Category Archives: Communications Strategy

The Needed Components for National ATJ Initiative Taking

Posted on May 26, 2015 by richardzorza

A couple of years ago, I blogged about what a state capacity for access to justice might look like.  Folks might find this post useful to start to talk about evaluation of the progress of their state’s ATJ Commission (or … Continue reading →

Posted in Access to Justice Boards, Bar Associations, Communications Strategy, Dept. of Justice, Funding | Comments Off on The Needed Components for National ATJ Initiative Taking

Building the ATJ Communication Capacity While Enhancing Public Awareness of Issues of Law and Poverty

Posted on March 11, 2015 by richardzorza

It occurred to me that the way that Voices for Civil Justice has responded to the recent Justice Department Report on Ferguson provides an opportunity to see how our access community is gaining in sophistication and effectiveness. Those who are … Continue reading →

Posted in Communications Strategy, Legal Aid | Comments Off on Building the ATJ Communication Capacity While Enhancing Public Awareness of Issues of Law and Poverty

Guest Post From Elizabeth Arledge: #LegalAid Voices “Storm” the Twitterverse

Posted on January 20, 2015 by richardzorza

Elizabeth writes as follows: Well, THAT was fun. Something amazing happened last week on the way to tonight’s State of the Union address. When Voices for Civil Justice invited members of our JusticeVoices network to participate in a “Twitter storm” … Continue reading →

Posted in Access to Justice Generally, Communications Strategy, Funding, White House | Comments Off on Guest Post From Elizabeth Arledge: #LegalAid Voices “Storm” the Twitterverse

The Expanding Role of ATJ Commissions — Florida and California

Posted on January 13, 2015 by richardzorza

As we build out state level access to justice leadership that does beyond information sharing to project leadership and the building of an integrated system, it is great to see two new state level initiatives that are building the needed … Continue reading →

Posted in Access to Justice Boards, Communications Strategy, Incubators | 1 Comment

Press Clips Section of Voices Website Helps Create Momentum About Communications and More

Posted on December 21, 2014 by richardzorza

The Voices for Civil Justice website now includes a “Press Clips” section. This tool lets you see all the significant press coverage about legal aid (broadly defined).  It also lets you filter and sort based on a number of criteria … Continue reading →

Posted in Communications Strategy | Comments Off on Press Clips Section of Voices Website Helps Create Momentum About Communications and More

A Fabulous Job Opportunity at Voices for Civil Justice

Posted on December 16, 2014 by richardzorza

As most folks know, Voices for Civil Justice has been remaking the way we think about civil legal aid and access to justice.  While on one level it has merely been seeking the best way to talk to policy makers, … Continue reading →

Posted in Communications Strategy, Systematic Change | Comments Off on A Fabulous Job Opportunity at Voices for Civil Justice

NYT Publishes First Article on Comprehensive Changes in Legal Aid (Broadly Defined)

Posted on November 24, 2014 by richardzorza

Showing the huge value and potential of a coherent communications strategy for the legal aid world (broadly defined to include both community-based and court-based legal aid) the New York Times on Saturday published its first real comprehensive article on the … Continue reading →

Posted in Access to Counsel, Communications Strategy, Legal Aid, LSC, Non-Lawyer Practice, Political Support, Self-Help Services, Systematic Change, Triage | Comments Off on NYT Publishes First Article on Comprehensive Changes in Legal Aid (Broadly Defined)

Finding Good News and a Strategy for Access After the Midterms

Posted on November 5, 2014 by richardzorza

Obviously, the results of yesterday’s election are potentially very bad news for legal aid funding (broadly defined).  Notwithstanding the generally bipartisan support demonstrated for LSC at its recent 40th anniversary, the risk of cuts to the LSC budget is very … Continue reading →

Posted in Communications Strategy, Funding | 1 Comment

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

NYT Report on California “Court-Aided Divorce” is a Milestone in Several Ways

Posted on June 7, 2014 by richardzorza

Today’s Times report’s on one day court-aided divorce is a breakthrough in several ways. First it is a breakthrough that the concept, while perhaps obvious once articuleatd, is actually now deployed, if only in a few places.  The core paras … Continue reading →

Posted in Communications Strategy, Self-Help Services, Systematic Change | 1 Comment

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

Suggestions for an Expansive and Popular Definition of “Civil Legal Aid”

Posted on April 7, 2014 by richardzorza

Given that on Tuesday April the 8th there is an invitational event at the White House described as “White House Forum on Increasing Access to Justice,” it seems a good time for reflections on how best and most effectively to … Continue reading →

Posted in Communications Strategy, Forms, Legal Aid, Self-Help Services | 5 Comments

Self-Represented Litigation Network Pre-Conference April 30 in Portland

Posted on February 15, 2014 by richardzorza

The Self-Represented Litigation Network (SRLN) will be conducting its annual Pre-Conference on Wednesday April 30, 2014 before the main Equal Justice Conference at the Hilton Portland & Executive Tower in Portland Oregon May 1-3. My replacement as Coordinator of SRLN, … Continue reading →

Posted in Communications Strategy, Meetings | 1 Comment

Maybe It Means Something That the Word “Access” Was Used Six Times in the State of The Union

Posted on January 28, 2014 by richardzorza

That’s right, while the President mentioned “justice” only once in the State of the Union Address (“. . . to promote justice, and fairness, and equality under the law, so that the words set to paper by our founders are … Continue reading →

Posted in Access to Justice Generally, Communications Strategy | 3 Comments