The South Carolina Access to Justice Commission and the Center for Housing and Community Studies of the University of North Carolina Greensboro, together with their partners the South Carolina Bar and the NMRS Center on Professionalism at the University of South Carolina School of Law, came together in 2021 to launch this ambitious first-ever statewide civil legal needs assessment. A legal needs assessment is a rigorous study using a combination of qualitative, quantitative, and secondary data to evaluate the unmet civil legal needs of low-income individuals and families in South Carolina. The study team set out to learn about the life experiences of low- and moderate-income South Carolinians, the legal problems they encounter, and the gaps between their legal needs and the legal resources available to them.

 South Carolina  is relatively densely populated for it's size as the 10th smallest state in the US. It is the twenty-third largest of the U.S. states and territories by population, with 5,282,634 residents in 2022. While 26 of 46 counties experienced population increases in 2021, a large portion from in-migration, many of the rural counties had population declines.

The resident population is aging, with an increasing percentage of seniors age 65 years or older. While the population is predominantly white, it is also increasingly diverse. There is a growing percentage of residents identifying as two or more races, some other race, or being of Hispanic/Latinx ethnicity. Similarly there is an increasing percentage of foreign born residents.

The median household income in 2022 was estimated at $58,234 annually. Approximately 14.6% of the population is living in poverty and 1 out of 5 households have an annual income of less than $25,000. About a third of the population rents their home and 1 out of 3 renters is cost-burdened by their rent, meaning they spend 30% or more of their income on housing and utilities. About 6% of households do not have access to a vehicle, though it varies from county to county, ranging from 3% to 19% of all households.

Many of the populations served by legal aid agencies in South Carolina are considered "socially vulnerable". Social Vulnerability references the potential negative effects on communities caused by external stresses to human wellbeing.

 ^{The maps above are interactive! Zoom in/out or click on counties for additional details about the social vulnerability information being displayed.} 

The need for civil legal aid is great and, while South Carolina legal aid providers are doing a lot with the resources they have, there are not nearly enough services to go around. When surveyed, a third of residents report problems with housing, child support, or child custody and 82% indicated that they had a legal problem they needed help solving over the past five years.

South Carolina Court Administration provided civil case data for 31 case types pertaining to family law, housing related issues, debt collection, elder law, domestic violence, and estates for the years 2016-2021 ( see additional details about the data request here ).

In South Carolina, counties with larger populations also have larger civil court caseloads. The counties with the highest per capita case rates also also tend to be the counties with with the lowest median household income, highest unemployment rates, and proportionally large Black populations (in particular Dillon, Florence, Marion, Sumter, Cherokee, Orangeburg, Colleton, Richland, Greenwood, and Union counties). As seen in the map below, poverty and case rates per population coincide.

Six key nonprofit and free legal aid firms in South Carolina (South Carolina Legal Services, Charleston Legal Access, Charleston Pro Bono, Lowcountry Legal Volunteers, One80 Place, and Root & Rebound) responded to a request for data from their intakes and caseloads. The agencies provide service in these areas, whether full representation, advice and counsel, or limited service across the following areas: Consumer, Education, Employment, Family, Housing, Income Maintenance, Individual Rights, Advance Directives, Juvenile, Health, Immigration, Identification, and "other".

Among these six agencies, there were only 140 full-time staff, including 66.5 attorneys, completing over 18,700 intakes and providing 13,715 clients with various types of assistance in 2021. Approximately three-quarters of the intakes were income-eligible and met other intake criteria resulting in a ratio of one attorney per 205 clients served. A larger proportion of legal aid users identified as female and/or Black than the general population. When asked, practitioners identified housing and family law as the most underserved practice areas.

Housing and Family Law were the two largest categories of civil legal problems encountered among those in need. Eviction forms the biggest part of the housing caseload, and that has only grown since the pandemic, though there were threats of rising homelessness before. The SC court data revealed there are more eviction related cases than any other civil legal case type in South Carolina, with an average annual rate of 20.8 cases per 1,000 population across the 46 counties. Eviction rates are highest where the percentage of renter households are highest and housing vacancy is lowest.

By comparison, other top issues included divorce and separation cases with an average annual rate of 4.4 cases per 1,000 population, debt collection with a rate of 3.4, and child support cases with a rate of 2.8. Family relationship issues can give rise to many legal problems including divorce, abuse and neglect of children, custody disputes, responsibility for child support, and domestic violence.

Further complicating the shortage of legal aid services, the gap between legal needs and resources differs across the state. Some rural areas simply don’t have many attorneys, whether in legal aid or in private offices, and there are disparities in pro bono resources and other kinds of financial and social resources.

Among private attorneys, two-thirds practice in Charleston, Greenville or Richland Counties. Many rural counties have fewer than ten private practitioners and some have fewer than five. Charleston County has four legal aid providers compared to one—or none—in other counties.

According to data provided by the SC courts, 70% of civil cases have no attorney representation for either party. There are many barriers to accessing legal help that may leave someone with no alternative but to represent themselves. Cost is a significant barrier for people seeking legal assistance, but it's not the only one. There is also a widespread lack of understanding about civil legal issues and a lack of information about where to find help.

In the precarious lives of the poor, even a minor event can set off a chain reaction. A looming eviction or other legal problem can be merely a symptom of a deeper crisis having to do with employment, health, or family instability. This makes legal aid practice very different in nature from other kinds of law practice. Some of these are legal problems and some are just problems of poverty, but it’s difficult to address one without somehow addressing all of them. The result is that survival becomes the priority rather than obtaining legal help.

People living in poverty are often hesitant to ask for help due to cost, not realizing there might be no cost or because they believe if the lawyer doesn’t charge anything, they must not be any good. Filing fees, which in most cases clients must pay regardless of income eligibility for pro bono services, also create barriers to justice. Financial limitations and concerns about cost was consistently identified as the top barrier to legal aid.

About 70% of community survey respondents sought help from a lawyer for a legal problem. Among those who sought free legal help, two-thirds succeeded and half said they had no difficulties. One in five said there was no free legal help available while others found the service types and intake process to be limiting. For those who sought help from a lawyer, many said cost was an obstacle and only 43% were able to pay the lawyer from their own funds. Among those who did not seek help from a lawyer, 50% cited concern about cost.

While three-quarters of intakes meet poverty level household income requirements for legal aid, those who are working may not qualify for help. These individuals often fall in the "gap" of services where they are not eligible for legal aid but cannot afford to retain a private attorney.

Fear and mistrust of both lawyers and the legal system as well as past negative experiences prevent some from seeking help. Problems of alienation and distrust are even more pronounced in communities of color, where a history of discrimination and violence make it harder to earn back trust.

A large majority (87%) of respondents also believe that the legal system treats some people better than others depending on income or social status. Interview subjects and focus group participants indicated that how people are treated when they represent themselves in court may depend on the individual judge or the type of court they appear in.

Among community survey respondents, other reasons people don’t seek legal help include: not knowing they had a legal problem or that a lawyer might help (34%), not knowing where to look for help (15%), and not knowing help was even available (17%). Inability to take time off from work to see the lawyer or to attend court hearings is another. And for low-income, rural, or elderly people, or people with disabilities, transportation is a barrier.

While the court data revealed that neither party has a lawyer in the majority of civil cases, having attorney representation reportedly had an impact on the outcome of the case. Of those who had experienced a civil legal problem in the last 5 years and were unable to obtain an attorney, 59% said the issue was still ongoing, 20% said they handled it themselves, 12% sought help of a friend or relative, and 6% said they acquiesced to the opposing party's demands.

Opinions about free legal aid are broadly supportive among those surveyed. Almost all (99%) strongly agreed or agreed that everyone deserves to be represented by a lawyer and 78% felt that free lawyers are as skillful as paid lawyers.

Clients described their experiences with their lawyers as "life-changing," and said they felt heard for the first time. They also agreed or strongly agreed that they were treated fairly (77%), that their concerns were taken seriously (76%), that their lawyers did a good job (75%), that they were satisfied with the outcome of their cases (71%), and that they now have trust in the legal system (71%).

Support for expanded legal aid is widespread in South Carolina. While some of the nonprofit agencies interviewed reported having adequate resources, others felt they had been "stretched to capacity" with their physical space and most felt additional staff were needed. Only 25% of practitioners surveyed agreed or strongly agreed that legal aid is widely available.

Many of the key informants and focus group participants pointed out the obvious solution to closing the justice gap is more funding to increase capacities. Additional funding for more staff would enable existing agencies to increase the number of people they serve. However, Legal Aid attorneys described grant seeking efforts as fiercely competitive due to the scarcity of resources.

Among lawyers surveyed, an overwhelming majority (92%) would support legislative funding and 75% agreed or strongly agreed that governments should do more to ensure universal access to justice and that representation is vital in civil dispute resolution. Further, 73% of residents surveyed would be willing to pay more in taxes to support more free legal aid to ensure there was more capacity.

Again, issues of family law and eviction stood out as primary areas where focus group participants and attorneys alike supported right-to-counsel approaches. 78% of lawyers would support right to counsel in eviction cases and 57% of lawyers would support limited license practitioners that would be authorized to represent clients in certain limited cases. Immigration assistance was also highlighted as an area of need that would benefit from additional funding.

There is a consensus among lawyers interviewed that attorneys don't provide enough pro bono work and that South Carolina lags behind other states in this area. Only 38% of lawyers surveyed provide free or low-cost services to low and moderate income people, primarily in the areas of wills & estates and family law. While there are several possible explanations for the shortage of pro bono services, among lawyers responding to the practitioner survey, 81% said legal education credit and 69% said tax incentives would prompt private lawyers to do more. 40% said amending Limited Scope Rules would make a difference in bridging the gap. Still others point to the SCLS Private Attorney Involvement program which offers low bono legal aid as a potential source of relief.

Clients in crisis or facing various barriers may be working across multiple systems and lawyers are increasingly relying on nonlawyers for assistance in closing the justice gap. Focus group participants raised the idea of utilizing students in law schools to do more work. Paralegals already have some authority to represent clients in limited circumstances (such as with public benefits cases). Skilled social workers or victim advocates also provide a wealth of knowledge about the court proceedings and needed services available to victims.

Most lawyers interviewed, however, expressed discomfort with expanding these roles and the strict staying within the lines of unauthorized practice are deeply embedded in the paralegal culture. While 57% of South Carolina lawyers surveyed support allowing paralegals handling some legal matters without attorney supervision, other lawyers said limited resources should go to hire more lawyers.

The legal system is too complicated for the lay person, yet so many people do it alone because there aren’t nearly enough legal aid lawyers to go around.

Courthouse self-help desks and kiosks aren’t widely used in South Carolina, but some lawyers support the idea. Including information about where to go if you want a lawyer, legal forms, case-type specific information packets (such as uncontested divorce), and pamphlets about rights were some of the suggested resources that would benefit those without representation. The need for this information to be available in English and Spanish was also raised.

Some case types are distinctly not appropriate for pro se proceedings, such as disability cases. However others would be ideal for pro se judges with special training whose docket consists of unrepresented litigants to reduce courthouse frustrations, such as orders of protection from domestic violence and uncontested divorce.

In the practitioner survey, above 90% of respondents agreed or strongly agreed that many South Carolinians don’t know how to find legal assistance for civil matters and that free or low-cost legal aid is needed to help achieve a goal of equal representation and equity in the justice system. One way of connecting the community to free resources is through education and outreach efforts. Word-of-mouth is an important method of education and outreach as well as communication that is sensitive to different ethnic backgrounds and various levels of comprehension.

44% of legal aid lawyers indicated offering "ask-a-lawyer" sessions are an efficient and cost-effective method for providing assistance to people who are otherwise on their own. Clinics are popular among community members, especially in practice areas such as wills, expungement of criminal records, immigration, and divorce. “I do see ‘em pop up,” said one focus group participant, but, “I don't think they pop up as often as the community needs them.”

In recognition of the need to expand access to civil legal representation for people of low income and modest means, below are several concrete things you can do today to help make access to justice a reality for all South Carolinians.

One of the most impactful things you can do to help bridge the justice gap is to tell someone about the issues who didn’t know about them before. Send them to the  Civil Legal Needs Assessment  and  Justice Gap  reports. Start a discussion with your community groups. Talk to your local leaders about the need for civil legal aid.

Data collected for this project has been made accessible to explore on a local and regional level in the South Carolina Civil Legal Needs Dashboard. Data includes metrics from the Census, American Community Survey, CDC, South Carolina Bar Association, South Carolina Courts, and several local legal service providers.

Are you an attorney practicing in South Carolina? There is someone who needs your help. It’s easier than ever to choose a case that fits your availability, and a host of resources to help you along the way. Wherever you live, whatever your practice area - there’s something for you.

Our state’s frontline providers of civil legal aid depend on grants and donations to stay afloat and continue providing critical legal services to South Carolina’s most vulnerable populations. Support these organizations by donating to the  South Carolina Bar Foundation , which makes grants to support civil legal aid and administration of justice, or directly to a provider in your community. Click here for a guide to civil legal aid providers in South Carolina.