Category Archives: Access to Counsel

One Year of Blogging — Some Reflections on the Year in Access to Justice

Posted on December 11, 2011 by richardzorza

Today is the first anniversary of this blog.  306 posts, over 16,000 web views (and maybe the same number of subscriber push views), and counting.  Please celebrate with me by passing the word, and by encouraging folks to use the … Continue reading →

Posted in Access to Counsel, Budget Issues, Dept. of Justice, Funding, Legal Aid, LEP, LSC, Metrics, Research and Evalation, Supreme Court, Systematic Change, Technology, This Blog, Triage | 1 Comment

Justice Breyer Urges Debate on Need for Triage and Generally Urges Experimentation

Posted on December 9, 2011 by richardzorza

Today was the NLADA Centennial Conference Awards Luncheon. Supreme Court Justice Breyer, Attorney General Holder and Congressman John Lewis spoke.  An impressive list and a powerful moment. Innovation advocates will be encouraged to learn that in the course of a … Continue reading →

Posted in Access to Counsel, Supreme Court | Tagged | Comments Off on Justice Breyer Urges Debate on Need for Triage and Generally Urges Experimentation

A shift in Empahsis About Access Demonstrated by Retired Chief Justice Marshall of Massachusetts

Posted on December 5, 2011 by richardzorza

The retired Massachusetts Chief, in a Boston Globe op-ed, urging contributions to legal aid programs, shows an interesting shift in emphasis in terms of how we think about the access system.  It’s caught in these two paras: While judges and … Continue reading →

Posted in Access to Counsel, Funding, Legal Aid, Legal Ethics, Self-Help Services, Systematic Change | Comments Off on A shift in Empahsis About Access Demonstrated by Retired Chief Justice Marshall of Massachusetts

Non-Lawyer Assistance in the Courtroom — the UK Model

Posted on December 2, 2011 by richardzorza

Most of us in the US are unaware of a fascinating approach that the UK (and indeed most Commonwealth countries) use to assist in access to justice for those without lawyers.  It is an approach that permits non-lawyers to sit … Continue reading →

Posted in Access to Counsel, Judicial Ethics, Self-Help Services | Tagged | 5 Comments

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

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

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

White House Champions of Change Event October 13 — Video Now Available

Posted on October 7, 2011 by richardzorza

Update: the video of the event is now on the White House site.  Expect blog entries there on law school follow up. _____________________________________________________________ I understand that the White House is planning a “Champions of Change” event, celebrating leaders in the … Continue reading →

Posted in Access to Counsel, Access to Justice Generally, Dept. of Justice, Law Schools, Pro Bono | Tagged | Comments Off on White House Champions of Change Event October 13 — Video Now Available

Questions and Answers About the Attorney Diagnosis Proposal

Posted on September 12, 2011 by richardzorza

Recently, I blogged about what I called the “Attorney Diagnosis” approach to Triage for Access to Justice.  I believe that Turner may require not necessarily this, but at least some system that decides who needs what in terms of services … Continue reading →

Posted in Access to Counsel, Access to Justice Generally, Legal Aid, Research and Evalation, Systematic Change | Tagged , | Comments Off on Questions and Answers About the Attorney Diagnosis Proposal

After Turner: A Proposed “Attorney Diagnosis” Approach to Triage for Access to Justice

Posted on September 6, 2011 by richardzorza

After Turner, emphasizing due process requirements for cases involving the self-represented, there is an urgent need to think of better ways to decide who needs what services in order to get access to justice, and not just in the civil … Continue reading →

Posted in Access to Counsel, Legal Aid, Triage, Unbundling | Tagged , | 4 Comments

An Overview of Systemic Barriers to Access to Justice

Posted on August 22, 2011 by richardzorza

Maybe its time to take a 22,000 mile overview of the access to justice problem.  One way to do so it look at at the interacting parts of the system and how together they produce an inaccessible system. 1.     A … Continue reading →

Posted in Access to Counsel, Access to Justice Generally, Supreme Court, Systematic Change | 4 Comments

Immigration and the Detained

Posted on August 19, 2011 by richardzorza

There’s new attention to immigation issues, including a remarkable change in policy on deportation priorities.  See NYT. The Obama administration announced Thursday that it would suspend deportation proceedings against many illegal immigrants who pose no threat to national security or … Continue reading →

Posted in Access to Counsel | Tagged | Comments Off on Immigration and the Detained

Last Blast on Turner

Posted on June 28, 2011 by richardzorza

I am sorry if I have seemed to be suffering from Turner-obsession this last ten days.  But it really is an important decision, and has taken a lot of my time because I believe it has the potential to transform … Continue reading →

Posted in Access to Counsel, Forms, Judicial Ethics, Legal Aid | 1 Comment

Defender Services for Arrested Defendants — US and UK Comparison

Posted on June 27, 2011 by richardzorza

As part of the UK governing coalition’s attempt to cut the UK legal aid budget by 350 million pounds (about US$500 million), the possibility is being raised of introducing means testing of the provision of the currently universally available solicitors … Continue reading →

Posted in Access to Counsel, Criminal Law, International Models | Comments Off on Defender Services for Arrested Defendants — US and UK Comparison

Turner and the Self-Represented — A Summary of Its Very Broad Implications and The Begining of a New Jurisprudence

Posted on June 25, 2011 by richardzorza

Below find the full text of my post on ConcurringOpinions titlted Turner’s Trombone Blows for Every Self-Represented Litigant.  It is, of course, part of the Synposium on the case that David Udell and I are co-hosting. Turner v. Rogers, 564 … Continue reading →

Posted in Access to Counsel, Document Assembly, Forms, Judicial Ethics, Supreme Court | 23 Comments