A legal-assistance program with ties to Gonzaga University's law school has started filling a previously unmet statewide need to provide affordable representation to moderate-income households, says an attorney based at the school.

Called Moderate Means, the program helps people who make too much money to be eligible for low income-based legal aid programs for civil cases, yet can't afford to hire an attorney.

The Washington State Bar Association along with the law schools of Gonzaga, Seattle University, and the University of Washington launched the program publicly in April. It has 85 law students at the three universities who volunteer to screen applicants having legal problems concerning family, housing, and consumer law, including matters such as divorce, child custody, adoptions, evictions, rental and consumer disputes, and identity theft.

"The goal of the program is to increase access to justice by linking moderate-income clients with affordable legal help," says Catherine Brown, who holds a part-time position as a Moderate Means staff attorney based at Gonzaga.

A total of 415 attorneys across the state have agreed to participate in the program and offer their services to families who qualify for a reduced fee based on a sliding scale that the bar association offers as a guide.

"Before the Moderate Means program, there wasn't any statewide system to tap into this moderate-income category," Brown says. "This is a new resource people can turn to."

Nearly 30 percent of the state's population falls into the moderate-income category, which equates to a household income of between $46,100 and $92,200 for a family of four, the bar association says.

Based on the sliding fee scale under the Moderate Means program, a family of four with a household income at twice the federal poverty level, or as low as $46,100 annually, may qualify for a 75 percent fee reduction. A family of four with a household income at four times the federal poverty level, or as high as $92,200 annually, may qualify for a 25 percent fee reduction.

The bar association offers the sliding fee scale as a recommendation only, and participating attorneys aren't required or mandated to reduce their fees by any particular amount or to offer services free of charge, the bar association says.

About 50 law students at Gonzaga are trained and volunteer their time to interview program clients, Brown says. She recently started the part-time Moderate Means position here that's funded through the bar association, but she also holds another half-time position funded by the university as assistant director of Gonzaga's Center for Law and Public Services.

Brown says Moderate Means grew out of a predecessor program started about 10 years ago by the Spokane County Young Lawyers Division, which is part of the Spokane County Bar Association.

"They recognized the need that there is this client population that isn't getting the services they need for legal help," she says. "The legal aid system is set up to serve low-income households. Moderate Means is designed to pick up right where the existing legal aid left off."

Brown says Spokane County Young Lawyer Division members worked with the bar association to develop the model into a statewide program, and many of them now participate in Moderate Means.

"We opened Moderate Means in a limited capacity in April 2011, and then we launched publicly in April 2012," Brown says. Just prior to her employment at Gonzaga, Brown worked as public service program manager at the bar association's headquarters in Seattle and assisted with Moderate Means' statewide launch.

Brown says that Gonzaga is a strong partner in Moderate Means. Between April 2011 and this past June, Gonzaga law students have fielded 620 requests from people seeking legal help, and of that number, just over 430 were interviewed and screened by students regarding the legal issues, she says. During that period, Gonzaga's activity referred 238 cases to attorneys involved in the program.

Almost 200 of the initial requests didn't fall into the accepted income range or type of civil legal issue. For example, Moderate Means doesn't offer referrals for probate and estate planning help, or personal injury cases, although it sometimes gets requests in those areas. It also doesn't assist with criminal defense cases or immigration legal matters.

Matt Phillips, a Spokane attorney who practices as a sole proprietor, agreed to participate in the program about a year ago. He mainly has helped Moderate Means clients with family law issues.

"We have a system that if you've got the money, you can get your way," Phillips says. "That gap in between the people who qualify for legal aid and those who can afford full-price representation is sort of a no man's land of people trying to feel their way along. I think it's essential to have an equitable system of justice."

Any attorney in the state who is an active state bar association member and in good standing can participate.

Another participating attorney here is Michael Rembolt, who also practices in Spokane as a sole proprietor. He says the program plays an important role because it can help a large percentage of the state's population.

For a handful of clients he's helped so far through the program, he has assisted mainly with bankruptcy and foreclosure proceedings, he says.

"I've done some mediation recently helping people with foreclosures on mortgages, trying to get them a modification on their mortgage so they don't have to leave their property," he says. "It's perhaps assisting them with a short sale, so they don't have to go through foreclosure."

Debra Carnes, Seattle-based spokeswoman for the bar association, says the program has seen continued growth.

Carnes says that between April 2011 and this past June, Moderate Means had fielded 1,420 requests for legal assistance statewide. Of those requests, just over 1,000 were screened and interviewed by students to gather information, and 442 were referred to a participating attorney for reduced-fee legal help. About 400 of the initial requests didn't move ahead because of ineligible income or legal issues.

"We don't see that tapering off anytime soon given the economy and the challenges people face," she adds. "The amount of calls is increasing. What we're finding is that for those who couldn't fully afford legal help, there weren't many places for them to turn. This is a place for them to turn."