With the help of Arizona Law Professor Stacy Rupprecht Jane and initiated by Innovation for Justice (i4J), the Arizona Supreme Court has taken a bold step towards addressing the state’s growing justice gap by with a new rule that reimagines how legal services are delivered. The rule makes permanent i4J’s existing community-based justice worker programs in Arizona, addressing critical civil legal needs such as housing stability, debt relief and domestic violence.

Community-based justice workers are a nationally emergent category of legal professionals trained to deliver free limited-scope legal help to the communities they already serve as front line staff or volunteers. These professionals, while not lawyers, are authorized to provide limited legal advice and assistance after completing rigorous training and certification. By leveraging the skills of trusted community members, this model reduces longstanding barriers to justice. i4J designed and launched the first community-based justice worker program in the U.S. in 2020 in partnership with the Arizona Supreme Court.

Prof. Jane, a member of the Arizona Supreme Court’s Access to Justice Commission, and Professor of Practice Antonio Coronado, have been instrumental in shaping the proposed rule. i4J is uniquely positioned to support this initiative, offering the nation’s only law-school based curriculum designed to train community-based justice workers.

“We are thrilled about this next step in our longstanding partnership with the Arizona Supreme Court to advance access to justice through community-based justice work,” commented Prof. Jane.

“The first community-based justice workers in the U.S. were here in Arizona, when the Court authorized our Licensed Legal Advocates to assist domestic violence survivors in June 2020. The success of this small pilot program led to both its statewide expansion in 2023, renamed Domestic Violence Legal Advocates, and the authorization of the Housing Stability Legal Advocate pilot program the same year. To date, these programs’ consequential financial impacts to the community, including community-based justice workers’ free civil legal services, savings in community support costs, reductions in community medical care expenses, additional community income and taxation revenues from benefit programs, and savings in housing and support costs, total in the many millions.”

There are over 120 million forcibly displaced people worldwide, 43.4 million of whom the United Nations considers to be “refugees.” Climate change is also a major contributor to the problem. At the same time, anti-immigrant sentiment and immigration restrictionism are on the rise. Can existing legal frameworks withstand these growing pressures and political shifts?

On April 7, Associate Professor Leah Ndimurwimo of Nelson Mandela University, a visiting Fulbright Research Scholar at Arizona Law, will address this question as part of the Bacon Immigration Law & Policy Program Speaker Series. The discussion will focus on developments in South Africa, Tanzania and Malawi. Professor Lynn Marcus will moderate and provide information on similar issues and trends in the United States.

When: Monday, April 7, 2025, 12:00-1:15 p.m. (MST)

Where: The University of Arizona James E. Rogers College of Law, Room 164, 1201 E. Speedway, or via Zoom

Who may attend: This event is free and open to the public. Lunch will be provided. Please register to attend in-person by noon on Thursday, April 3, 2025.

Innovation at the University of Arizona happens in the College of Law and beyond. We were pleased to learn recently that the university is now ranked No. 31 in the world on the National Academy of Inventors’ list of the Top 100 Worldwide Universities Granted Utility Patents for 2024. This represents a significant leap from last year’s 51st position, highlighting the university’s accelerating innovation ecosystem.

The university was issued 96 U.S. patents in 2024 for inventions developed by faculty, researchers, staff and students – a 57% increase from the 61 patents received in 2023.