Each year on May 1, we observe Law Day—a national moment to reflect on the role of law in our daily lives and in the life of our democracy. The 2026 theme, “The Rule of Law and the American Dream,” invites us to consider how legal structures shape opportunity, stability, and fairness.
Read moreCelebrating National Pro Bono Week: Supporting Communities and Bridging the Justice Gap
Every October, legal professionals across the United States come together to celebrate National Pro Bono Week, a time to honor the extraordinary contributions of volunteer attorneys and to encourage continued engagement in pro bono service. Organized by the American Bar Association, this year’s celebration runs from October 19–25, 2025, uniting lawyers, advocates, and community partners nationwide under the shared mission of expanding access to justice through free legal assistance.
Read moreGeography and the Law: Identifying Legal Deserts with GIS Mapping Tools
In 2016, during Geography Awareness Week, Ex Libris Juris featured a brief discussion of GIS mapping technology and its applications for understanding Access to Justice (A2J). In the years since, opportunities for GIS data analysis in the A2J community have only grown. Today, November 20, is GIS Day, the perfect time to highlight additional uses of GIS software for analysis of datasets relevant to law. An assortment of GIS applications for legal contexts are mentioned in the list below, alongside two additional short compilations—a sampling of StoryMaps and a beginner’s collection of mapping tools for your own GIS projects.
Read moreABA Profile of the Legal Profession: A Closer Look at Civil Legal Aid
On November 30, 2023, the American Bar Association released its fifth annual Profile of the Legal Profession. This free report, a 140-page compilation of statistics and trends about lawyers, judges, and law students, includes sections on demographics, wages, law schools, judges, pro bono work, women in the profession, legal technology, lawyer well-being, and lawyer discipline. One additional chapter — a review of civil legal aid in the United States — is the feature we wish to explore in today’s blog post.
Read moreEmpowering Access to Justice through Technology
The Harris County Robert W. Hainsworth Law Library in partnership with the Texas Legal Services Center is excited to announce the opening of the Texas Legal Services Center Kiosk at the library. The kiosk, a cornerstone of the Virtual Court Access Project, represents a significant leap toward a more accessible and equitable justice system.
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