Author Archives: richardzorza

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About richardzorza

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

Justice Index Gets ABA Pro Bono Award

Posted on July 31, 2017 by richardzorza

The ABA has announced that the Justice Index has been awarded an ABA Pro Bono Award. (Press coverage of the Index here.) This certainly helps cement the status of the Index as a major infrastructure component of the access to … Continue reading →

Posted in 100% Access Strategy and Campaign, ABA, Access to Justice Generally, Communications Strategy, Justice Index, Outcome Measures, Pro Bono | Comments Off on Justice Index Gets ABA Pro Bono Award

My Wife Joan Zorza Honored by Boston College Law School For Her Domestic Violence Work

Posted on July 26, 2017 by richardzorza

As described in the Summer 2017 issue of BC Law, Joan was given one of the five Law Day awards this year by Boston College Law School for her lifetime of dedicated work in domestic violence and sexual assault.  She … Continue reading →

Posted in Domestic Violence, Family Law, Law Schools, Legal Aid, Personal, Vocation | 1 Comment

Professional-Client Partnering Lessons

Posted on July 22, 2017 by richardzorza

Note: This is an access to just version of a recent post on my Patient Partnering Site. A recently published tool intended to be used by medical institutions to encourage their patients to think of themselves as members of a … Continue reading →

Posted in Access to Justice Generally, Attorney-Client, Bar Associations, Communications Strategy, Court Management, Defender Programs, Law Schools, Legal Aid, Legal Ethics, LSC, Medical System Comparision, Self-Help Services, Systematic Change, Usabilty | 1 Comment

New ATJ-GIS Fellowship Opportunity from SRLN

Posted on July 11, 2017 by richardzorza

Katherine Alteneder of SRLN announces: I am delighted to seek applications for an exciting new ATJ fellowship opportunity with SRLN in partnership with Georgetown’s Institute for Technology Law & Policy and made possible with the generous support of the Public Welfare … Continue reading →

Posted in Law Schools, Mapping/GIS, Technology, Tools | 2 Comments

New Public Welfare Foundation President Announced

Posted on July 10, 2017 by richardzorza

Good news The Public Welfare Foundation has announced that their new President, effective October 1, will be Candice Jones, currently Senior Advisor at Chicago CRED in Illinois.  As the announcement notes: Previously, she served as Director of the Illinois Department … Continue reading →

Posted in Access to Justice Generally, Public Welfare Foundation, Transitions | Comments Off on New Public Welfare Foundation President Announced

Google Home Hears Domestic Dispute and Calls Cops

Posted on July 8, 2017 by richardzorza

This is the stuff or dream and nightmare.  According to All That Is Interesting Dot Com, As reported by ABC News, New Mexico man Eduardo Barros was house-sitting at a home in Tijeras with his girlfriend and her daughter this … Continue reading →

Posted in Artificial Intelligence, Criminal Law, Domestic Violence, Family Law, Mobile Technology, Policing, Remote Services, Science, Security, Technology | 1 Comment

Maybe Gorsuch Has Some Possibilities

Posted on July 7, 2017 by richardzorza

There is certainly evidence in support of the dominant meme of Gorsuch’s extreme conservatism.  However, there may be one nugget of good news in the access to justice area. In a VA disability case, in which the Court denied cert., … Continue reading →

Posted in 100% Access Strategy and Campaign, Access to Justice Generally, Administative Proecdure, Court Management, Federal Agencies, Federal Courts, Rules Reform, Simplification, Supreme Court, Systematic Change, Veterans | 2 Comments

Google Home May Help Us Understand the Definition of “Legal Advice,” and Therefore of What Activities Falls Under Regulatory Authority.

Posted on July 6, 2017 by richardzorza

This is sort of fun. We have been struggling now for over two decades to find the most useful and access-expanding ways of explaining when an interaction is the giving of information, not generally subject of regulation as the practice … Continue reading →

Posted in Access to Justice Generally, Artificial Intelligence, Child Support, Document Assembly, Family Law, Legal Ethics, Non-Lawyer Practice, Plain Language, Public Education, Remote Services, Self-Help Services, Systematic Change, Technology, Triage | 1 Comment

Marc Lauritsen Guest Post on Thinking of Legal Help System as an Ecosystem

Posted on July 3, 2017 by richardzorza

Editor note:  This is a fascinating approach. Legal Knowledge Gardening and Civil Justice Engineering Marc Lauritsen At a recent Justice for All event in Massachusetts I suggested that we consider our sprawl of legal help services as an ecosystem. That … Continue reading →

Posted in 100% Access Strategy and Campaign, Access to Justice Generally, Guest Bloggers, Science, Systematic Change | Comments Off on Marc Lauritsen Guest Post on Thinking of Legal Help System as an Ecosystem

Illinois Strategic Plan Combines Principles, Initiatives, and Success Measures

Posted on July 2, 2017 by richardzorza

The superb new strategic plan from the Illinois Access to Justice Commission is a model in may ways.  I want, however, to emphasize one, its structure.  This approach gives them, and us, a strong and effective document that will serve … Continue reading →

Posted in 100% Access Strategy and Campaign, Access to Justice Boards, Access to Justice Generally, Communications Strategy, Court Management, Outcome Measures, Plain Language, Planning, Research and Evalation, Rules Reform, Self-Help Services, Simplification | Comments Off on Illinois Strategic Plan Combines Principles, Initiatives, and Success Measures

Contribute to a UK Survey of Law Schools and Access and Technology

Posted on June 29, 2017 by richardzorza

Richard Moorhead, a longtime UK and international expert on legal aid, innovation, and technology, is gathering information on the role of law schools in spreading these ideas. As Richard puts it: So I am asking you, if you are in … Continue reading →

Posted in Access to Justice Generally, Bar Associations, De-Regulation, International Cooperation, International Models, Systematic Change, Technology | Comments Off on Contribute to a UK Survey of Law Schools and Access and Technology

Tribute to Judge Fern Fisher On Her Retirement From The New York Courts

Posted on June 24, 2017 by richardzorza

Judge Fern Fisher of New York has been a stalwart of the national access to justice movement.  See here. for how frequently she has appeared in this blog. So her retirement from the courts is a sad moment. Based on … Continue reading →

Posted in Access to Justice Generally, Incubators, Transitions | Comments Off on Tribute to Judge Fern Fisher On Her Retirement From The New York Courts

Opportunity To Suggest Improvements to Washington State Access to Justice Principles

Posted on June 20, 2017 by richardzorza

I was the consultant to the Washington State Access to Justice Principles back in the early days of this century. Now a process is underway to update and improve those principles, which were issued by the State Supreme Court in … Continue reading →

Posted in Access to Justice Boards, Remote Services, Research and Evalation, Science, Security, Self-Help Services, Simplification, Systematic Change, Technology, Triage, Usabilty | Comments Off on Opportunity To Suggest Improvements to Washington State Access to Justice Principles

Video of Mary McClymont on Importance of Justice For All Innovations For Every Substantive Issue

Posted on June 7, 2017 by richardzorza

Recently, I blogged about Mary McClymont’s moving and wonderful speech when she got the Champion of Justice Award. Now, here is the video. Some of the key text: .  .  .  there is good news: the crisis has given rise … Continue reading →

Posted in 100% Access Strategy and Campaign, Access to Justice Boards, Access to Justice Generally, Bar Associations, Communications Strategy, Court Management, Funding, Law Schools, Legal Aid, Media, Political Support, Poverty, Public Education, Public Welfare Foundation, Self-Help Services, Social Workers, Systematic Change | Comments Off on Video of Mary McClymont on Importance of Justice For All Innovations For Every Substantive Issue

Job Opportunity at Harvard Law Access to Justice Lab

Posted on May 28, 2017 by richardzorza

As many of you know, the Access to Justice Lab at Harvard Law School is an initiative to try to further evidence-based thinking within access to justice and court administration. It focuses on conducting randomized field experiments to find out … Continue reading →

Posted in Law Schools, Metrics, Outcome Measures, Research and Evalation, Self-Help Services | Comments Off on Job Opportunity at Harvard Law Access to Justice Lab