ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The State Bar of California gratefully acknowledges the many individuals and organizations that contributed to the development of this report. Their expertise, dedication, and collaboration made this work possible.

To ensure the NORC survey on Californians’ civil legal needs reflected the experiences of legal service providers, the State Bar undertook extensive stakeholder engagement in partnership with the California Access to Justice Commission (CalATJ). In summer 2023, focus groups were held with the Consumer Attorneys of California (CAOC), the California Employment Lawyers Association (CELA), and State Bar-funded legal aid organizations to gather feedback on the 2019 Justice Gap Study. Solo practitioners and small-firm attorneys who participated in a separate State Bar survey were invited to a ThoughtExchange exercise to share what they believed Californians should be asked in a statewide survey. Legal aid organizations receiving State Bar funding were invited to a similar exercise. This input helped refine survey questions, identify new areas of inquiry, and strengthen the relevance and impact of the 2024 study. Preliminary survey results were shared with CAOC and CELA, leading to identification of a gap in the list of civil legal problems asked about in the survey (personal injury issues). This gap was addressed in a 2025 follow-up survey that also included two new consumer-related problems. The NORC survey was enriched by the thoughtful feedback and shared commitment to access to justice demonstrated by these stakeholders, whose contributions helped ensure the study was grounded in the realities of those working on the front lines of California’s civil legal system.

The State Bar also acknowledges the contributions of the following organizations and individuals whose support strengthened this report: Cheryl Zalenski of the Center for Pro Bono at the American Bar Association for sharing raw data from its 2023 national pro bono survey, enabling analysis of California attorney responses; Maureen Mahoney and staff at the California Privacy and Protection Agency for reviewing language for the newly added survey item regarding compromised personal information; Tara Lynn Gray and Sara Curtis of CalOSBA for reviewing, distributing, and promoting the small business owner survey; Natalie Oleas and Magdalena Kochanski of the Contra Costa Family Justice Center, Natalia “Natasha” Ventsko of Bay Area Legal Incubator, Maria Hall of Los Angeles Incubator Consortium, Matthew Lab of the Access to Law Initiative, and Jordana Furman of Orange County Legal Consortium for participating in interviews and sharing data about their programs.

Additional thanks are extended to Hellen Hong of CalBar Affinity, Inc. and California Lawyers Association for supporting efforts to engage solo and small-firm attorneys; and leaders at the CalATJ for their valuable feedback on NORC’s report. The research also benefited from the expertise and feedback of the following State Bar staff: Bridget Gramme, Donna Herskhowitz, Doan Nguyen, Leah Wilson, and Yun Xiang.

State Bar staff who contributed to the 2024 California Justice Gap Study are (in alphabetical order) Carolina Almarante, Christal Bundang, Erica Carroll, Lisa Chavez, Tzipporah Dang, Jason Draper, Lissette Garcia, Elizabeth Hom, Jorge Mata-Ochoa, Debbie Mayer, Angela O’Hara, and Josiah Sweeting.