法テラス法律事務所の実践

司法と福祉の連携可能性

抄録

Japan Legal Service Center (Houterasu) started services in October 2006, and established law offices all over the country. The attorneys (called Staff Attorneys) have been making efforts in these offices to provide any persons, especially those who cannot reach law offices by themselves “access to justice” by making relationships between other agencies. It is said that to make relationships between other agencies, ―like welfare agencies, local autonomous bodies etc,―, is the function of the Staff Attorneys of Houterasu. They must do their best to resolve disputes by using relationships. The author is one of the first members of the Staff Attorneys, and took a job on Sadogashima Island, which is a rural area without sufficient legal services. This paper focuses on the process of the building up relationships with other agencies and how to access the people who don’t have the ability to contact the law office. This paper also discusses the needs and functions of relationships between welfare agencies and attorneys, in addition to reporting the activities of other staff attorneys in the country.