The Open Door Initiative began as an idea in law school more than twelve years ago. Corinne Sumpter intended to work in public service after graduation to help the under-represented and underprivileged. It was an interesting and challenging time, as the country was smack in the middle of welfare reform. There was a lot of talk about folks who were working hourly jobs and barely making ends meet, or who might be able to support their families as long as nothing unforeseen – like an unexpected medical or legal problem – arose. It was these families who, if any sort of catastrophe struck, would fall back into poverty quite easily.

While looking into careers in legal aid or public defense, we realized it was this middle group – those who had incomes above the “poverty line” but who were still strapped financially – who had a really difficult time getting quality legal representation. After all, no one budgets for defending themselves or hiring an attorney. These hard-working families didn’t qualify for appointed or free lawyers, yet they couldn’t afford good private lawyers. Looking in the mirror ourselves, we realized that even our own middle and working class families would have been thrown into turmoil by having to afford legal services for anything larger than defending a speeding ticket.

So we thought: why not implement a sliding scale system? By evaluating what people could realistically afford and working out fair payment plans, couldn’t we help families solve their legal problems without creating massive financial ones? Couldn’t we give regular people the chance to have the kind of great legal service that they otherwise couldn’t afford?

Since the beginning of the formation of Sumpter & Gonzalez, we have always maintained a balance of court-appointed and private cases, and we have always provided sliding scale services on an informal, ad hoc basis. Until recently, however, we have not really had the means or the systemic support to put the total concept into practice.

Now, with seven lawyers and a full social work team on staff, the Open Door Initiative is a reality.

The timing could not be better. With the current economic crisis, more and more families are struggling financially, and therefore the need is great. With the changing political tide, hopefully there will be also external support in the community for helping people in this way.

Our services are not free. By pushing this Initiative, our lawyers and staff will be making their own economic sacrifices. To qualify for the program, there will be some element of sacrifice on the part of the clients as well… both in terms of the payments they can afford and the time they are willing to dedicate. All clients must demonstrate a true commitment to working on their own defense in partnership with our legal and social work team.

We are hopefully opening the door to quality legal representation that might otherwise be closed because of financial status.

By providing comprehensive, vigorous defense, working families can make the choice to assert their constitutional rights and protect their liberty when they might otherwise feel forced to compromise.

With our holistic advocacy approach, we already provide not only legal defense, but also social assistance and support to our clients. Through this Initiative, we can hopefully help even more people to open doors in their lives and achieve greater success by addressing the root causes of their legal trouble.

Together, we open the door.

Watch the Open Door Initiative media launch, part one:

Part two:

Part three: