Georgia's chief justice has created a committee to identify ways to improve rural and low-income Georgia residents' access to civil legal services in an effort to close "the state's civil justice gap," the justice announced Thursday.

Chief Justice Michael P. Boggs created the study committee on legal regulatory reform, tasking it with making recommendations to the Georgia Supreme Court in June, according to the court's announcement. Justice Boggs appointed eight of the members, naming Justice Carla Wong McMillian as chair and Georgia Court of Appeals Presiding Judge Stephen Louis A. Dillard as vice chair. State Bar of Georgia President Ivy Cadle appointed five members.

The justice also named judicial members Alcovy Judicial Circuit Superior Court Judge Cheveda D. McCamy, Gwinnett County Probate Court Judge Christopher A. Ballar and Cobb County Magistrate Court Chief Judge Brendan F. Murphy.

Justice Boggs also named Sarah "Sally" B. Akins, past state bar president and a neutral at Miles Mediation & Arbitration LLC, Susan P. Coppedge, executive director of the Georgia Legal Services Program, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Bethany Rupert of the U.S. District Court of Northern District of Georgia.

Cadle appointed attorneys: Jeremy J. Abernathy, partner at Abernathy Ditzel Hendrick LLC; Thua G. Barlay, partner at Lueder Larkin & Hunter LLC; Cherish Anne Dela Cruz, attorney and managing attorney of estate planning at the Manely Firm PC; Thomas F. Lindsay, founding partner of the Lindsay & Rawls LLC; and Kevin C. Patrick, firm principal and founder of Kevin Patrick Law.

There are also four ex officio members: Georgia Supreme Court Justice Verda M. Colvin, who is also chair of the Judicial Council Acess to Justice Committee; former Georgia Supreme Court Justice Keith Blackwell, chair of the Georgia Lawyer Competency Task Force; Damon Elmore, State Bar of Georgia director and head of the bar's Access to Justice committee; and John Earles, director of the state's Office of Bar Admissions. 

While state court judges and attorneys make up the committee's members, the committee will also reach out to other legal industry professionals. In addition, the committee will receive technical assistance from the National Center for State Courts.

In a statement, Justice McMillian said the state's high court traces its authority to the Georgia Constitution to regulate the practice of law to protect the public and to make sure Georgia residents have competent legal guidance.

"But there may be narrow areas where people who are not lawyers can be trained to serve clients who otherwise wouldn't be able to afford lawyers or who live in areas without lawyers," Justice McMillian said. "There also may be ways to encourage new or existing lawyers to provide their services to indigent residents or in legal deserts."

Justice McMillian said she plans on leveraging proven strategies.

"This committee will use data-driven methodologies to be innovative in exploring and discerning what regulatory reforms could address the issues preventing Georgians from receiving critical civil legal services without diminishing consumer protections," Justice McMillian said.

In a statement, Judge Dillard, who is from Macon, said: "Being from central Georgia, I understand just how crucial it is to carefully examine this important issue. I look forward to working closely with Justice McMillian and many other stakeholders to come up with meaningful solutions that will make justice more accessible and improve the lives of our fellow Georgians."

Cadle told Law360 Pulse on Thursday that the new committee is important because he's seen first-hand how there's a significant number of Georgia residents who have legal needs but are underrepresented.

"I grew up in a rural area and my father was a lawyer," Cadle said. "At that time, it was obvious to me that there were people in rural areas who could not afford the access to the legal system that they needed to solve their problems."

He said that he's seen since then that there's unmet legal needs for Georgia from all parts of the state. Cadle said he has seen a number of people who represent themselves in court, that maybe they couldn't afford or find a lawyer.

"The study committee, that's part of what they will look at," Cadle said. "Truly is there a legal or regulatory barrier that keeps them from being represented?"

Cadle said the attorneys he appointed to the committee are leaders in areas of the law.

"We want leaders in their areas of practice so that they can bring their knowledge to the committee, because they are actually the ones out here doing this kind of work. They have the expertise to know when clients hire them, what clients hire them for, what kind of work they want to do, and what kind of work they might not want to do."

Cadle said, as an example, a non-attorney representing themselves in a divorce or trying to probate their parent's will.

"That might be your World Series, but you're out there trying to play and don't even know how or when to run the bases," Cadle said. " You know there are bases out there and you want to get there, but the procedure to get there is not readily apparent."

Justice McMillian and Judge Dillard were not immediately available to comment further on Thursday. 

Rita A. Sheffey, executive director of Atlanta Legal Aid, told Law360 Pulse on Thursday in a statement that the organization supports the committee.

"Atlanta Legal Aid supports the Supreme Court's study committee and its efforts to bridge the justice gap for low income Georgians," Sheffey said. "We appreciate the court considering what activities are appropriate for legal professionals other than lawyers, while ensuring adequate protections for the public. Bridging the justice gap will necessitate a multitude of tools in the toolkit, including increased funding for civil legal services in Georgia."

--Editing by Rich Mills.

Update: This story has been updated with comments from the executive director of Atlanta Legal Aid and Cadle.