Rhodes and Team Win Legal Innovation Award
March 5, 2026
Rhodes and Team Win Legal Innovation Award
Attorney Jonathan Rhodes and his team at the Louisiana Justice Center have been recognized with a prestigious Legal Innovation Award for their groundbreaking work on The Justice Tour — an ambitious statewide initiative that brought free legal clinics directly to the rural communities that need them most.
The award was presented at the 13th Annual Louisiana Community Justice Conference, where the Louisiana State Bar Association recognized outstanding contributions to public interest law and access to justice across the state. Read the LSBA's full recognition here.
The Justice Tour: Taking Legal Help on the Road
As Executive Director of the Louisiana Justice Center, Jonathan conceived and launched The Justice Tour with a clear mission: reach the Louisianans who are most isolated from the legal system. In some of the state's most rural areas, the nearest legal aid attorney was well over an hour away — a barrier that left thousands of low-income residents without any meaningful access to legal help.
The Justice Tour set out to change that. Between March and October, the tour traveled across Louisiana, establishing in-person legal clinics in 15 parishes and providing direct assistance to over 500 people.
What the Tour Provided
With the help of dedicated volunteer attorneys, each stop on the tour offered clients:
- Brief legal consultations — one-on-one time with a licensed attorney to assess their situation
- Legal information and advice — plain-language guidance on their rights and options
- Referrals and resources — connections to ongoing legal aid, online self-help tools, and community services
The clinics addressed a wide range of legal issues most pressing to rural Louisiana residents, including:
- Family law (divorce, custody, child support, protective orders)
- Wills, estates, and successions
- Landlord-tenant disputes
- Disaster-related legal matters
A Community Built on Volunteerism
None of this would have been possible without the volunteer attorneys who gave their time and expertise to communities they had never visited before. Their commitment — often requiring long drives to remote parishes — exemplifies the best of Louisiana's legal community.
The Justice Tour is a testament to what becomes possible when legal professionals step outside the courtroom and into the communities they serve.
Recognition from the Louisiana State Bar Association
The LSBA's Legal Innovation Award acknowledges organizations and individuals who find creative, impactful solutions to the access-to-justice gap. Being recognized alongside fellow public interest leaders at the Community Justice Conference reflects the real-world difference that The Justice Tour made in the lives of hundreds of Louisianans.
At The Rhodes Law Firm, our commitment to justice does not begin and end in the courtroom. If you need legal assistance, contact us for a free initial consultation.