Our History

CCLP has almost a decade of experience as one of Colorado’s leading advocacy organizations dedicated to promoting justice, economic security, access to health care, as well as sound fiscal policies. 

CCLP is the only organization that provides critical advocacy formerly provided by Colorado’s federally funded legal services programs.  In 1995 and 1996, Legal Services Programs suffered significant losses due to federal budget cuts, and new federal laws that prohibited many forms of administrative and legislative advocacy and barred legal aid programs from participating in class action litigation.  The laws severely restricted critical legal advocacy and representation of the poor by Colorado's Legal Services Programs.

The Colorado Lawyers' Trust Account Foundation (COLTAF) provided funds to establish an independent non-profit to continue the work that federally funded legal services agencies could no longer do, thereby forming the Colorado Center on Law and Policy in 1999. 

Since then, CCLP has become a leader in the advocacy community and in working with key policy stakeholders.  Through its work on health care, welfare reform, fiscal policy and other critical issues, CCLP has gained a strong reputation in providing litigation, research, education, and advocacy services to lower-income Coloradans, policymakers, opinion-makers, non-profit organizations and the general public.