At their meeting on November 5, 2004, the 145-member State Bar of Georgia Board of Governors adopted a resolution to urge the Supreme Court of Georgia to create an Equal Justice Commisssion to support the civil legal aid community in Georgia. There were no dissenting votes.

The proposal was developed by the Bar's Access to Justice (ATJ) Committee. The ATJ Committee began a planning process for civil legal services in 2001 that resulted in the creation of "Action Groups" which were charged with developing recommendations to improve resources, technology, client access, pro se efforts and outreach. The proposal and resolution for a court-based Equal Justice Commission is the result of two-years' worth of work involving over 70 advocates, bar leaders and community representatives.

The planning process also resulted in the creation of a group called "Justice Builders" whose role has been to network and build consensus around issues involving the improvement of civil legal services and pro bono.

The Resolution will be reviewed by the Supreme Court in early January. For more information, contact Mike Monahan, mike@gabar.org.