necessary to ensure quality advocacy for persons unable to afford private counsel. Minn. Stat. §480.2415, subd.2(b) (2024).
This is an exciting new chapter for civil legal aid in Minnesota. In creating a stand-alone agency focused on civil access to justice, the Legislature is recognizing the importance of this work and creating an accountability structure for funding the services provided.
In 2023, civil legal aid grantees provided legal representation and advice to 47,708 households consisting of more than 114,593 people throughout all 87 Minnesota counties. Their case priorities included preserving housing stability and preventing homelessness due to improper eviction or foreclosure; helping victims of domestic violence achieve safety; maximizing the ability of people who are elderly or have disabilities to live safely and independently in their community; ensuring that Minnesotans have health care and financial security; and protecting people from financial exploitation. Additionally, more than 600,000 people received education and self-help services. (That figure includes unique visitors to the www.LawHelpMN.org website.) When the State Board of Civil Legal Aid opens next year, the base budget projection to support these services will be $34,167,000.
The Board of Civil Legal Aid will have 11 members, five appointed by the governor and six appointed by the Supreme Court. In the words of the statute, “All candidates shall have demonstrated a commitment in maintaining high-quality civil legal services to people of low or moderate means. The appointing entities shall seek board members who reflect the diverse populations served by civil legal aid through attorney and nonattorney members.”1 Retired judges can be members, but active judges and anyone “closely affiliated” with a grant applicant are not eligible. (Close affiliation would include anyone who is currently a staff or board member of a grantee organization.)
Applications to serve on the State Board of Civil Legal Aid are open now through December 2024 on the Secretary of State’s Boards and Commissions website.2 Members will be appointed next spring prior to the board’s July 1 launch. If you have experience with civil legal aid, including as a pro bono attorney, former service provider, or board member, please consider applying for the State Board of Civil Legal Aid. The members of this inaugural board will lay the foundation for civil access to justice in Minnesota for years to come.
Notes
1 Minn. Stat. §480.2415, subd.1 (2024)
2 https://commissionsandappointments.sos.state.mn.us/Agency/Details/370
Bridget Gernander is the legal services grants manager for the Minnesota Judicial Branch, focusing on statewide access to justice funding and policy.