Category Archives: Access to Justice Generally

Getting ATJ Statistics Into Census Data Collection — The Eviction Example Highlighted on fivethirtyeight.com

Posted on September 15, 2016 by richardzorza

The wonderful fivethirtyeight.com, which many of us obsessively check multiple times a day for its magnificent (and frightening) election projection results, has just put up a very important article on the under-counting of the eviction problem.  The title tells it … Continue reading →

Posted in Access to Justice Generally, Census Bureau, Court Management, Evictions, Federal Agencies, Foreclosure, Housing, Outcome Measures, Poverty, Research and Evalation | 1 Comment

Triage Should Guide Court Simplification and Non-Lawyer Role Expansion, Not the Other Way Round

Posted on September 11, 2016 by richardzorza

I think I may have been guilty of thinking about the relationship of triage, court simplification and expansion of non-lawyer roles the wrong way round. I have basically been saying something like this: For each case, we should do triage, … Continue reading →

Posted in Access to Justice Generally, Family Law, Non-Lawyer Practice, Referral Systems, Simplification, Systematic Change, Triage | 5 Comments

DOJ/NSF White House Legal Aid Interagency Roundtable Report on Access to Justice Research

Posted on September 7, 2016 by richardzorza

I have been much remiss in not blogging earlier about this important and very timely Report from the Department of Justice (NIJ and ATJ) and the National Science Foundation on Research in Access to Justice.  Formally titled White House Legal … Continue reading →

Posted in Access to Justice Generally, Consumer Rights, Dept. of Justice, expungement, Family Law, Foreclosure, LAIR, Legal Aid, Medical System Comparision, Non-Lawyer Practice, Outcome Measures, Reentry, Referral Systems, Research and Evalation, Self-Help Services | Comments Off on DOJ/NSF White House Legal Aid Interagency Roundtable Report on Access to Justice Research

Table Comparing Three New Different ATJ Sets of Recommendations Should Help Move Collaboration Forward

Posted on September 3, 2016 by richardzorza

It is quite amazing that within a few weeks we have had three major sets of specific recommendations for national access to justice strategies come out.  They are, in order of appearance, the Guidance for NCSC Grants for Strategic Planning … Continue reading →

Posted in 100% Access Strategy and Campaign, ABA, Access to Justice Generally, Court Management, Rules Reform, Simplification, Systematic Change, Technology, Triage | Comments Off on Table Comparing Three New Different ATJ Sets of Recommendations Should Help Move Collaboration Forward

Estimating Impact on Economic Mobility From Court Fees System

Posted on August 31, 2016 by richardzorza

Today’s Times has a highly pertinent piece on the dramatic effect of court fees and costs on those caught in the juvenile justice system.  Obviously it relates deeply to all the economic burdens that the legal system is imposing on … Continue reading →

Posted in Access to Justice Generally, Chasm with Communities, Court Fees and Costs, Metrics | 3 Comments

We Now Have the Data That shows That The One-Side-Self-Represented Case is the Dominant Case Situation in US Civil State Courts and That We Need a Fundamental Rethink of The State Civil Justice System

Posted on August 26, 2016 by richardzorza

Some data from NCSC should be helpful in relating access to justice strategy to overall legal system changes. This is because this data simply blows away the way we think about the courts. The dominant analytic mode has always been … Continue reading →

Posted in 100% Access Strategy and Campaign, Access to Justice Generally, Attorney-Client, Self-Help Services, SRL Statistics, Systematic Change | 3 Comments

Meet Claudia Johnson’s Daughter Scarlet Johnson, Now Blogging Too

Posted on August 25, 2016 by richardzorza

Everyone in our network knows Claudia Johnson, who frequently guest blogs in this space. But I bet you did not know that her daughter Scarlet Johnson is now a blogger too, launching her blogging with this contribution, which exudes her … Continue reading →

Posted in Access to Justice Generally, Discrimination, Guest Bloggers, This Blog | Comments Off on Meet Claudia Johnson’s Daughter Scarlet Johnson, Now Blogging Too

Twenty First Century Strategic Planning and Innovation Deployment — Lessons From the 2016 Campaigns

Posted on August 21, 2016 by richardzorza

A fascinating article and followup chat in the Washington Post may well lead us to a wiser and more effective strategic planning and innovation process for access to justice.  The general approach applies to any such process, and to a … Continue reading →

Posted in Access to Justice Boards, Access to Justice Generally, Court Management, Systematic Change | Comments Off on Twenty First Century Strategic Planning and Innovation Deployment — Lessons From the 2016 Campaigns

A Dependencies Tool To Assist in ATJ Strategic Planning and Use of the JFA Guidance

Posted on August 19, 2016 by richardzorza

I am sharing, in the hope it may make the process of access to justice strategic planning both for the community at large and specifically those participating in the Justice for All RFP and associated processes, this document that is … Continue reading →

Posted in 100% Access Strategy and Campaign, Access to Justice Generally, Court Management | 4 Comments

Integrating the ABA Futures Report and the Justice For All Components

Posted on August 14, 2016 by richardzorza

Its finally here, the ABA Future of Legal Services Report. As expected, it covers a lot of ground, and is a lot to read. As an aid to speedy integration into other projects, I have prepared this table that compares … Continue reading →

Posted in 100% Access Strategy and Campaign, ABA, Access to Counsel, Access to Justice Generally, Alternative Business Structures, Attorney-Client, Bar Associations, Court Fees and Costs, Court Management, Document Assembly, E-filing, Incnetives, Law Schools, Legal Aid, Legal Ethics, LEP, Mediation, Middle Income, Mixed Model, Non-Lawyer Practice, Outcome Measures, Plain Language, Planning, Referral Systems, Research and Evalation, Rules Reform, Self-Help Services, Simplification, Systematic Change, Technology, Transparency, Triage, Unbundling | 2 Comments

A Blockbuster Recommendation In the ABA Futures Report Is for A National Commission on Uniform Court Forms

Posted on August 14, 2016 by richardzorza

The Recommendation, at page 46 , of the Report, reads as follows: “The ABA, the National Center for State Courts, the Conference of Chief Justices, and the Conference of State Court Administrators should collaborate to create a National Commission on … Continue reading →

Posted in ABA, Access to Justice Generally, Forms, Plain Language, Self-Help Services | Comments Off on A Blockbuster Recommendation In the ABA Futures Report Is for A National Commission on Uniform Court Forms

More on the Proposed Single Measure for Access to Justice

Posted on August 9, 2016 by richardzorza

The more I think and talk with folks about the proposed single measure for access to justice, the more I think we might be on to something that could tell us what we want to know, would allow for comparison … Continue reading →

Posted in 100% Access Strategy and Campaign, Access to Justice Generally, Outcome Measures, Series: Outcome Measures | 6 Comments

The Guidance for the Justice For All Strategic Planning Process Will Help In Many Ways Beyond The Development of Planning Project Proposals

Posted on August 3, 2016 by richardzorza

The Justice for All Strategic Planning Guidance Materials are now published here. They will be very helpful for the states that are in the process of putting together the proposals for strategic planning money that are due on October 5, … Continue reading →

Posted in 100% Access Strategy and Campaign, Access to Justice Boards, Access to Justice Generally, Planning, Tools, Triage | 1 Comment

Thinking About a Single Quantitative Measure for Access to Justice

Posted on August 3, 2016 by richardzorza

Recent Guidance issued by the White House to all Federal agencies on the process for estimating environmental impact, as required by law, may well point the way for how to we think about access to justice indicators, as envisioned in … Continue reading →

Posted in 100% Access Strategy and Campaign, Access to Justice Generally, Planning, Series: Outcome Measures, Transparency, White House | 1 Comment

Anne Holton, VP Nominee Tim Kaine’s Wife, was a Legal Aid Lawyer for Thirteen years, and a Judge for Seven

Posted on July 22, 2016 by richardzorza

According to Wikipedia: Following graduation from law school, Holton served as a law clerk for Judge Robert R. Merhige, Jr. of the Richmond-based United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. From 1985 to 1998, she worked as … Continue reading →

Posted in Access to Justice Boards, Access to Justice Generally, Legal Aid, Vocation, White House | Comments Off on Anne Holton, VP Nominee Tim Kaine’s Wife, was a Legal Aid Lawyer for Thirteen years, and a Judge for Seven