The EJI Program Model
Civil legal help has long been delivered the same way: through lawyers, in offices, to people who can find or afford them. For millions of low-income Texans, that system was never designed to reach them. EJI is built to change the design.
The Economic Justice Initiative is a coordinated, evidence-driven approach to civil legal access — one that rethinks not just who delivers legal help, but how the whole system works together. What makes it distinct is not any single component. It is the infrastructure built around all of them.
A Statewide Network, Locally Rooted
EJI places attorneys and non-attorneys at legal service organizations across Texas, from the Rio Grande Valley to the South Plains, to provide legal services and novel outreach. They are our EJI Fellows, and they are doing work Texas has not seen at this scale before. They are:
Developing tailored projects alongside host site organizations and community partners
Listening to communities and building relationships with local partners to understand where the need is greatest
Providing direct legal assistance and representation, with an emphasis on innovative service models
Sharing legal information with underserved communities through outreach and education
Creating multilingual materials that are culturally relevant and meet people where they are
Training Built for the Work
Advocates in the EJI network receive structured, ongoing training in both substantive legal areas and the practical skills of community-centered advocacy. We call this the EJI Learning Lab.
Cross-site convenings and peer learning sessions are built into the model — so what is learned in one community can strengthen the work in another.
Technology That Extends What Advocates Can Do
EJI treats technology as part of the service delivery model, not an add-on. Advocates develop and test tools that make legal information more accessible, reduce language and cultural barriers, and expand what a single person can accomplish.
Tools that prove effective are shared across the network.
Research and Evaluation From the Start
EJI was designed to generate knowledge, not just services. Advocates track outcomes across case types, communities, and geographies. That data feeds into an evaluation process that allows EJI and its partners to understand what works, under what conditions, and what the evidence shows about scaling this approach elsewhere.
Sharing those findings is an intentional part of how EJI operates.
Partnerships That Go Where the Need Is
Legal help reaches people through trust, and trust is built by organizations already present in communities. EJI's network includes legal aid organizations, law school clinics, worker rights organizations, and community-based institutions.
Built to Continue and to Travel
Every element of the EJI model — the training system, the technology, the data infrastructure, the partner network — is designed with continuity and replication in mind.
The goal is not to demonstrate that this approach can work in one place. It is to produce the evidence, the tools, and the relationships that allow it to work across Texas, including in rural areas, and to inform how other communities build something similar.
This is how we are closing the gap.
EJI's work is powered by partners, supporters, and communities. If the model resonates with you, we welcome your involvement.