Background: The Office of Civil Legal Aid (OCLA) is an independent judicial branch agency established by the Legislature in 2005 to administer and oversee state funds appropriated by the Legislature for the provision of civil legal aid services to eligible low-income people in Washington.
The OCLA is prohibited from providing direct representation of clients. Instead, moneys appropriated by the Legislature for civil representation are to be used solely for the purposes of contracting with qualified legal aid programs for legal representation of indigent persons in matters relating to:
- domestic relations and family law matters;
- governmental assistance and services;
- health care;
- housing and utilities;
- mortgage foreclosures;
- consumer, financial services, credit, and bankruptcy;
- employment;
- rights of residents of long-term care facilities;
- wills, estates, and living wills;
- elder abuse;
- guardianship;
- disability rights;
- education, including special education;
- administrative agency decisions; and
- discrimination prohibited by local, state, or federal law.
Moneys distributed to qualified legal aid programs by the OCLA may not be used directly or indirectly for:
- lobbying or grass roots lobbying;
- class action lawsuits;
- participating in or identifying the program with prohibited political activities, such as any activity directed toward the success or failure of a political party, candidate, or ballot measure, or voter registration or transportation activities;
- representation in fee-generating cases;
- organizing any association, union, or federation, or representing a labor union;
- representation of individuals who are in the United States without legal authority;
- picketing, demonstrations, strikes, or boycotts;
- engaging in inappropriate solicitation; or
- conducting training programs that: advocate particular public policies; encourage or facilitate political activities, labor or antilabor activities, boycotts, picketing, strikes or demonstrations; or attempt to influence legislation or rulemaking.
Moneys appropriated for civil legal representation may not be used for legal representation that is either expressly prohibited or beyond the scope of what is permitted.