As COVID-19 patients begin to fill the beds of hospitals, Connecticut’s courts—like most professions in the state—have gone silent. But a legal storm is brewing in the distance that has the potential to devastate the legal aid community and the low-income clients they serve. The impending disaster threatens funding for legal aid just as cases are poised to spike. As the private bar mobilizes to lend a hand during this medical emergency, there are steps private attorneys can take now to avoid legal calamity for Connecticut’s most vulnerable citizens.

The first threat to Connecticut’s legal aid programs comes in the form of funding. The vast majority of legal aid funding in the state flows through the Connecticut Bar Foundation. The CBF provides funding through three different mechanisms—funds from interest on lawyer’s trust (IOLTA) accounts, funds generated from court fees and funds granted through the judicial branch. While the judicial branch grants remain unchanged, IOLTA revenues will decline significantly because bank interest rates have plunged to a fraction of what they were last year. The unprecedented court closure may also result in a significant drop to court-fee revenues, the largest source of legal aid funding in Connecticut. These funding decreases would hit the legal aid community starting in May and could continue until the courts return to their regular operations.

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