Category Archives: Dept. of Justice

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

Lisa Foster’s ATJ Commissions Meeting Speech Focuses on Big Changes

Posted on May 15, 2016 by richardzorza

Lisa Foster’s speech at the ATJ’s Commission focus not on the usual self-congratulation, but on the encourages big changes in focus and vision.  While I did not travel to Chicago for the Conference this year, just the text alone conveys … Continue reading →

Posted in 100% Access Strategy and Campaign, Access to Justice Generally, Budget Issues, Chasm with Communities, Dept. of Justice, LAIR, Legal Aid, Litigant Voice, Media, Mediation, Medical System Comparision, Poverty, Reentry, Self-Help Services, Simplification, SRLN, Systematic Change, Technology, video, White House | Comments Off on Lisa Foster’s ATJ Commissions Meeting Speech Focuses on Big Changes

Importance of White House Initiative, Legal Aid Interagency Roundtable, Gets Recognition in DC Bar Journal

Posted on April 28, 2016 by richardzorza

The current issue of Washington Lawyer, the DC bar journal, contains a great article on the Legal Aid Interagency Roundtable. The article, under the title Ensuring Justice for All:  The White House Plan, finally gives some public recognition to the importance … Continue reading →

Posted in 100% Access Strategy and Campaign, Access to Justice Boards, Access to Justice Generally, Dept. of Justice, Federal Agencies, Funding, Legal Aid, White House | Comments Off on Importance of White House Initiative, Legal Aid Interagency Roundtable, Gets Recognition in DC Bar Journal

Thoughts For Federal Agencies and ATJ Commissions Building on the White House LAIR Meeting

Posted on April 3, 2016 by richardzorza

I am not sure that the ATJ Community fully appreciates the scope of the implications of the recent Legal Aid Inter-agency Round-table inaugural meeting, about which I first blogged here.  Nor, I suspect do all Federal agencies yet realize the … Continue reading →

Posted in Access to Justice Boards, Administative Proecdure, Dept. of Justice, Federal Agencies, Federal Courts, Funding, LAIR, White House | Comments Off on Thoughts For Federal Agencies and ATJ Commissions Building on the White House LAIR Meeting

Legal Aid Interagency Roundtable Inaugural Meeting is Springboard for Federal ATJ Initiatives

Posted on March 28, 2016 by richardzorza

The Federal Government Legal Aid Inter-agency Roundtable met for its inaugural meeting on February 29.  The Roundtable is under the White House Domestic Policy Council and DOJ. As Co-Chair Attorney General Loretta Lynch put it: “The consequences of limited access … Continue reading →

Posted in Access to Justice Generally, Dept. of Justice, LAIR, White House | 2 Comments

An Urgent Call for Action on Moving Potential Clemency Cases Forward

Posted on July 28, 2015 by richardzorza

This blog urges the legal profession, both institutionally and individually, to step up now and play its role to help free thousands of nonviolent drug offenders given draconian federal sentences, and now potentially eligible for Presidential clemency.  First the background. … Continue reading →

Posted in Criminal Law, Defender Programs, Dept. of Justice, Legal Ethics, Reentry, Technology, White House | Comments Off on An Urgent Call for Action on Moving Potential Clemency Cases Forward

Noting the Range and Significance of NSF Research Grants into Access to Justice

Posted on June 13, 2015 by richardzorza

Regular readers of this blog will not have been able to avoid the drumbeat of attention to the importance and potential of DOJ’s bringing NSF to the access to justice table.  But, I have not as yet explicitly listed or … Continue reading →

Posted in Dept. of Justice, Judicial Ethics, Plain Language, Research and Evalation, Self-Help Services, Triage, Usabilty | Comments Off on Noting the Range and Significance of NSF Research Grants into Access to Justice

The DOJ Access to Justice Research Workshop Is An Important Achievement And A Milestone

Posted on June 4, 2015 by richardzorza

The recent Research Workshop was sponsored by NIJ (National Institute of Justice) and ATJ (Access to Justice Initiative) within the Department of Justice, and by the National Science Foundation (NSF).  Attorney General Loretta Lynch both spoke and blogged about it … Continue reading →

Posted in Access to Justice Generally, Dept. of Justice, Research and Evalation | 1 Comment

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

The Broader Lessons of Ferguson and Baltimore Are Much More Challenging — Opportunities to Be Part of the Solution

Posted on May 25, 2015 by richardzorza

Some of us have begun calling it the Chasm — it’s the chasm between the legal system and the poor.  When the cops yell “stop”, young men do not make subtle legal distinctions between the civil and criminal justice systems.  … Continue reading →

Posted in Bankruptcy, Child Support, Court Fees and Costs, Court Management, Dept. of Justice, expungement | 2 Comments

DOJ ATJ Initiative Director Lisa Foster Keynotes at Equal Justice Conference

Posted on May 8, 2015 by richardzorza

As Department of Justice Access to to Justice Director Foster pointed out at her keynote at the Equal Justice Conference, yesterday (see below for full text), there have been sixteen of these Conferences.  What she did not point out was … Continue reading →

Posted in Court Fees and Costs, Criminal Law, Dept. of Justice, Funding, Research and Evalation, Self-Help Services, Systematic Change | Comments Off on DOJ ATJ Initiative Director Lisa Foster Keynotes at Equal Justice Conference

Hearing Lisa’ Foster’s Keynote at the Equal Justice Conference Should Be An Important Moment

Posted on April 9, 2015 by richardzorza

We have just heard that Lisa Foster, the head of the DOJ Access to Justice Initiative, will be keynoting the Equal Justice Conference next month. The chance to hear what she has to say from her perch as one of … Continue reading →

Posted in Access to Justice Generally, Dept. of Justice | Comments Off on Hearing Lisa’ Foster’s Keynote at the Equal Justice Conference Should Be An Important Moment

President’s Budget Proposes Civil Legal Research and Civil Legal Aid Competitive Grant Program

Posted on February 4, 2015 by richardzorza

Two important development for the future in the federal budget process.  While these proposals are unlikely to be sucessful tis year, they help create the environment thefuture, and can also be cited for the position of the Executive as to … Continue reading →

Posted in Defender Programs, Dept. of Justice, Funding, Triage, White House | 1 Comment

The Power of the Pen and Phone — Exploring Opportunities for Access to Justice in the Next Two Years

Posted on January 16, 2015 by richardzorza

Recent executive actions in immigration, and now asset forfeiture underline just how great is the President’s “power of the pen and phone.” — his ability by regulation or other executive action to make very significant changes in the way government … Continue reading →

Posted in Access to Justice Generally, Administative Proecdure, Budget Issues, Dept. of Justice, Document Assembly, E-filing, Funding, Law Schools, Non-Lawyer Practice, Veterans, White House | Tagged , , | Comments Off on The Power of the Pen and Phone — Exploring Opportunities for Access to Justice in the Next Two Years

What Might a National Expungement Strategy Look Like?

Posted on December 4, 2014 by richardzorza

There is now pretty wide bi-partisan and multi-regional agreement that we have to make the re-entry of the convicted into society much easier, and that expunging prior criminal records will be an important part of this initiative. While lots of … Continue reading →

Posted in Access to Justice Boards, Criminal Law, Defender Programs, Dept. of Justice, expungement, Legal Aid, LEP | Comments Off on What Might a National Expungement Strategy Look Like?