The leader of a statewide commission dedicated to improving Coloradans’ access to justice discussed their “Listening Tour” initiative on the latest episode of the Legal Services Corporation’s (LSC) podcast, Talk Justice. Elisa Overall, executive director of the Colorado Access to Justice Commission, joined Host Lee Rawles to speak on the wide-reaching tour and its findings.
The Colorado Access to Justice Commission existed as an independent nonprofit until 2023 when it was codified into state law. The commission serves as a convener of organizations working on access to justice issues in the state. For the listening tour, the commission held 22 virtual listening sessions, which gathered more than 300 court staff, judges, attorneys and non-legal community service providers.
“We realize that for us and for all the actors in the access-to-justice ecosystem in Colorado, we always need to be checking back with the needs of the state to see essentially, are our priorities aligning with the issues that are being experienced on the ground by folks who are interacting with the users of the justice system?” said Overall.
She said that the input from people who work in community-based organizations providing services outside of the legal sector brought valuable perspectives about how the legal system is impacting people’s lives.
“That was our purpose in ensuring that half of our invitee list was going to be community-based organizations and non-legal organizations, so that we could challenge a lot of our own assumptions and see our blind spots,” Overall said. “They really came in and let us have it – in a good way – about all the ways that the justice system is really making their clients' lives harder.”
At each session, the group was asked to identify the main civil legal issues they see in their communities, to describe the barriers people face in resolving those issues and finally, to share solutions that have been or could be effective in addressing them. The information gathered from their answers was published in a December 2025 report.
Overall explained that one of her top concerns detailed in the report is the need for improved online guidance for Coloradans who are interacting with the courts. The commission also plans to invest in a statewide legal help website to bolster public awareness of legal services and people’s rights. Another ongoing issue the report identified is the shortage of judges in Colorado, which contributes to long wait times for users and an unsustainable workload for court staff and judges.
Overall was recently awarded the Alli Gerkman Legal Visionary Award by the Institute for the Advancement of the American Legal System, in recognition of her leadership on this and other initiatives. She believes that listening is a key component to providing justice, and she plans to continue to center it in her approach.
“The process itself of listening is really part of this project,” Overall said. “There's a certain amount of procedural justice that people feel when they are included and [that] communities feel when they're included in a listening tour, when they have a Supreme Court justice willing to show up and just talk with them on a face-to-face level and in an open and honest way that means a lot to people. And I think it exhibits an openness to working with users of the justice system that is not just symbolic.”
Full episodes of Talk Justice are?available online. Listeners can find the show on Spotify, YouTube and Apple Podcasts. The podcast is sponsored by LSC’s?Leaders Council.
The Colorado Access to Justice Commission existed as an independent nonprofit until 2023 when it was codified into state law. The commission serves as a convener of organizations working on access to justice issues in the state. For the listening tour, the commission held 22 virtual listening sessions, which gathered more than 300 court staff, judges, attorneys and non-legal community service providers.
“We realize that for us and for all the actors in the access-to-justice ecosystem in Colorado, we always need to be checking back with the needs of the state to see essentially, are our priorities aligning with the issues that are being experienced on the ground by folks who are interacting with the users of the justice system?” said Overall.
She said that the input from people who work in community-based organizations providing services outside of the legal sector brought valuable perspectives about how the legal system is impacting people’s lives.
“That was our purpose in ensuring that half of our invitee list was going to be community-based organizations and non-legal organizations, so that we could challenge a lot of our own assumptions and see our blind spots,” Overall said. “They really came in and let us have it – in a good way – about all the ways that the justice system is really making their clients' lives harder.”
At each session, the group was asked to identify the main civil legal issues they see in their communities, to describe the barriers people face in resolving those issues and finally, to share solutions that have been or could be effective in addressing them. The information gathered from their answers was published in a December 2025 report.
Overall explained that one of her top concerns detailed in the report is the need for improved online guidance for Coloradans who are interacting with the courts. The commission also plans to invest in a statewide legal help website to bolster public awareness of legal services and people’s rights. Another ongoing issue the report identified is the shortage of judges in Colorado, which contributes to long wait times for users and an unsustainable workload for court staff and judges.
Overall was recently awarded the Alli Gerkman Legal Visionary Award by the Institute for the Advancement of the American Legal System, in recognition of her leadership on this and other initiatives. She believes that listening is a key component to providing justice, and she plans to continue to center it in her approach.
“The process itself of listening is really part of this project,” Overall said. “There's a certain amount of procedural justice that people feel when they are included and [that] communities feel when they're included in a listening tour, when they have a Supreme Court justice willing to show up and just talk with them on a face-to-face level and in an open and honest way that means a lot to people. And I think it exhibits an openness to working with users of the justice system that is not just symbolic.”
Full episodes of Talk Justice are?available online. Listeners can find the show on Spotify, YouTube and Apple Podcasts. The podcast is sponsored by LSC’s?Leaders Council.
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