Category Archives: Access to Justice Generally

Another Important Piece of the Justice for All Strategy Falls Into Place — Resources and Funding for Strategic Planning

Posted on February 5, 2016 by richardzorza

As every reader of this blog knows, the Access Resolution passed by the Conference of Chief Justices and the Conference of State Court Administrators is important not only because of its endorsement of the “aspirational goal” of 100% access to … Continue reading →

Posted in 100% Access Strategy and Campaign, Access to Justice Boards, Access to Justice Generally, Funding, Systematic Change | Comments Off on Another Important Piece of the Justice for All Strategy Falls Into Place — Resources and Funding for Strategic Planning

Moving to 100% Access Strategic Plans – The LSC TIG Program as Opportunity and Harbinger

Posted on January 30, 2016 by richardzorza

The 2016 Legal Services Corporation Technology grant solicitation,due Feb 29, suggests one of the ways that the Chefs 100% Resolution can move towards true implementation. It creates as its first listed specific area of interest, “Achieving 100% Access,” which it … Continue reading →

Posted in 100% Access Strategy and Campaign, Access to Justice Boards, Access to Justice Generally, Funding, IOLTA, Legal Aid, LSC, Outcome Measures, Systematic Change, Technology | Comments Off on Moving to 100% Access Strategic Plans – The LSC TIG Program as Opportunity and Harbinger

Important Paper On Impact of Technology On Need For Lawyers May Answer One Question, But Ask Bigger Ones

Posted on January 8, 2016 by richardzorza

A recent New York Times article reports on a just drafted study on the potential impact on legal employment markets of the spread of technology. As explained in the Times: . . . [T]here are many human activities that cannot … Continue reading →

Posted in Access to Justice Generally, Attorney-Client, Bar Associations, Document Assembly, Metrics, Non-Lawyer Practice, Research and Evalation, Rules Reform, Simplification, Technology | Comments Off on Important Paper On Impact of Technology On Need For Lawyers May Answer One Question, But Ask Bigger Ones

Asking About the Role of Pro Bono in Responding to the Challenge of the Chiefs’ 100% Resolution Could Help Pro Bono Regain Momentum

Posted on January 1, 2016 by richardzorza

There has been some good news on pro bono in the last couple of years: the LSC Pro Bono Grant Program has been launched and LSC has revised its PAI 12.5% set-aside rules.  However, beyond this, it has been a … Continue reading →

Posted in 100% Access Strategy and Campaign, Access to Justice Generally, Pro Bono, Systematic Change, Triage, Unbundling | Comments Off on Asking About the Role of Pro Bono in Responding to the Challenge of the Chiefs’ 100% Resolution Could Help Pro Bono Regain Momentum

The Need for Economic and Regulatory Incentives for Access to Justice

Posted on January 1, 2016 by richardzorza

I find it remarkable that there so few regulatory and economic incentives towards access to justice built into our system. It is now true that you have to do a certain number of pro bono hours to get to be … Continue reading →

Posted in Access to Justice Generally, Court Management, Outcome Measures, Research and Evalation, Systematic Change | 4 Comments

Two Resources on Innovation and a Chance to Vote

Posted on December 23, 2015 by richardzorza

The ABA Delivery Committee makes annual awards for innovation.  Now one of the awards is voted on by the general public.  Obviously, I encourage everyone to take a look and vote for the one you think is best.  But, I … Continue reading →

Posted in Access to Justice Generally, Funding, ILAG | Comments Off on Two Resources on Innovation and a Chance to Vote

Add Access to Justice As A Criteria for “Just Companies” An Idea Urged By Paul Tudor Jones II, hedge-fund billionaire

Posted on December 21, 2015 by richardzorza

Under the wonderful headline, A Plan to Rank ‘Just’ Companies Aims to Close the Wealth Gap, Alexandra Stanley has a great article in today’s New York Times. Like all the best ideas, this one is simple: Paul Tudor Jones II, … Continue reading →

Posted in Access to Justice Generally, Consumer Rights, Federal Courts, Rules Reform, Supreme Court, Systematic Change | 1 Comment

Utah Moves Limited License Legal Technician to Mainstream

Posted on December 17, 2015 by richardzorza

It seems only yesterday that limited license legal technicians were a weird outlier, subject of much suspicion and even hostility. The Utah Supreme Court has just changed that by accepting a Report from its Task Force urging that the Court … Continue reading →

Posted in Access to Justice Generally | Comments Off on Utah Moves Limited License Legal Technician to Mainstream

NCSC Study Finds Public Support for Technology and Self-Represented Accessibility, Implications for 100% Goal

Posted on December 16, 2015 by richardzorza

The National Center for State Courts recently conducted a public opinion survey about the courts. Probably the most important findings: Public demand for more self-sufficiency highlights a path forward. Our last survey found a clear demand for greater use of … Continue reading →

Posted in Access to Justice Generally, Communications Strategy, Funding, Self-Help Services | 1 Comment

John Naughton In the Guardian Calls for Code of Ethics For Those Who Write Algorithms

Posted on December 7, 2015 by richardzorza

A fascinating article in the Guardian is of relevance to anyone who builds or uses technology in the justice system. After highlighting the range of decisions made by algorithms today, and their potential consequences, the writer, John Naughton, moves to … Continue reading →

Posted in Access to Justice Generally, Court Management, Metrics, Outcome Measures, Research and Evalation, Software Developers, Technology, Transparency, Triage | Comments Off on John Naughton In the Guardian Calls for Code of Ethics For Those Who Write Algorithms

CJ Lippman Announces Neighborhood Legal Information Centers — Implications and Possibilities

Posted on December 4, 2015 by richardzorza

This ground-breaking news, once again from the New York Courts.  As the press release puts it: [The] Network of Walk-in Storefronts Will Be First of Its Kind in New York and the Nation to Bring Basic Legal Information, Assistance and … Continue reading →

Posted in Access to Justice Generally, Chasm with Communities, Court Management, Legal Aid, Non-Lawyer Practice, Self-Help Services, Technology, Triage | 1 Comment

An Economic Analysis of the “One Hundred Percent Access to Justice” Phrase

Posted on November 30, 2015 by richardzorza

If we are to assess the viability of 100% access to justice solutions, we must at least begin to have an economic model for what 100% access means, and particularly for whether we can regard services as sufficient in any … Continue reading →

Posted in Access to Counsel, Access to Justice Generally, Legal Aid, Self-Help Services, Triage | 6 Comments

West Virginia Supreme Court Afirms Right of Self-Representation

Posted on November 30, 2015 by richardzorza

In an important decision, the West Virgina Supreme Court has affirmed that self-represented litigants have the same right of access to the courts as one with an attorney.  The issue derives as follows: In April of 2014, the Honorable Booker … Continue reading →

Posted in Access to Justice Generally | Comments Off on West Virginia Supreme Court Afirms Right of Self-Representation

The 100% Access Movement Has A New Poster

Posted on November 26, 2015 by richardzorza

Here is a great poster made by Margaret Hagen of Stanford showing Bonnie Hough speaking at the recent Access to Justice Conference at Hastings Law School. Its a great idea, and a great expression, from a great person.  It is … Continue reading →

Posted in 100% Access Strategy and Campaign, Access to Justice Generally | 1 Comment

On the Only Right Response to the Idea of US Government Making All Muslims Register

Posted on November 20, 2015 by richardzorza

Obviously, the recently partially apparently walked-back endorsement by a US Presidential candidate of the idea of making all Muslims register is truly obscene in the light of what such a requirement led to in the Holocaust. The answer to such … Continue reading →

Posted in Access to Justice Generally, Discrimination, Technology | 5 Comments