GLSP Executive Director Phyllis Holmen was appointed to the American Bar Association's Presidential Task Force on Access to Civil Justice.

The ABA Task Force will study and make recommendations concerning (1) the hallmarks of an ideal civil access to justice system; (2) promoting expansion of state access to justice networks; and (3) a civil right to counsel.

The task force is chaired by Howard H. Dana Jr., associate justice of the Maine Supreme Judicial Court and a former member of the board of directors of the Legal Services Corp. The task force members include highly respected and dedicated lawyers and judges from throughout America.

ABA President Michael Greco has asked the task force to help support and expand the network of state Access to Justice commissions that the ABA helped inaugurate several years ago. These commissions, which are in place or planned in 25 states, are helping to build the capacity of state and local legal services programs, expand pro bono efforts, make the courts more accessible to self-represented litigants, and improve cooperation among entities that serve the legal needs of the poor. And these commissions are showing very encouraging results.