Author Archives: richardzorza

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About richardzorza

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

Civil Justice Council of England and Wales Report and Recommendations on Self-Represented Litigants

Posted on November 12, 2011 by richardzorza

As reported by Richard Moorhead, the Civil Justice Council has issued its report on how to respond to the increase in self-represented litigants expected in England and Wales as a result of the massive legal aid cutbacks. The recommendations, as … Continue reading →

Posted in International Models, Self-Help Services | Tagged | 2 Comments

Karen Lash of DOJ Access Initiative Keynote to Rothgerber Conference

Posted on November 9, 2011 by richardzorza

Access beacon and energizer Karen Lash of DOJ gave the keynote last weekend at the wonderful Rothgerber Conference, TOWARD THE CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHT OF ACCESS TO JUSTICE: IMPLICATIONS AND IMPLEMENTATION organized by Melissa Hart for the University of Colorado Law School.  The … Continue reading →

Posted in Access to Justice Boards, Access to Justice Generally, Dept. of Justice, Law Schools, Meetings | Tagged | 2 Comments

A Revolutionary Idea — Calculating Legal Aid Grants Based on Customer Satisfaction

Posted on November 9, 2011 by richardzorza

The NY Times has a fascinating article about how Medicare reimbursement for hospitals is going to be in part calculated on patient satisfaction.  As explained in this government factsheet, this is part of a broader initiative to incentivize a range … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal Aid, Medical System Comparision | Tagged | Comments Off on A Revolutionary Idea — Calculating Legal Aid Grants Based on Customer Satisfaction

Implications of Alternative Poverty Measure for Access to Justice

Posted on November 8, 2011 by richardzorza

The Census Bureau has rolled out the results of applying its alternative measure of poverty to 2010.  This alternative measure, which will not be used to calculate benefits, is being offered as an aid to policy makers. The results have … Continue reading →

Posted in Access to Justice Boards, Access to Justice Generally, Mixed Model, Poverty | 1 Comment

NewsMaker Interview: Prof. Jim Greiner on the Latest Offer-Outcomes Research and its Implications

Posted on November 7, 2011 by richardzorza

This blog is proud to be interviewing Professor Jim Greiner of Harvard about his latest research, conducted with Cassandra Wolos Pattanayak and Jonathan Hennessey, into the impact of offers of representation on outcomes.  The research is summarized in a recent … Continue reading →

Posted in Access to Counsel, Legal Aid, Research and Evalation, Triage, Unbundling | 3 Comments

Pro Bono Specialization — With Esther Lardent’s Comments

Posted on November 4, 2011 by richardzorza

Here at the Rothgerber Symposium in Denver, Jim Greiner of Harvard, has made an interesting suggestion about pro bono.  He has suggested that larger firms, rather than just working to maximize pro bono hours, should specialize in certain pro bono … Continue reading →

Posted in Pro Bono | Comments Off on Pro Bono Specialization — With Esther Lardent’s Comments

Is San Franciso Thinking of a Right to Counsel, or a Right to Diagnostic Triage?

Posted on November 4, 2011 by richardzorza

An interesting idea.  According to the SF Chronicle, the City Council will soon be considering a “right to counsel.”  The article starts this way: San Francisco would offer eligible low-income litigants involved in custody battles, tenant-landlord disputes and other civil … Continue reading →

Posted in Access to Counsel, Systematic Change, Triage | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Distribution of, and Increase of, Self-Represented Bankruptcy Filings

Posted on November 3, 2011 by richardzorza

The Third Branch — the blog of the Federal Courts, has published some statistics on where their self-represented bankruptcy filings are occurring. Here is the key table: The filings are heavily distributed towards the West: It is an astonishing range, … Continue reading →

Posted in Research and Evalation, Self-Help Services, SRL Statistics | Comments Off on Distribution of, and Increase of, Self-Represented Bankruptcy Filings

General Study of Impact of Regulation Upon Occupations.

Posted on November 2, 2011 by richardzorza

Richard Moorhead, perceptive as usual, has noticed a recent study conducted in the UK of the impact of regulations of occupations, done for the UK Commission on Employment and Skills, and titled A review of occupational regulation and its impact.  … Continue reading →

Posted in Law Schools, Legal Ethics, Middle Income | Tagged | Comments Off on General Study of Impact of Regulation Upon Occupations.

Academic Paper on Turner v Rogers Issues Challenge to Advocates

Posted on November 1, 2011 by richardzorza

This paper may be the first academic treatment of Tuner.  It is part of the University of Pennsylvania Law School Public Law and Legal Theory Research Paper Series, and of the University of Tennesse, Knoxville, College of Law Legal Studies … Continue reading →

Posted in Access to Counsel, Supreme Court, Triage | 2 Comments

Tools to Create an Unbundled-Orriented Lawyer Referral Service

Posted on October 31, 2011 by richardzorza

The time is long past for every jurisdiction that allows unbundling — and of course now most do, to have such services available through lawyer referral and information services, ideally through a panel of the existing lawyer referral system.  Lets … Continue reading →

Posted in Middle Income, Unbundling | Tagged | Comments Off on Tools to Create an Unbundled-Orriented Lawyer Referral Service

SJI Issues Grant Guideline — Suspends Priority Areas, Changes Scholarship Program

Posted on October 29, 2011 by richardzorza

SJI has issued its new FY 2o12 Grant Guideline. The important news, as summarized in the current SJI E-News is as follows: Special Interest Categories: Project Grants, SJI has temporarily suspended, any prioritization on special areas of interest. The SJI … Continue reading →

Posted in Funding | Tagged , | Comments Off on SJI Issues Grant Guideline — Suspends Priority Areas, Changes Scholarship Program

NLADA Announces Important Appointment — Chuck Greenfield

Posted on October 28, 2011 by richardzorza

This is very good news.  Chuck Greenfield is going to NLADA as their new Chief Counsel for Civil Programs.  That alone would be encouraging news about the direction of access to justice, because Chuck in all his positions, including at … Continue reading →

Posted in Research and Evalation | Tagged | 4 Comments

Noting an Untimely Death — Rob Stuart — He Created Tech Circuit Riding and We All Benefited

Posted on October 28, 2011 by richardzorza

Most in the ATJ Community will never have heard of Rob Stuart, who has just died at the shocking age of 49.  But if you ever attended a meeting with a Pro Bono Net or OST circuit rider, or any … Continue reading →

Posted in Technology | 3 Comments

Legal Malpractice Insurance and Unbundling

Posted on October 27, 2011 by richardzorza

Often one of the forces holding back the spread of unbundling is anxiety about the likely role of malpractice insurance companies. So it is nice to see that Lawyers Mutual (of North Carolina) has actually posted unbundling risk management materials … Continue reading →

Posted in Unbundling | Tagged | Comments Off on Legal Malpractice Insurance and Unbundling