Legal Aid Programs Produce Results That Touch Everyone in Virginia by Mark D. Braley Providing civil legal aid to the poor is about Equal Justice Under Law . To paraphrase Legal Services Corporation’s President James J. Sandman, when we mention the notion of equal justice under law we refer to that first sentence of our Constitution. Within that first sentence, the second declaration right after “ in order to form a more perfect union ” is to “ establish justice .” This is the very thing that makes the potential of our democracy great: establishing justice for everyone. In pursuit of that mission, Virginia’s legal aid programs produce economic benefits, cost savings, and qual-ity of life improvements that affect every-one in the state. From a fiscal perspective, it is difficult to imagine anyone who wouldn’t appreciate the purely posi-tive economic benefits to society brought about by legal aid’s representation of low-income Virginians. For every dollar invested, Virginians receive a return of $4. How many investments return that much other than the sale of the Los Angeles Clippers? Humor aside, from the per-spective of the average taxpayer, how many items provide such a high return for your payment? Last year, the total economic impact of legal assistance provided by Virginia’s legal aid pro-grams was $99.8 million, a return of $4.18 for every dollar of local, state, and federal funds invested. The impacts include $43.4 million in direct benefits for Virginia’s low-income families: $32.3 million in federal benefits including Social Security Disability, Supplemental Security Income, the federal share of Medicaid, federal funding for legal aid, and other federal benefits; 
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&#0f; A. Benefits and Savings for Low-Income Families Back Awards Monthly Duration in Awards Years Subtotals 1. Federal benefits for low-income families Social Security/SSI Other Federal Awards Federal operating grants for legal aid programs (LSC, Title III, Other Federal Funds) Total ($ Millions) $32.3 $1,803,757 $138,924 $11,781 $10,942 9.7 3 $17,974,567 $405,693 $6,685,098 $7,242,244 60 $8,425 Federal share of Medicaid benefits received (61.58% total average annual benefits) Cases in which Medicaid benefits were obtained or preserved Average annual benefit* Years Duration Calculation (Cases x Average Annual Benefit x Years Duration) Cases in which SSI eligibility was obtained or preserved Average annual benefit* Years Duration Calculation (Cases x Average Annual Benefit x Years Duration) 4 $2,021,898 289 $8,425 4 $9,738,809 2. Income from child support payments Family Law: Child Support 3. Income from other legal aid outcomes A. Unemployment Compensation B. Family Law -Alimony C. Affirmative Landlord D. Affirmative Employment E. Affirmative Consumer F. Affirmative Education G. Other Benefits $358,968 $155,474 $702,666 $367,561 $778,165 $247,413 $921,869 $85,388 $34,952 $39,229 $2,088 $20 $35,015 $11,246 0.5 3 1 1 1 1 1 $871,294 $1,413,752 $1,173,419 $392,617 $778,405 $667,593 $1,056,821 $4.7 $251,738 $123,849 3 $4,710,307 $6.4 Total Direct Impact on Low-Income Families $43.4 32 VIRGINIA LAWYER | October 2014 | Vol. 63 | PRO BONO www.vsb.org