Immigration lawyer Elizabeth Van Arkel was recently invited to join the Iowa Access to Justice Commission by Chief Justice Susan Christensen of the Iowa Supreme Court.

The Iowa Access to Justice Commission (Commission) was established in 2016 by order of then Chief Justice Mark Cady to help address the unmet legal needs of Iowans.

Chief Justice Cady noted that there are “Longstanding and entrenched barriers to the access to justice for too many Iowans. To safeguard the fundamental right of access to justice requires a concerted, sustained, and strategic effort...Iowa courts are seeing an increasing number of self-represented litigants, many of whom have no choice but to proceed without the assistance of counsel...Iowa must do more to assure meaningful and informed access to justice for all persons.”

As a member of the Commission, Elizabeth will work to help build awareness of the civil legal system and to identify barriers Iowans often face when accessing and navigating the courts. The Commission works to find ways to break through the financial, technological, and cultural barriers.

“I look forward to working with Commission members to demystify the legal system and use my foreign language skills to bridge the gap in predominately non-English speaking communities,” said Van Arkel, “I want to give all communities a fair opportunity within the court system.”

The Commission is comprised of 26 members who come from a variety of professions and nonprofit organizations from across Iowa. Elizabeth will serve a three-year term, starting October 2021.