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President Dwight D. Eisenhower, in 1958, designated May 1 as Law Day, calling on all Americans to “vigilantly guard the great heritage of liberty, justice and equality under law which our forefathers bequeathed to us.”

Law Day has been observed on May 1 every year since. This year’s theme, The Rule of Law and the American Dream, is an opportunity to reflect on the importance of the rule of law in our country’s history and in the lives of Americans today.

This theme comes as we are about to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the founding of our great country. It falls upon all of us to do better in ensuring that our justice system is accessible to all, irrespective of economic means.

Equal access to justice has defined America from its beginning. As Thomas Jefferson wrote, “the most sacred duties government [is] to do equal and impartial justice to all its citizens.” That very duty is inscribed in the preamble of our Constitution: “We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice [. . .].”

Equal justice is essential to the rule of law, which Congress recognized in 1974 when it established the ��è��Ƶ, declaring, “there is a need to provide equal access to the system of justice in our Nation for individuals who seek redress of grievances,” and that “providing legal assistance to those who face an economic barrier to adequate legal counsel will serve best the ends of justice and assist in improving opportunities for low-income persons.”

The 129 nonprofit legal services organizations that ��è��Ƶ supports across the country are committed to this ideal: that justice should be accessible for those without the means to pay for it. By improving Americans’ ability to defend their rights in civil actions where their home, family, job, finances or safety are at risk, the civil legal services provided by ��è��Ƶ’s grantees promote quality of life and create opportunities for American families to build prosperous futures.

These organizations work tirelessly to improve the orderly functioning of their communities by increasing access to legal assistance, which not only upholds our values, but also provides significant economic benefits across our nation. Every dollar spent on legal aid generates an average of seven dollars of economic returns. Together, ��è��Ƶ’s network of grantees works tirelessly to try to meet the standard of justice idealized 250 years ago at the founding of our Nation, but that work will never be over.

Unfortunately, we know that justice is still not within reach for far too many Americans despite the determined efforts of ��è��Ƶ’s grantees. ��è��Ƶ’s most recent found that low-income Americans do not receive any or enough legal help for 92% of their substantial civil legal problems. ��è��Ƶ grantees are still unable to serve half of the eligible clients who seek assistance due to resource constraints.

Last month at an ��è��Ƶ event, former Texas Chief Justice Nathan Hecht observed that being a civil court judge today is like trying to umpire a baseball game “where one or both teams don't have a bat.” According to the National Center for State Courts, roughly three-quarters of all civil cases involve at least one side without a lawyer. Our civil justice system cannot function to its fullest when so many are left without any legal help.

On this Law Day, as we reflect on the ideals of the United States of America and the rule of law, let us recommit ourselves to supporting the accessibility of the justice system and help our country keep its pledge of “liberty and justice for all."