Civil RTC News
This page lists all of the most recent developments on civil right to counsel across the country. These could be newly created rights to counsel, significant publications, public events, advocacy efforts, or other things that don’t fit into a neat category.
Attorneys fees reform bills die
Cross-filed bills would have prohibited the court from assessing fees for a child's appointed attorney or GAL against their parent
Bills to establish working group to improve family court processes die
Cross-filed bills to improve family court processes including access to representation died in Committee.
Report tackles the RTC attorney pipline problem from the law school clinic perspective
A new report explores how law schools can use and improve clinics to help build up an attorney pipeline for tenant RTC programs.
Governor vetoes bill related to child RTC
The bill would have expanded the right to counsel for kids to parentage cases as well as child support violations.
All about Bozeman MT’s tenant RTC
The city of Bozeman MT enacted a tenant RTC law on 12/2/25, which is the first to extend the RTC to pre-filing mediation.
All about Cincinnati’s expanded tenant rep ordinance
Reports from Cincinnati flag the low number of represented tenants and high eviction rates, as well as the positive impact of representation.
Montana guarantees counsel for children, but exact role unclear
A court must appoint counsel for a child in an abuse or termination matter, but the exact role of the attorney is evolving.
NY high court: parents in TPR cases have right to effective assistance of counsel
The NY high court held that parents in termination of parental rights cases have the right to effective assistance of counsel.
Read about the NCCRC’s year in the PJC’s Annual Report
The Public Justice Center, which created and staffs the NCCRC, released its annual report featuring the NCCRC's 2025 activities.
Immigration study finds representation more than halves immigrant removal rate
A study by the American Immigration Council found that representation of immigrants more than halved removal rates.
