Our History

Prior to 1996, the Legal Services Programs in Colorado received money from a variety of sources, which allowed them to address the legal problems of their clients at the legislature and before administrative agencies, when no other avenue was available. They could advocate and lobby so long as they complied with federal regulations related to doing so. In 1995 and 1996, Legal Services Programs suffered significant losses due to federal budget cuts and new federal laws prohibiting many forms of administrative and legislative advocacy and barring legal aid programs from participating in class action litigation. Thus the law severely restricted important and critical legal advocacy and representation of the poor by Colorado's Legal Services Programs.

Recognizing that low-income people deserved equal access to justice, the Colorado Lawyers' Trust Account Foundation (COLTAF) and leaders in Colorado's legal community secured funds to continue the work that legal services programs could no longer do. COLTAF made its first grant to Catholic Charities in February 1996. It was ultimately decided that the work supported by the COLTAF grant should be done through a separate and independent entity.

In response, the Colorado Center on Law and Policy was formed in 1998.