Open Legal Services

Our primary program is low cost legal services. This program served approximately 832 clients/cases in 2017. These clients are those who have very limited resources, but who cannot use the services of a pro bono legal aid organization (or public defender) due to conflict, jurisdictional issues, urgency, immigration status, income restrictions, area of practice, or a number of other disqualifying factors. We accept these clients and provide services on a sliding scale. These clients would likely have been forced to represent themselves, or to forgo their legal options. The average billable rate per hour for our clients in 2017 was approximately $77 per hour, well below the average market rate in Utah.

Our smallest program is educational in nature, specifically public speaking and publication about access to justice and the need for legal services which the lower and middle classes can afford. In this program, we offer consultations to potential nonprofits in other states, and speak to state bars and universities about the work that we do and the type of organization that we have created. This brings awareness to our mission, while offering a viable option for other states to provide the same kinds of services to their own working poor. Our education program made up roughly 6.5% of our costs, largely because most expenses are reimbursed by stakeholders. Our education program serves to train attorneys and administrators all over the country on innovation and our nonprofit law firm model.