Filevine envisions a future where all people have access to the legal services they need. This is Part One of our Voices of Justice Series, highlighting the hardworking organizations that are striving to make the legal system function for all.
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“The justice gap is enormous,” says Staci Duke from her office on Main Street in Salt Lake City. She points to research that shows 92% of landlords in her state bring a lawyer with them to court, while that number is only 4% for their tenants. In civil cases, lawyers are too often a luxury of the rich, effectively foreclosing the possibility of justice for a growing number of people.
But Duke is at the center of a group fighting to change all that. She’s the Executive Director of “and Justice for all” (AJFA), a collaboration of three different legal aid nonprofits based in Utah. In the last year alone, they helped nearly 27,000 people access justice. Sometimes this is simply filling out the right forms to get assistance — and sometimes it’s carrying out a massive class action lawsuit. All three partner agencies provide their services free of charge.
The clients of the three AJFA partner agencies include people with disabilities living in unsafe conditions, agricultural workers suffering wage theft, parents fleeing abusive spouses, and many more individuals who would otherwise have no access to the courts. Some of their legal wins have a systematic impact, improving conditions for many more who will never even enter their building.
In every jurisdiction you’ll find lawyers doing the thankless task of providing legal support to those who couldn’t otherwise afford it. But what makes AJFA unique is its organizational structure. Utah’s top legal aid groups aren’t only serving clients — they’re unlocking new efficiencies, expanding their reach, and providing a model for other legal aid organizations.
The Non-competitive Advantage
Too often, nonprofits are forced to try to outmaneuver each other in a bid for limited charitable donations. Each organization runs its own fundraising arm, peppering potential donors with pleas for money. Each fights separately for federal grants. Each struggles to attract talented professionals from a shallow pool of those who are willing to work for less. It’s a zero sum game: every win is another’s loss.
AJFA has turned that paradigm on its head.
Twenty-five years ago, three legal aid organizations in Utah decided to raise funds and share resources instead. AJFA was founded by three legal aid organizations: Utah Legal Services, Legal Aid Society of Salt Lake, and Disability Law Center. Each has its own area of expertise. But they collaborate on fundraising and operate within the same building, where they share a receptionist.
“This is the only type of this collaboration in the entire nation,” says Adina Zahradnikova, Executive Director of the Disability Law Center. “No other state has a partnership like ours. In other states, there’s a lot of competition between nonprofits.”
The cooperative ethos goes beyond the three stakeholder organizations. Ten percent of all the money the group raises goes toward smaller legal aid organizations that work to close the justice gap, including groups serving Native American and refugee communities.
“We have built a very successful collaboration,” Zahradnikova continues. “It’s based on mutual respect and our understanding of the needs of this community. We know that collectively, we can do more good.”
Fighting Pro Bono Burnout
The cooperative environment has also helped the organization fight burnout and retain talent over time. Duke explained that many lawyers and staff stay at the three partner organizations for the long haul. “Our partner agencies don’t pay as much as law firms,” she said, “but we can make it a nice place to work. People want to be here.”
AJFA fights the risk of burnout with flexible policies and a worker-friendly culture. When COVID-19 forced the partner organizations to operate remotely, they learned that working from home was a boon to many of their workers. “Our agencies have a lot more people working at home or working with a hybrid schedule,” said Duke. “Over time we’ve come to realize it’s a great benefit that we can offer people.”
Virtual meetings had the added benefit of expanding access to their clients. “They started doing online court and online interviews, and a lot of people realized: this is such better access for our clients,” said Duke. “If you have a disability, it’s hard for you to get to our office.”
Science has shown that those with a deep connection to meaningful work are less vulnerable to burnout. But a culture of complete self-sacrifice can take a toll on even the most committed. At the three agencies, dedication to the greater good is coupled with interpersonal care and comradery.
“We’re all good friends. We all give a little,” summarized Duke, who brings her dog to work to help both canine and human office-dwellers feel a little more cheerful.
Join the Movement
To continue helping tens of thousands of clients every year, AJFA must have a broad base of support.
This is good news for those of us who haven’t dedicated our lives to helping society’s most vulnerable. We can still fill a valuable role to help this movement advance. The simplest way is to donate.
Becoming a monthly donor — even of just a modest amount — can help AJFA have the stable funding it needs to continue its good work.
Click Here to Donate to AJFA
Duke noted that donating to AJFA actually saves the community money over time. They estimate that every dollar donated results in a $13-17 return on investment. That savings comes in the form of less reliance on hospitals, the police, and welfare services, and from people not having to miss work.
Donations aren’t the only way to support AJFA. “We need resources to serve people. This is where the rubber meets the road, right?” said Zahradnikova. “But at the same time we need the community to know about our issues.” AJFA’s partners are active during the legislative session to support bills that would help their clients and oppose those that would harm them. Community support is vital in these efforts.
Subscribe to their newsletter to get updates and learn about other ways that AJFA is serving the community. And spread the word about their work in person and on social media: people reach out to AJFA because they’re experiencing injustice or abuse, but they also receive calls from family members of affected individuals and whistle-blowing employees of exploitative companies.
If you’re an attorney you can also directly participate in their work. Reach out about providing pro bono services to support their clinics and casework.
Businesses can get involved too! Recently, Filevine employees embarked on a “Planting Seeds of Justice” volunteer day for AJFA. Emphasizing the “vine” part of our company name, we outfitted the office space with dozens of new houseplants and repotted their existing plants to give them more space to grow. We hope the vibrant, green environment will be calming and inspiring for clients and legal professionals alike as they carry out their good work.
Why Does It Matter?
In our brief time with Staci Duke, she shared a number of stories about their work that have stuck with us.
She described a Utah Legal Services program where advocates go out on dark roads in rural areas to drop off information to agricultural workers about their rights along with a backpack of supplies. In one recent case, the workers didn’t admit to any abuse at first, but over time the advocates won their trust. Eventually the workers revealed that they were being trafficked by their boss, living in horrific conditions with their pay being withheld.
She described a case where the Disability Law Center advocates, who regularly investigate institutions for people with disabilities, found bedbugs and cockroaches, no heat in the winter, and the pervasive smell of backed-up sewage. This led to the state shutting down the facility and moving residents.
She described a Disability Law Center case where a disabled woman was in institutional housing and wasn’t allowed to live the life she yearned for, including working, deciding what to eat, and attending college. They filed and won a case alleging the state’s policies on housing for people who have disabilities and who are on Medicaid violates the Americans with Disabilities Act.
“You never get used to seeing the things that you see,” confessed Duke. But because of the work of the AJFA partners, each one of these situations has resulted in greater freedom, safety, and care for these clients.
“It's about helping a person with a disability live a full life. It's about helping a person who's a domestic violence victim be able to get on with their life. Nobody wants to be held up,” said Duke. “At the end of the day, we’re letting people get on with their lives and be self-sustaining.”
At Filevine, we often talk about the future of the legal industry. But any viable future must take into account the needs of all of us, including the most vulnerable. AJFA is building that future, day by day, case by case, client by client.