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Legal Advocates
Innovation for Justice (i4J), the Arizona Supreme Court, and Arizona Administrative Office of the Courts have partnered to train, certify and empower non-lawyer legal advocates to provide limited-scope legal advice in two practice areas; Housing Stability and Domestic Violence.
Recommended by the 2019 Task Force on the Delivery of Legal Services, this pilot initiative is authorized under Supreme Court Administrative Orders 2024-34 and 2024-35. Today, Arizona has two active community-based justice worker programs: Domestic Violence Legal Advocates (formerly “Licensed Legal Advocates”) and Housing Stability Legal Advocates. For both programs, AZ Supreme Court Rule 31 has been modified to allow legal help from certified justice workers. Clients who receive services from these programs are not charged for those services.
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Housing Stability
Legal Advocates (HSLA)
HSLAs are advocates embedded at community-based organizations who have authorization from the Arizona Supreme Court to give limited-scope legal advice about housing-related civil legal problems to community members experiencing housing instability.
Since 2023, HSLAs have been trained and certified to:
- Provide limited-scope legal advice on commonly experienced housing issues and potential defenses;
- Provide limited-scope legal advice regarding the eviction process and while a tenant is completing eviction-related legal forms;
- Attend court with a tenant, with a seat at the tenants’ table to quietly advise and answer direct questions asked by the court; and
- Provide limited-scope legal advice to tenants with common post-eviction legal issues.
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Domestic Violence
Legal Assistance (DVLA)
DVLAs at community-based organizations are authorized by the Arizona Supreme Court to provide trauma-informed, limited-scope legal advice to domestic violence survivors as Domestic Violence Legal Advocates (DVLAs).
Since 2020, DVLAs have been trained and certified to:
- Provide limited-scope legal advice on urgent legal issues present during the initial intake;
- Provide limited-scope legal advice while a DV survivor is completing legal forms;
- Provide limited-scope legal advice while a survivor is preparing for a mediation or hearing; and
- Attend court with a survivor, with a seat at the survivor’s table to quietly advise the survivor and answer direct questions asked by the court.
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