Author Archives: richardzorza

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About richardzorza

I am deeply involved in access to justice and the patient voice movement.

With Nate Silver’s Election Prediction Launch a Couple of Days Ago, Its a Good Time to Think About Statistics, Predictions, Triage, and Education for Public Policy

Posted on July 5, 2016 by richardzorza

Nate’s 2016 polls-only prediction is that Clinton has an 77.6% chance of winning. For those of us who talk about how triage is critical, his methodology page is well worth some attention. It is highly sophisticated, and reminds us just … Continue reading →

Posted in Budget Issues, Funding, Medical System Comparision, Metrics, Outcome Measures, Public Education, Research and Evalation, Series: Outcome Measures, Systematic Change, Technology, Transparency, Triage | 1 Comment

David Brooks Brilliant Column on Outsider-Insiders, and its Relevance to Our 100% Access Movement

Posted on June 25, 2016 by richardzorza

David Brooks  had a brilliant column in the New York Times on June 25, 2016.  However, it was marred by a serious error that, while irrelevant to the force of the core idea, means that it is much less likely … Continue reading →

Posted in 100% Access Strategy and Campaign, ABA, Bar Associations, Judicial Ethics, Legal Aid, Legal Ethics, LSC, Non-Lawyer Practice, SRLN, Unbundling | 1 Comment

Analysis of Article 50 of Lisbon Treaty – The Secession Provision

Posted on June 25, 2016 by richardzorza

It is strange that there has been so little analysis of Article 50 of the 2007 Lisbon Treaty, which is being relied on in the UK’s apparently likely request for withdrawal. I share with you, therefore, this fascinating article by … Continue reading →

Posted in Access to Justice Generally, International Cooperation | 2 Comments

Forced to Choose, In Spirit I Become a European-American Today, Rather Than a British-American

Posted on June 24, 2016 by richardzorza

Given the immigration and access implications, I am re-posting the below from my politics and humor blog. Watching the results last night, I started to realize that I now feel more European then British.  If, as a result of the … Continue reading →

Posted in Immigration, International Cooperation | Comments Off on Forced to Choose, In Spirit I Become a European-American Today, Rather Than a British-American

Strategic Planning for Access for All Released

Posted on June 14, 2016 by richardzorza

Here it is, the RFP for state strategic planning for access to Justice  for all. While the document speaks for itself, this might provide a good opportunity for some reminders and observations. I can not emphasize enough that these observations … Continue reading →

Posted in 100% Access Strategy and Campaign, Access to Justice Boards, Access to Justice Generally, Funding, Outcome Measures | Comments Off on Strategic Planning for Access for All Released

Social Workers as Nonlawyer Service Providers

Posted on June 7, 2016 by richardzorza

The recent Report from the Massachusetts Access to Justice Commission includes, in addition to many achievements and interesting ideas, a fascinating statistic about social workers in nonlawyer roles. The Third Commission, through its Social Services Committee, continued to focus on … Continue reading →

Posted in Access to Justice Boards, Access to Justice Generally, Non-Lawyer Practice, Social Workers | 5 Comments

Watching for Signs of Dictatorship and the Legal System

Posted on June 4, 2016 by richardzorza

When I started my politics and humor blog, I had intended to maintain a pretty rigid line between the materials on that blog and this one. It is a measure of how much things have deteriorated in the last month … Continue reading →

Posted in Access to Justice Generally, Bar Associations, Constitution, Federal Courts, White House | Comments Off on Watching for Signs of Dictatorship and the Legal System

Great NYT Online Piece on “Legal Aid With A Digital Twist” Features Claudia Johnson, Law Help Interactive, and Others

Posted on June 1, 2016 by richardzorza

At last, the media is staring to “get” that legal aid is not just traditional advocacy. The Time’s Fixes has a piece on digital expungment, ATJ hackathons, our guest blogger Claudia Johnson, Law Help Interactive and more. The rise of … Continue reading →

Posted in Access to Justice Generally, Consumer Rights, expungement, Foreclosure, Forms, Self-Help Services, Technology | Comments Off on Great NYT Online Piece on “Legal Aid With A Digital Twist” Features Claudia Johnson, Law Help Interactive, and Others

Additional Evidence That Constitutional Institutions Are Moving to Protect the Constittional Balance

Posted on May 28, 2016 by richardzorza

I recently blogged about how US institutions are moving to protect the Constitution in the event of a Trump Presidency. Now comes evidence that the Federal Courts, at least, are moving to make it less likely that one who has … Continue reading →

Posted in Access to Justice Generally, Constitution, Federal Courts | Comments Off on Additional Evidence That Constitutional Institutions Are Moving to Protect the Constittional Balance

Claudia Johnson Suggests Incentive Awards ATJ Innovation

Posted on May 26, 2016 by richardzorza

These observations are from Claudia Johnson. Thanks, Claudia, as always. Let’s create a Competition to solve the Access to Justice Problem! At the recent SRLN, the keynote speaker, Judge Burke from Minneapolis, gave took us back to basics and went … Continue reading →

Posted in Access to Justice Generally, Incnetives, Technology | 1 Comment

Employee Orientation Is Where Access-Focused-Institutions Might Start

Posted on May 24, 2016 by richardzorza

How does a court or other legal institution refocus itself to ensure that its mission and day to day activities are turned towards serving the litigants, rather than towards maintaining the primary focus on the interests of the institution. Surely … Continue reading →

Posted in Court Management, Medical System Comparision, Self-Help Services | Comments Off on Employee Orientation Is Where Access-Focused-Institutions Might Start

Find and Join The Patient Council at Your Hospital — a Way to Learn About User-Centered Organizations

Posted on May 20, 2016 by richardzorza

Following up on Department of Justice Access to Justice Director Lisa Foster’s recent speech, and my video on “The Litigant Voice,” I had an idea about how we can all start to think about, in Lisa Foster’s words: What if … Continue reading →

Posted in Access to Justice Generally, Court Management, Litigant Voice, Medical System Comparision, Self-Help Services | Comments Off on Find and Join The Patient Council at Your Hospital — a Way to Learn About User-Centered Organizations

Lisa Foster’s ATJ Commissions Meeting Speech Focuses on Big Changes

Posted on May 15, 2016 by richardzorza

Lisa Foster’s speech at the ATJ’s Commission focus not on the usual self-congratulation, but on the encourages big changes in focus and vision.  While I did not travel to Chicago for the Conference this year, just the text alone conveys … Continue reading →

Posted in 100% Access Strategy and Campaign, Access to Justice Generally, Budget Issues, Chasm with Communities, Dept. of Justice, LAIR, Legal Aid, Litigant Voice, Media, Mediation, Medical System Comparision, Poverty, Reentry, Self-Help Services, Simplification, SRLN, Systematic Change, Technology, video, White House | Comments Off on Lisa Foster’s ATJ Commissions Meeting Speech Focuses on Big Changes

The Pop-Up Book to Educate Kids (and Others) About The Courts

Posted on May 13, 2016 by richardzorza

I just posted a humorous political pop-up book idea about you know who, on my Politics and Humor blog.  It got me thinking about how to do a pop-up book for kids and adults to explain the court system. Using … Continue reading →

Posted in Humor, Public Education | 1 Comment

My Video on Five Ways to Incentivize Bar, Courts, Legal Tech and Nonprofits to Get Us to Access for All

Posted on May 12, 2016 by richardzorza

Here is my second short video, made initially for the SRLN day at the Equal Justice Conference.  This one lays out five ways to use the power and threat of regulation/deregulation, and other incentives such as the tax code, to … Continue reading →

Posted in 100% Access Strategy and Campaign, ABA, Access to Justice Boards, Bar Associations, Budget Issues, De-Regulation, Funding, Incnetives, Legal Aid, LSC, Middle Income, Mixed Model, Non-Lawyer Practice, Planning, Self-Help Services, Simplification, Software Developers, SRLN, Systematic Change, Tax Policy, Technology, video | 1 Comment