The study’s findings show that people who were assisted by an attorney were significantly more satisfied with the outcome, compared to when they represented themselves.

Of the people surveyed, 74 percent tried to meet their legal needs without legal help; 17 percent didn’t try and 9 percent received some form of legal assistance, according to the findings. And of the 17 percent that didn’t try, 73 percent weren’t aware they had a legal problem.

"We’ve got a big educational problem," Radwin said. "People come to the court and think the judge is going to be their advocate, or they think the clerk will help them fill out papers." But that’s not the case.

"People just don’t have access to the courts or attorneys," Radwin said. "The good news is there are some local resources in the area."

Places like Georgia Legal Services, Child Support Services and Peace Place are a few.

Some of these resources can connect people with lawyers who will provide pro bono assistance, but Wendy Glasbrenner, managing attorney for Georgia Legal Services’ Gainesville office, said she’s recently had a harder time recruiting private attorneys to do pro bono work.

"Lawyers are suffering, especially at smaller firms, so we have been struggling with that," she said.

Mike Monahan, of the State Bar of Georgia Pro Bono Project, said attorneys in Georgia are expected to work at least 50 hours each year serving low-income clients.

Almost 70 percent of Georgia’s 29,000 lawyers are located in Atlanta, Monahan said. And with most of the state’s poor living outside the city, "the burden of pro bono falls on smaller firms outside the metro area," he said.

He suggested lawyers within their counties or circuits organize pro bono committees to talk about critical needs within that committee.

The group of about 30 listed obstacles that they’ve seen locally that prevent people from meeting their civil legal needs. The list included a lack of financial resources, lawyers’ lack of time to do pro bono work, a general lack of familiarity with the legal system and processes, language and cultural differences, as well as a distrust of lawyers and judges.

"If they feel access to justice is denied, what’s the alternative?" Piedmont Judicial Circuit Superior Court Judge Currie Mingledorff asked.

The group then shared ideas on what they can do to help overcome these obstacles. Ideas ranged from using lawyer-assisted self representation, educating students about the courts and bringing them to the courthouse, and making resources more available for the general public as well as lawyers.

Barrow County Operations Development Manager Bob Hohe attended the meeting and said he came away with a few ideas for the county’s new courthouse. He said he’d like to talk to the judges about how they’d like to see the courthouse used.

"We need to make it a usable facility to benefit the entire community," he said.

Hohe said he also liked the idea of bringing students into the courthouse to help educate them about the system and decrease the intimidation people can feel when they walk into such an ominous-looking building.

To view the study’s report, visit www.gaccj.org.

Visit www.GeorgiaAdvocates.org for online resources for advising low-income and disadvantaged clients and to join the Georgia Online Justice Community.

Visit http://LegalAid-GA.org to find free legal resources, including information about rights and legal responsibilities in 25 areas of law; copies of complaint letters, legal forms, tax forms and court documents; legal services organizations and pro bono programs.

Visit the Office of Child Support Services at www.ocss.dhr.georgia.gov or its Constituent Services Portal, which has case information available 24 hours per day, at https://services.georgia.gov/dhr/cspp/do/Logon.