Category Archives: Access to Justice Generally

FLASH — New DOJ Access Head Announced — Former California Judge Lisa Foster

Posted on October 16, 2014 by richardzorza

Eric Holder has just announced the appointment of Lisa Foster as the new head of the DOJ Access to Justice Initiative.  Ms  Foster was until recently a judge in San Diego.  Her experience on the bench, with LAFLA and the … Continue reading →

Posted in Access to Justice Generally | 1 Comment

What Does it Mean that DOJ Has Filed a Statement of Interest in NY Right to Quality Counsel Case?

Posted on October 8, 2014 by richardzorza

As folks should know by now, the US DOJ has filed a “Statement of Interest” in the ongoing New York State case about the quality of indigent defense services. While taking no formal position on the merits of the case, … Continue reading →

Posted in Access to Justice Generally, Criminal Law, Dept. of Justice, Public Defender | Comments Off on What Does it Mean that DOJ Has Filed a Statement of Interest in NY Right to Quality Counsel Case?

Sad News About the Dissolution of the American Judicature Society

Posted on October 1, 2014 by richardzorza

The American Judicature Society, which had been over 100 years old, has announced its dissolution. AJS played a very major role in moving forward a broad view of access to justice.  They published the first national materials on self-represented litigants, … Continue reading →

Posted in Access to Justice Generally | 1 Comment

Governing Magazine Spreads the ATJ Message Beyond Courts With Article on NY CJ Lippman

Posted on September 21, 2014 by richardzorza

It has long been a goal of the more visionary access to justice commissions, now joined by Voices for Civil Justice, to spread the ATJ message beyond courts to other government actors.  So it is particularly good news that there … Continue reading →

Posted in Access to Justice Boards, Access to Justice Generally | 1 Comment

Highlights and Thoughts on the LSC 40th Anniversary

Posted on September 18, 2014 by richardzorza

Earlier this week, LSC had its 40th anniversary shebang in DC. As I understand it, the primary goal was to establish LSC and federal funding of community-based legal aid as a permanent bi-partisan commitment.  It certainly moved us a long … Continue reading →

Posted in Access to Justice Generally, LSC | 1 Comment

Interesting Expansion of Access to Justice Interest in the Political Sphere

Posted on September 11, 2014 by richardzorza

This blog has long urged greater engagement with the political sphere to expand access to justice.  So it is good news that the New York City Council has established a Committee on Courts and Legal Services.  To quote the press … Continue reading →

Posted in Access to Justice Generally, Political Support | 3 Comments

Assessing the Strengths and Weaknesses of the Institutional Structure of Communty Based Legal Aid

Posted on July 21, 2014 by richardzorza

As “access to justice” receives more and more attention, and as we start to put in place new structures such as the “communications hub,” perhaps it is time to step back and think about the strengths and weakness of our … Continue reading →

Posted in Access to Justice Boards, Access to Justice Generally, Communications Strategy, LSC, Systematic Change | Comments Off on Assessing the Strengths and Weaknesses of the Institutional Structure of Communty Based Legal Aid

“New Roles for Non-Lawyers to Increase Access to Justice” by David Udell and Richard Zorza Published

Posted on May 25, 2014 by richardzorza

Here is the paper on nonlawyer roles, written by jointly David Udell and me (as this blog post is), just published in the Fordham Urban Law Journal. We hope that it will serve as the foundation and spur for continued … Continue reading →

Posted in Access to Justice Generally | 2 Comments

Canadian ATJ Report is a Model for the World

Posted on April 18, 2014 by richardzorza

The Canadian Action Committee on Access to Civil and Family Justice, has issued its Report, Access to Civil and Family Justice: A Roadmap for Change.  (It was issued on October, and I am long overdue in my report on a … Continue reading →

Posted in Access to Justice Generally, International Cooperation, International Models | 1 Comment

Justice Earl Johnson’s Remarkable Book on the History of Legal Aid

Posted on April 15, 2014 by richardzorza

I am proud to be able to share with the readers of this blog the Prologue of the remarkable recently published book by Justice Earl Johnson Jr. (ret).  The three volume work is a history of legal aid since the … Continue reading →

Posted in Access to Justice Generally, History, LSC | Comments Off on Justice Earl Johnson’s Remarkable Book on the History of Legal Aid

Glenn Rawdon’s Visionary White House Speech is About 100% Access, And More, Not Just About Technology

Posted on April 13, 2014 by richardzorza

Glenn Rawdon’s speech titled Everyone, Anytime, Anywhere at the April 8 White House Forum on Increasing Access to Justice was about far more than technology.  After describing how Bill gates talked in 1999 about technology convergence, the history of the … Continue reading →

Posted in Access to Justice Generally, Communications Strategy, Document Assembly, Mobile Technology, Systematic Change, Technology | 4 Comments

Public Welfare Foundation Funds Alan Houseman to Explore Research About How civil Legal Aid Helps Reduce and Eliminate Poverty

Posted on April 3, 2014 by richardzorza

The Public Welfare foundation is funding legal aid elder statesmen Alan Houseman, now retired from the Center for Law and Social Policy, to explore the research and evidence about how civil legal aid reduces and eliminates poverty.  In a way … Continue reading →

Posted in Access to Justice Generally | 2 Comments

Critically Important Speech by NY CJ Lippman on “The Judiciary as the Leader of the Access to Justice Revolution”

Posted on March 12, 2014 by richardzorza

On Tuesday, Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman delivered a very important speech.  While the whole speech is very valuable, two particular aspects stand out for me. The first is the the very strong language, and examples, reflecting the speech title The … Continue reading →

Posted in Access to Justice Generally, Funding, Judicial Ethics, Legal Aid, Non-Lawyer Practice, Pro Bono | 1 Comment

DOJ Day Highlights Integration of ATJ and LEP Approaches

Posted on March 4, 2014 by richardzorza

On Friday at the Department of Justice, the Civil Rights Division launched its Language Access Planning and Technical Assistance Tool.  While the tool itself, introduced with great skill by Deeana Jang, Chief, Federal Coordination and Compliance Section,Civil Rights Division, is … Continue reading →

Posted in Access to Justice Generally, Court Management, Dept. of Justice, Judicial Ethics, LEP, Meetings | 1 Comment

Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Formally Asks for Comments on Proposed Rule To Include ATJ on Bar Exam

Posted on February 28, 2014 by richardzorza

The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (the state’s top court) is formally asking for comment on a proposed rule change that would put access to justice issues on the bar exam. The proposed rule is written in such a way that … Continue reading →

Posted in Access to Justice Generally, Judicial Ethics, Law Schools, Legal Ethics, Unbundling | 2 Comments