NJP: Celebrating 30 Years
We interviewed Pat “Mac” McIntyre, NJP’s founding Executive Director to reflect on NJP’s first 30 years. NJP has provided free legal information and services in low-income communities, protecting housing, income, safety, and stability for millions.
Beyond Merit: What Right To Counsel Reveals About Case Selection
Any operation where demand far outstrips supply must make difficult choices. A business will increase their prices or scale up to meet demand. Legal aid has the same problem: no shortage of poor people in need of legal services and a very static level of the supply of providers of those services," Scott Crain writes. Legal aid works around this problem by deciding who gets representation based on "merit" — essentially whether a case is likely to be won — but this harms vulnerable clients, lets opposing attorneys take advantage of unrepresented people, and allows entire areas of law to erode.
Opinion: If funds for legal aid in WA are cut, victims pay the price
By Mary Welch, Annalise Martucci and Riddhi Mukhopadhyay
This Opinion was first published in The Seattle Times
It happens nearly every day across Washington: A spouse or partner is attacked, then in seeking protection, is left with a growing list of unanswered questions. What will be needed for court? How can they keep their kids safe? Can they break their lease? At $300 an hour, a lawyer is unaffordable. Should they just return to the abuser?
This is one of thousands of experiences for survivors across the state. For many, the most urgent need is free legal advice and representation. Low-income victims of crime rely on civil legal aid to secure safety, stability and a path forward. Whether this will continue to be available is a question before the Legislature. Lawmakers must decide whether to fund $21.38 million to maintain basic Crime Victim Services or slash funding by half.
Read more.
Opinion: How cuts to Legal Services Corporation would hurt access to justice in Washington
An opinion piece by Washington State Supreme Court Justice Salvador A. Mungia; Bill Pickett, co-chair of the Washington Equal Justice Coalition; and Ronald Flagg, president of the Legal Services Corporation argues against a proposal in Congress to defund the Legal Services Corporation (LSC) in the 2026 appropriations bill. The authors highlight the impact in Washington […]
Northwest Justice Project Names Abigail Daquiz as New Executive Director
The Northwest Justice Project (NJP) Board of Directors has selected Abigail Daquiz as the organization’s new Executive Director, effective today.
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Meet Award-Winning NJP Attorney Coco Avery Holbrook
Coco won the 2024 Public Service & Leadership Award from the Washington Young Lawyers Committee of the Washington Bar Association. An interview revealed the passion, smarts, and personality Coco brings to her role as assistant managing attorney for Northwest Justice Project's Wenatchee field office. Why did you decide to work with NJP in rural Washington? […]
Justice in Action and Beyond – Reflections on 17+ years at Northwest Justice Project
As I prepare to retire as Executive Director of Northwest Justice Project (NJP) at the end of this month, I have been reflecting on the incredible privilege it has been for me to serve in this role, and on where NJP is today. In that regard, I am thrilled that Director of Advocacy Abigail Daquiz and Deputy Director/General Counsel Hickory Gateless – two senior members of our outstanding leadership team – will serve as interim co-executive directors during the transition to NJP’s next executive director.
Kathleen and Aaron Allen: Tenant victory with statewide impact
Most evictions in Washington State never go to court. They are resolved through settlements between landlords and tenants. After Kathleen and Aaron Allen, mother and daughter, were threatened with eviction, they agreed to a settlement with their landlord, Princeton Property Management.
Press Release: Washington Appeals Court: Eviction Settlements that Strip Tenants’ Rights Are Void
SEATTLE, WA – April 5, 2024 – The Elves for the Homeless and four unhoused individuals residing in Clarkston, Washington, filed a lawsuit today challenging the city of Clarkston's Ordinance 1706 as unconstitutional and in violation of the American with Disabilities Act.
Justice in Action: Protecting civil rights for people with limited English proficiency
Danica's* ordeal began in the summer of 2021, when she called 911 to report that her ex-boyfriend and father of her infant had shown up at her residence in violation of a Temporary Order for Protection. Until that moment, she had thought he did not know where she lived.