Community Justice Advocates of Utah is employing a specialized model authorized by the Utah Supreme Court to bridge the state's access to justice gap by training nonlawyers to provide limited-scope legal services. The initiative, operating under the Utah Legal Regulatory Sandbox, empowers frontline staff to assist residents with critical issues including medical debt, housing stability, and domestic violence.
Training Frontline Advocates
The organization's approach focuses on embedding legal knowledge directly into the communities where residents already seek help. By partnering with trusted community organizations, Community Justice Advocates of Utah aims to identify individuals facing civil justice issues who may not realize their problems have legal solutions.
Under this model, frontline staff—such as case managers, victim advocates, and community health workers—receive specialized training. Unlike traditional attorneys, these individuals are trained in narrow areas of law, focusing specifically on substantive law, legal procedure, and legal ethics relevant to their specific service areas. Once trained, these individuals become Community Justice Advocates (CJAs).
The Utah Regulatory Sandbox
The Community Justice Advocates of Utah model is part of a larger regulatory experiment in the state. In 2020, the Utah Supreme Court authorized a regulatory sandbox to allow organizations to test new service models that might otherwise be restricted by traditional legal practice regulations. This sandbox is managed by the Office of Legal Services Innovation (OLSI).
Through this authorization, the organization is permitted to support trained nonlawyers in providing legal services at no cost. To maintain compliance, the program is required to provide data to the OLSI regarding the services provided and any risks clients may encounter. The OLSI maintains the authority to suspend or revoke a program's authorization if a model begins to present risks to clients.
Scope of Legal Services
Current authorized interventions focus on three specific areas identified as having the highest impact on the access to justice gap: medical debt, housing, and domestic violence. These programs are designed to provide limited-scope legal help alongside existing organizational services, increasing the likelihood that a client's issue will be resolved.
While Community Justice Advocates can assist with preparation for hearings and may attend court with a client, they are not permitted to provide in-court representation. This means they cannot argue a case in court. Additionally, CJAs are restricted to their specific areas of training; if a client's legal issue falls outside those narrow scopes, the advocate is trained to identify the issue and provide an appropriate referral to a qualified attorney.
History of Advocate Programs
The use of trained nonlawyers to provide no-cost services is not a new concept in the region. The Timpanogos Legal Center was the first organization in Utah to receive authorization to train and oversee nonlawyers in this manner. This initial success led to the creation of the Certified Advocate Partners Program (CAPP), which is now managed by Community Justice Advocates of Utah.
The first advocates in the CAPP program began offering their services in June 2021, and the program has operated continuously since that time.
National Regulatory Trends
Utah's approach mirrors similar regulatory models implemented in other states. For example, the Arizona Supreme Court issued an Authorization Order in 2020 to allow Innovation for Justice to create the Domestic Violence Legal Advocate (DVLA) program, which began providing services in 2021.
Other states have implemented similar models, including Alaska in 2019, Delaware in 2022, and Hawaii in 2023. The Institute for the Advancement of the American Legal System (IAALS) at the University of Denver tracks these various methods of regulatory reform across the country.
Future Program Development
As the program evolves, Community Justice Advocates of Utah intends to evaluate new areas of intervention based on ongoing feedback from advocates, clients, and the communities they serve. The organization continues to collect and review data on all legal services provided to ensure that clients receive accurate and appropriate legal help.
