The “Delivery Committee” of the ABA (Standing Committee on the Delivery of Legal Services) has a plan to present to the House of Delegates next winter a Resolution in support of Unbundled Legal Services.

Proposed text is as follows:

RESOLVED, that the American Bar Association supports the use of limited scope representation  as a means of increasing access to legal services

 FURTHER RESOLVED, that the American Bar Association leads efforts to assure that practitioners who provide limited scope representation do so with full understanding and recognition of their professional obligations.

FURTHER RESOLVED, that the American Bar Association leads efforts to make the public better aware of the availability of limited scope representation as a way of meeting the legal needs of clients.

The accompanying document is an excellent summary of the idea, the history, the regulatory status, and the need.

I urge folks in the states to use it heavily as an advocacy and reference document, regardless of the path the Resolution itself takes.

With respect to the Resolution, obviously the Committee would appreciate hearing of support from other groups in the ABA.

If the resolution passes it will open up a number of paths for greater ABA involvement in the promotion of unbundling.  My own analysis is that there are three keys — making sure that state and local bars provide training in the concept, particularly from practical and marketing point of view, making sure that judges do not try to “hold” lawyers in cases, and persuading lawyer referral services to make the explicit effort to offer and promote unbundled services.

Congratulations to the Committee and its staff.