The Filling the Justice Gap Award: Rachel Royal – Royal Touch Project Solutions, LLC
Presented to an attorney, law firm, or organization making innovative strides with providing legal services to close the legal services gap in North Carolina. The legal services gap exists when clients of limited means do not qualify for free civil legal services/representation in matters affecting their basic needs by a legal services provider and cannot afford to retain an attorney. The nominee shall have demonstrated how their innovative approach has helped close this legal services gap for these clients of limited means.
Founded in October 2020, Royal Touch Project Solutions, LLC is owned by Rachel Royal, a paralegal whose personal challenges in navigating the legal system as a pro se litigant inspired her to forge a path in the legal field with the ultimate goal of helping others similarly situated.
Through Royal Touch Project Solutions, Rachel works with nonprofits to develop technological innovations and implement process improvements that enhance service delivery for those unable to afford legal help. As a Council Member for the North Carolina Justice For All Project, she contributes her experience in the legal field and dedication to volunteerism to broaden access to justice for the state’s most vulnerable.
Rachel served as the NCBA Paralegal Division’s Pro Bono Co-Chair for five years, and took on roles as a Council Member for three years and an Officer for one year. Her efforts during this period included leading a project in partnership with Legal Aid from 2018 to 2020, launching and coordinating a custody clinic in 2022, planning an immigration CLE in 2023, and writing multiple blog posts about the importance of pro bono work and access to justice.
Rachel was an active volunteer during the 2018-2019 Hurricane Florence efforts with Disaster Legal Services and the Pro Bono Resource Center’s FEMA appeals clinics. In January 2021, she began contracting with the PBRC to coordinate its Driver’s License Restoration Project and also coordinated the Housing Stability Project in partnership with the North Carolina Bar Foundation in 2021 and 2022. She was also instrumental in creating the technical framework for the Wake County Legal Support Center launch in 2023.