Colorado Legal Services has released its annual report, highlighting the many facets of the organization that has served communities statewide for over 100 years. People who represent themselves in civil court are significantly less likely to succeed, which can put their basic needs like housing and safety in jeopardy. Having advice, education, or representation from attorneys helps Coloradans in crisis secure a safe place to live, access to food, greater financial stability, necessary medical care, and other basic needs.
“True access to justice requires lawyers to answer the call to represent the most vulnerable in our society,” said Colorado Supreme Court Chief Justice Monica Márquez at the 2025 Champions of Justice awards reception. “Without lawyers and now LLPs [Licensed Legal Paraprofessionals] bringing cases and representing litigants in court, law is just an empty promise, and that’s because justice is not self-executing. It requires our collective involvement and our collective investment as a society both at a local level and a national level.”
The report also highlighted the following:
$4.8 million secured for CLS clients, up from more than $3.9 million in 2024. While not every case involves getting money back to clients, some cases do involve monetary justice for clients. This could include modified child support, corrected or increased benefits, tax refunds or credits, or defending someone against a predatory lending practice.
Volunteer contributions totaled nearly 15,000 hours, representing an estimated value of over $714,000 in donated legal services.
“For more than 100 years, Colorado Legal Services has ensured thousands of low-income Coloradans each year have advocates whose expertise, compassion and tireless dedication helped bring about positive outcomes in dire circumstances,” said Matt Baca, executive director of CLS. “Even as we and other legal aid organizations nationwide face ongoing threats to our funding at the federal level at a time of increasing need for our services, we continue to play a crucial role in providing access to justice to our communities around Colorado.”