June 19, 2019 – “The rule of law paves the way for prosperity, and American corporations have a major stake in keeping the country’s promise of equal justice under law,” writes Amazon’s top lawyer, David Zapolsky, in a June 18 op‑ed spotlighting our country’s access to civil justice crisis.
“Pro bono legal assistance is one piece of a patchwork of solutions to the current crisis,” he writes, but stresses that “there simply aren’t enough corporate lawyers to solve this crisis on a pro bono basis.”
He notes the strong business case for increasing funding for legal aid programs: “Investing in the expansion of civil justice yields a real return on investment.” He points out that studies in Alabama and Florida found that every dollar spent on civil legal aid produced $7 and $11.95, respectively, in economic benefits.
“Every American, regardless of economic status or zip code, deserves access to legal help,” he concludes, noting that the private sector must be a partner in efforts “to fix the broken civil justice system and ensure justice for all.”