| Oregon State Bar Bulletin — DECEMBER 2010 |
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In Oregon, the three largest sources of legal services funding are court filing fees (36 percent), the federal Legal Services Corp. (26 percent) and income from interest on lawyers trust accounts (10 percent). Income from filing fees has been a stable source of funding since the mid 1970s, and has formed a base on which programs have successfully obtained other grants.
The Board of Governors has identified access to justice to be among its highest priorities in the 2011 legislative session, and a critical component is maintaining state funding for legal services at current levels.
In its review of the court filing fee structure, the legislature will consider a number of changes to the filing fee structure including dedicated filing fees that support legal services. Change is inevitable, however, and maintaining current levels of state funding for legal services will be a continuing challenge, especially in light of the current fiscal crisis in Oregon.
— Susan Grabe, Director of OSB Public Affairs